Tom Angelripper
Encyclopedia
Tom Angelripper is the founding member and main songwriter of the German
thrash metal
band Sodom
.
is his favorite band. Originally he played with his fingers, but now uses a pick. He formed Sodom with guitarist Frank "Aggressor" Testegen and drummer Rainer "Bloody Monster" Focke in 1982, in a desperate bid to get out of working in the coal mines
that the three had worked in.
He also founded a band called Onkel Tom Angelripper which plays metal versions of Schlager
s, drinking songs and Christmas carols.
In addition, he worked with a side project of Sodom's touring guitarist Alex Kraft, called Desperados which featured spaghetti-western-themed heavy metal. The band later evolved independently under the name of Dezperadoz
, but Angelripper still occasionally contributes.
He also plays in several other sideprojects, such as the German bands "Bassinvaders
" and "Die Knappen"
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Sodom
Sodom (band)
Sodom is a German Thrash metal trio from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981.Along with the bands Kreator and Destruction, Sodom is considered one of the "big three" of Teutonic thrash metal...
.
Biography
In this band he plays the bass guitar and handles the vocals. He is highly inspired by the band Motörhead, though SlayerSlayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
is his favorite band. Originally he played with his fingers, but now uses a pick. He formed Sodom with guitarist Frank "Aggressor" Testegen and drummer Rainer "Bloody Monster" Focke in 1982, in a desperate bid to get out of working in the coal mines
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
that the three had worked in.
He also founded a band called Onkel Tom Angelripper which plays metal versions of Schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
s, drinking songs and Christmas carols.
In addition, he worked with a side project of Sodom's touring guitarist Alex Kraft, called Desperados which featured spaghetti-western-themed heavy metal. The band later evolved independently under the name of Dezperadoz
Dezperadoz
Dezperadoz is a German "Western-metal" band and is the side-project of Tom Angelripper's guitarist Alex Kraft. The band plays heavy metal music that is heavily influenced by the soundtracks of the '60s and '70s Spaghetti western movies. They've released three albums, two on the German heavy metal...
, but Angelripper still occasionally contributes.
He also plays in several other sideprojects, such as the German bands "Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders is the bass guitar focused side-project of Helloween bassist Markus Grosskopf....
" and "Die Knappen"