Sodom's TOM ANGELRIPPER On Modern Metal Production: 'It's Cheap And It Shows'

Summary

• Tom Angelripper criticizes modern production methods, calling them cheap and lacking soul. Prefers raw, analog recordings for Sodom albums.
• New recordings feature real drums and mic’d amps, no digital triggers or Kemper profiling in the studio.
• Compression for smartphone listening ruins dynamics, says Angelripper, he listens through a hi-fi amplifier, not his phone.

Tom Angelripper has no patience for how modern metal is made. From his perspective, today’s studio habits cut corners and it’s obvious.

“Recording in a digital way is cheap,” he said (via Blabbermouth). “And it shows.”

Not exactly a glowing review of the current state of metal recording, but you probably saw that one coming.

While bands these days line up to layer fake snares, auto-quantized kicks, and copy-paste riffs into what amounts to metal-flavored wallpaper, Angelripper is over in his analog cave, spending real money on real sounds.

He’s not bragging, he’s just frustrated.

Studio Philosophy

For Sodom’s latest work ‘The Arsonist’ (out 27th June, 2025) (you can preorder it here), Angelripper went back to basics. Not because it’s trendy or “retro,” but because it works.

He shelled out for an actual recording session with mic’d drum kits, live guitars, and none of the digital short cuts that have turned so many records into a processed blur.

“We recorded the guitars on a computer, but we used microphones in front of the speakers, like a live show,” he explained. “I know a lot of guitarists use Kemper amps and profiling amps. It’s okay. It’s not something I want.”

His version of “okay” definitely carries a bit of a sneer.

Drum Machines? No Thanks

When it comes to drums, Angelripper might as well be holding a holy relic. His disdain for triggers and samples is palpable. “They’re putting snare samples or trigger signal effects on the bass drums or adding something to the toms. I hate it!” he said, laughing, but not really kidding.

Instead, he chased that ’80s drum sound, the kind that feels like wood and skin hitting taut heads in a sweaty room. Think Venom, not Spotify-core.

The drums on the record weren’t edited to death or fattened with clicky samples, they were captured as they were, for better or worse. That was the point.

Compression Kills

Angelripper also isn’t thrilled about what happens after the recording process.

Specifically, when mastering engineers squash a dynamic mix to please phone speakers.

“Before we mastered the songs, the guitars were positioned left and right, very far from the drums. You get a wide-open production,” he explained. “Then they compress the whole file so people can hear it on smartphones.”

The result? A carefully crafted mix reduced to something that sounds like it’s being piped through a microwave.

No Compromise

He’s well aware that this approach isn’t cheap. In fact, he makes a point of saying so: “We did it. I spent the money on it; it was expensive. I want to have organic, authentic drums.”

I don’t think this is nostalgia or gatekeeping, it’s someone fighting to preserve the physicality of heavy music in a world that keeps sanding it down.

Most people probably won’t bother swapping their cracked Galaxy speaker for anything better, and that’s the real problem.

But hey, Angelripper’s doing his part. The rest of us might want to catch up, or at least buy a pair of decent headphones.

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