SODOM Mainman: 'My Dream Is A Peaceful World Without Wars And Conflicts'

Heavycore recently conducted an exclusive interview with SODOM frontman Tom Angelripper (real name: Thomas Such). A few excerpts from the question-and-answer follow:

Heavycore: One of my favorite SODOM songs is "Napalm in the Morning" off the "M-16" CD. What interests you so much about the U.S. military? It seems to be a common thread in many of your songs. I'm a U.S. Army veteran, so I'm honored by your attention to our armed services!

Tom Angelripper: "I just use the Vietnam theme cause everybody knows what I am singing about with all of the movies about this war. I try describe how bad a war is, or could be, but always in a lyrically way and based on historical facts. I can't write lyrics about World War II, because I am a German. I did it in 1987 ('Bombenhagel') and got misunderstood. It's just a song against war. You'll never find any political opinions in the songs. We hate war and thrash music gives me the chance to scream it out! My dream is a peaceful world without wars and conflicts!"

Heavycore: I know you have a new DVD that just came out, but I can't find it here in the U.S. yet. Do you know when it's coming here? Can you tell us something about what U.S. SODOM fans can expect from it?

Tom Angelripper: "It will be a double DVD. The first DVD contains the complete SODOM history from the year 1982 'till 1995. You'll see hundreds of unreleased pics, interviews will ex-SODOM members and people who are involved into the metal scene. This documentary is about three hours long, so if you are a SODOM fan you will miss nothing. The second DVD is a concert movie which we recorded in Bulgaria (Sofia) and a couple of festivals in Germany. It contains 22 songs and some backstage and travel clips. I heard that this DVD will be released [in the U.S.] on February 21st."

Heavycore: What about a new CD from SODOM? What's the status of that?

Tom Angelripper: "It's already recorded. We start mixing at the end of January. This is a real thrash killer! It's important to say that our ex-guitar player Andy Brings produced it. He has his own studio near my hometown."

Heavycore: I know you're a big MOTÖRHEAD fan. Have you ever thought about recording a song with the immortal Lemmy? Was he a big influence on your bass playing and vocals?

Tom Angelripper: "Yes, Lemmy was a big inspiration for me at the beginning of the 1980s, but when we started in 1982, we where more into the VENOM album 'Welcome to Hell'. We tried to create our own style, which has to be heavier than VENOM and faster METALLICA (haha!). I like Lemmy's bass sound, that really kicks ass. When we toured with them in 1993 I always tried to find time to visit his sound check, and that was HELL!!!"

Read the entire interview at this location (scroll down).