Want to Listen to Metal? Don’t Do It On Your Smartphone, Says Sodom’s Tom Angelripper

In an increasingly digital world, it’s become incredibly convenient to listen to literally anything we could ever want thanks to the advent of popular streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. But all that convenience comes at a cost in sound quality. In a recent interview with Blabbermouth, Sodom’s Tom Angelripper explained why listening to metal on your smartphone kills the experience and cheapens the artistry that goes into your favorite tunes.

In the interview, Angelripper wasn’t entirely dismissive of the convenience that streaming music gives to fans, but he explained that at in order to make streaming possible, artists are forced to make compromises in their sound. And for him, that feels like a bridge too far.

“Most people listen to music on a smartphone. You have to compress it to be able to hear the guitars on a smartphone. I don’t listen to it on the phone. I have my high-fidelity amplifier at home. When I listen to music, I want to have the best sound possible.”

According to Angelripper, it’s that preference for the best possible sound that drives decisions in the studio. It’s a deliberate choice that he said led to the band recording live in the studio,

“Recording in a digital way is cheap. We recorded different versions of the songs, and then we decided which songs were best when we started mixing. In my opinion, there is a significant difference between mixing the drums and adding samples to them, which a lot of bands do. They’re putting snare samples or trigger signal effects on the bass drums or adding something to the toms. I hate it! [Laughs] Then we got a completely natural drum sound, which I really prefer. I prefer the drum sounds from the ’80s when the drums sound like drums. Some bands have a special drum sound, and it’s kind of a trademark, like Venom. It’s their trademark, the big drum sound.

“We did it. I spent the money on it; it was expensive. I want to have organic, authentic drums. We recorded the guitars on a computer, but we used microphones in front of the speakers, like a live show. I know a lot of guitarists use Kemper amps and profiling amps. It’s okay. It’s not something I want.”

With the band having been around since the early 1980s, the interest in analog recording makes sense. What do you think? Do you stream your music exclusively or do you hoard physical media because of its audio qualities? Let us know in the comments.

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