M.O.D. - U.S.A. for M.O.D. (1987)^{Release ID: 20094}

New York crossover thrash outfit S.O.D. (otherwise known as Stormtroopers Of Death) were an incredibly important band. Not only for the role they played in defining the crossover thrash sound in its very early stages but also for bringing it to the attention of a metal audience who may otherwise have let it fly under the radar as they immersed themselves in the heavy hitters of the more traditional thrash model. I can attest to this first-hand as S.O.D. were one of the only crossover bands that I actively sought out during the early years of my metal obsession & that was absolutely due to the various band members that made up the group. Particularly the link to Big Four member Anthrax. For those that aren’t already aware, S.O.D. was a genuine supergroup comprised of Scott Ian & Charlie Benante from Anthrax, Dan Lilker from Nuclear Assault & Billy Milano from The Psychos & their 1985 album “Speak English Or Die” would go on to become the most celebrated & influential release for the crossover thrash subgenre to this day. However, as is so often the case with supergroups projects, S.O.D.’s life span would only be short with the band dissolving once the popularity of Anthrax & Nuclear Assault started to grow significantly. This would of course leave front man Billy Milano without a project. Enter M.O.D. Otherwise known as Method Of Destruction (or, as Billy sometimes likes to refer to them, “Milano’s On Drugs”). 

M.O.D. would first come together in New York City in 1986 when Milano recruited three relatively unknown musicians with the intention of continuing down the path that S.O.D., Anthrax & Nuclear Assault had paved. His association with Jon & Marsha Zazula’s Megaforce Records label through his days in S.O.D. would quickly lead to a recording contract which would have been a huge kick-start for any new metal band at the time. The Zazula’s had played an extremely important role in the formation of the early thrash metal scene & their involvement in unearthing Metallica cannot be understated for it would be Megaforce that would first release the monolithic “Kill ‘Em All” & “Ride The Lightning” albums. But Jon & Marsha weren’t ones to rest on the laurels & they proceeded to add a number of impressive releases to their resume over the next few years with important underground records like Manowar’s “Into Glory Ride”, Exciter’s “Violence & Force”, Blessed Death’s “Kill Or Be Killed”, Anthrax’s “Armed & Dangerous”, Overkill’s “Feel The Fire” & Testament’s “The Legacy” being amongst the highlights. S.O.D.’s “Speak English Or Die” was also on that list so it would only be logical that Jon & Marsha would get first crack at Billy’s new project.  

The Zazula’s would take more than a passing interest in the recording of M.O.D.’s 1987 debut album “U.S.A. For M.O.D.” with both being credited as executive producers. They would also bring in long-time associate Alex Perialas to manage the recording process along with Billy’s former band mate Scott Ian, a team that had proven to be quite successful on the “Speak English Or Die” record. Alex had actually engineered most of Megaforce’s early releases & the S.O.D. album had been his first attempt at producing but he’d follow that up with Nuclear Assault’s Brain Death” E.P. in 1986. The result of Alex & Scott’s labour would be a decent sound that serves M.O.D. well enough without ever really hitting the listener as hard as they may have been with a brighter & more exciting production job. You can easily distinguish all of the different instruments though & the guitar tone in particular sounds very much like what you would expect from a more underground 80’s thrash release. The overall sound was certainly good enough for a first-up effort however I just think that M.O.D. were probably a little heavier than what we experience here so there was room for improvement. 

M.O.D. were very tight instrumentally. They really do come together as a unit very well for a band that had been together for such a short time & a lot of this can be put down to the efforts of the drummer Keith Davis & bassist Ken Ballone who clearly possess a fine pedigree in the hardcore punk scene on the evidence here. There’s a truckload of energy in their performances with Keith even producing some excellent blast beats during the occasional DRI-style thrashcore moment. Guitarist Tim McMurtie’s axe assaults the listener with a long procession of high quality (if sometimes fairly generic) thrash & hardcore riffs that should be more than enough to keep both fanbases happy. It’s interesting that many of these riffs sound uncannily like Anthrax or S.O.D. so I have a strong suspicion that Scott was much more involved in the composition & arrangements than we know. I obviously don’t say that as a negative though as Scott was somewhat of a riff-master & he certainly knew how to maximize the impact of a riff through clever arrangements. In fact, opening track “Aren’t You Hungry?” is actually an old unrecorded S.O.D. track so it’s very clear that the whole project had Scott’s blessing. Perhaps as a parting gift to Billy who had clearly been the one left in the lurch following the disbanding of S.O.D. 

Don’t expect long & shredding guitar solos here folks because that’s not M.O.D.’s bag at all. They simply don’t have time for those sort of shenanigans when they’ve got a full 23 tracks to get through in just 43 minutes. The influence of hardcore punk is obvious throughout the record with short-&-sharp track durations, NYHC-style gang vocals & those trademark stop/start arrangements all adding to the energy that makes “U.S.A. For M.O.D.” so fun to listen to. I can certainly do without some of the joke tracks though. Particularly the intentionally offensive & unpolitically correct ones that brutally attack minorities like African Americans, AIDS victims, homosexuals & the obese (see “Aren’t You Hungry?”, “A.I.D.S” or “Spandex Enormity”). This sort of thing certainly wouldn’t be acceptable in today’s society & I have to admit to finding it somewhat offensive despite having a good understanding of how much our social etiquette & tolerance has changed over the past few decades. Billy has made a habit of somehow managing to get away with this sort of thing over the years & it can’t be denied that he has a unique character to his delivery that sees him always maintaining the listener’s attention as the clear focal point of the band. His enthusiasm can’t be doubted & he often reminds me of fellow New York crossover front man Tommy Christ (of Ludichrist & Scatterbrain fame) in his hyperactive story-telling. 

At the end of the day, you shouldn’t go into “U.S.A. For M.O.D.” expecting a life-changing, emotionally-charged experience. There’s absolutely nothing new on offer here but I don’t think that was ever the intent. The album is simply intended as a tool to get your heart racing & your blood pumping whilst always ensuring that your tongue stays firmly in your cheek. Unsurprisingly, it’s the more serious sounding & more substantial tracks that leave the most lasting impression on me & I do wish that there was a stronger focus on producing a consistently high-quality thrash record rather than one that mostly sounds like the band were having a bit of drunken fun. There’s no doubt that the tracklisting is little bit inconsistent but there’s more than enough meat on these bones to keep me interested &, despite sounding very much like a poor man’s S.O.D., “U.S.A. For M.O.D.” competed fairly well in a New York crossover scene that had already spawned bands like Carnivore, Agnostic Front, Crumbsuckers, Prong & Ludichrist. 

For fans of: Anthrax, S.O.D. & D.R.I.