ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian has partnered with KHDK Electronics for the launch of the Sgt D pedal. Named after the cigar-chewing alter-ego from Scott‘s mid-1980s crossover thrash project STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH (a.k.a. S.O.D.), the signature boost/preamp pedal is limited to 250 units worldwide and comes in an enclosure illustrated by Kurz Daniel.

David Karon of KHDK says: “Scott knew what he wanted — a ruthlessly vicious pedal that captures his S.O.D. amp tone. Of course, the absolute maniac that he is, he also wanted it to work as a magical booster and make even a shitty $50 amp sound like a monster. He then requested that the pedal have wheels and a built-in drone and follows him around whilst humming the ‘Knight Rider’ theme, but our engineer Antonin Salva drew the line at that.

“Scott wanted an all-in-one go-to pedal, something that he could use as his amp tone on fly rigs — or just plugging the pedal in front of an overdriven amp so the pedal affects mainly the dynamic response of his tone, the tightness of the bass, and the attack for palm-muting,” he continued.

“Anyway, after a few prototypes and reworks, the Sgt D saw the light of day. Scott was incredibly hands-on throughout the process. He literally never detached his hands from his body.”