M.O.D.
Explore the band's historical lineups, musicians, and studio albums.
Active11 formations8 studio albums
Formation chronology
Newest first
Formation 11 of 11
2018 – Present
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals
- Louis SvitekGuitar
- Rob MoschettiBass
- Michael ArellanoDrums
Formation facts
- When Rob Moschetti returned to M.O.D. in 2019 after roughly 24 years away, relearning the material was easier than he expected. He joked that about 90 percent of the songs were still sitting in a "dusty file cabinet" in his brain.
- A highlight of the late 2019 European run was Russia. Moschetti said the fans were like any other metal fans, and that politics had put walls between them. He did not think bands would be going back in his lifetime.
- In March 2020, M.O.D. was one day away from playing with Overkill at a huge theater in New Jersey. Moschetti later said everyone was looking forward to it. Then the shutdown hit, and they went home and ran for cover.
- The first show back was a one-off at Full Terror Assault in September 2022, with Scott Sargeant just returned on guitar. Moschetti said he did not realize how much he had missed the stage until he was up there playing.
- Louis Svitek said he had barely been playing guitar until a prostatectomy forced him to take time off, and healing turned into daily practice. His wife, Audra, heard him from another room and told him he should tour again. A few weeks later Milano asked about playing some shows, and Svitek answered, "Let's do it."
- At two Austin shows in May 2025, Svitek was nervous and nauseous after only one day of rehearsal with the full band. He said Arellano and Moschetti made it easy. The last time he and Milano had recorded together, he figured, was about 37 years earlier.
Formation 10 of 11
2012 – 2017
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals
- Tim CasterlineBass
- Ben BallardGuitar
- Jason KottwitzGuitar
- Michael ArellanoDrums
Formation facts
- Michael Arellano was setting up drums in Houston for another band's show in October 2012 when Milano texted that he wanted to restart M.O.D. Arellano answered "Yep" almost immediately; at his first M.O.D. shows in Austin a few months later, he remembered repeatedly telling himself not to mess up.
- During the February 2014 European run, Milano had a day off in Prague when a Budapest date suddenly became possible. He had wanted to play the city for years and said they would do the show regardless of the money. It became M.O.D.'s first appearance in Hungary.
- At Hellfest in 2014, Arellano played one of the main stages and remembered looking out at a roaring crowd stretching as far as he could see. For a Texas hardcore drummer who had followed Milano since middle school, the moment felt like a dream finally materializing.
- During a 2014 festival in Germany, Mike De Leon was warming up with death metal riffs when members of Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals watched from the side of the stage. Months later their bassist, Stephen Taylor, called while De Leon was on a fast-food shift in San Marcos. He was still about to record with M.O.D. He later said that lineup came apart right after the album was recorded, and he joined the Illegals.
- After the long Red, White & Screwed cycle, Milano stepped away. When his dog Buster developed cancer, he stayed home giving him medicine and started playing guitar again because he could no longer run and play with him. He had no plan to make another record; those songs eventually became Busted, Broke & American, which he later called Buster's record.
- The first California attempt at Busted, Broke & American did not survive. Milano said the producer and personnel were wrong for what he wanted, so he walked away for about a year before rebuilding the record; he eventually mixed the finished album seven times.
- A call from Megaforce about a 30th-anniversary edition of U.S.A. for M.O.D. unexpectedly reopened the band's relationship with the label. During those conversations Milano played the new material for Megaforce, which led to Busted, Broke & American being released through the label.
Studio albums
- Busted, Broke & American (Jul 2017)
Formation 9 of 11
2006 – 2008
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals, Bass
- Scott SargeantGuitar, Vocals
- Derek LopezDrums
Formation facts
- Scott Sargeant first entered M.O.D. on bass because a friend needed a player. Before Red, White & Screwed, he called around four in the morning to insist that he was really a guitarist and wanted the guitar tracks.
- On a five-week U.S. run in 2005, Milano recalled driving eight to twelve hours after shows while his dogs Buster and Emma Lee traveled with their own tour passes. He called the trip a test of will and, at the time, thought it might be his last tour.
Studio albums
- Red, White & Screwed (Oct 2007)
Formation 8 of 11
2002 – 2003
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals, Bass
- Joe AffeGuitar
- Danny BurkhardtDrums
Formation facts
- The 2001 comeback was planned as roughly seven weeks of North American dates. After 17 shows, Milano later recalled, a bus with no working air conditioning was blowing heat into the bunks through Texas and Arizona; he became sick, went home to Texas, packed up and moved back to Hoboken.
- Around the same reboot, Milano jokingly recast the initials M.O.D. as Milano's on Drugs. He said he wanted the band to be about having fun and thought the new expansion was funny; the name never replaced Method of Destruction on the subsequent album.
Studio albums
- The Rebel You Love to Hate (May 2003)
Formation 7 of 11
1997
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals, Guitar
- Joe YoungGuitar
- Jeff WoodBass
- Adam KiefferDrums
Formation 6 of 11
1996
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals, Bass, Guitar
- Joe YoungGuitar
- Dave ChavarriDrums
Studio albums
- Dictated Aggression (Jun 1996)
Formation 5 of 11
1994 – 1995
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals, Guitar
- Rob MoschettiBass, Vocals
- Tom KlimchuckGuitar
- Dave ChavarriDrums
Studio albums
- Devolution (Jun 1994)
Formation 4 of 11
1993
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals
- Rob MoschettiBass
- Tony PortaroGuitar
- Tony ScaglioneDrums
Formation facts
- Before his first jam with M.O.D., Rob Moschetti learned every M.O.D. and S.O.D. song he could so Billy Milano would have a hard time overlooking him. After he got the job, playing S.O.D. songs with Milano on the 1993 European run felt to Moschetti like being drafted by the Yankees.
Formation 3 of 11
1992
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals, Bass
- Tim McMurtrieGuitar
- Dave ChavarriDrums
Studio albums
- Rhythm of Fear (Nov 1992)
Formation 2 of 11
1988 – 1989
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals
- Louis SvitekGuitar
- John MonteBass
- Tim MallareDrums
Formation facts
- Surfin' M.O.D. was not just a comedy EP. Milano said he used it to put an entirely new lineup into the studio together before committing to another full-length; that full-length became Gross Misconduct.
- While M.O.D. was touring with Exodus, Milano went to see Tesla and Def Leppard. Tesla bassist Brian Wheat, already an M.O.D. fan, turned on a drum machine and began chanting "no glove no love," giving Milano the hook that became No Glove No Love.
Studio albums
- Gross Misconduct (Feb 1989)
Formation 1 of 11
1986 – 1988
Members
- Billy MilanoVocals
- Tim McMurtrieGuitar
- Ken BalloneBass
- Keith DavisDrums
Formation facts
- Megaforce signed M.O.D. for about $7,000. Milano recalled that roughly $5,000 went into making U.S.A. for M.O.D. and $2,000 into eating and drinking. The album was recorded and mixed in only four days at Pyramid Sound in Ithaca.
- While U.S.A. for M.O.D. was being finished, the label blocked one planned song title as too offensive even though the music had already been recorded. Friend and cover artist Anthony Ferrara offered lyrics he had written as Don't Feed the Bears; they fit the music and became the track.
- After M.O.D. opened for Exodus at San Francisco's Warfield in 1987, promoter Bill Graham shook Milano's hand and told him, "That was entertainment." Years later, Milano still described the encounter as a career highlight.
- Anthony Ferrara remembered Milano wanting Corporal Punishment's broken red circle to look organic, like smoke or blood. The idea came from a coffee-cup ring left on a napkin while they were working in a warehouse.
Studio albums
- U.S.A. for M.O.D. (Aug 1987)