Tom Angelripper

Thomas Such

Biography

Thomas Such was born in Gelsenkirchen on 19 February 1963, from where he learned to play bass steadily whilst working in coal mines. He then went on, as Tom Angelripper, to be one of the founding members of the German thrash metal band Sodom. He originally started off as just the bassist, but ended up becoming the vocalist and has done both on every studio release.

In Sodom, Angelripper plays bass and sings. Angelripper formed Sodom with guitarist Frank "Aggressor" Testegen and drummer Rainer "Bloody Monster" Focke in 1982, in a desperate bid to get out of work in the coal mines that the three had worked in.

Angelripper also founded a band called Onkel Tom Angelripper which plays metal versions of schlagers, drinking songs and Christmas carols. In addition, he worked with a side project of Sodom's touring guitarist Alex Kraft, called Desperados, which played 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 side projects, such as the German bands Bassinvaders and Die Knappen and guested on Warfare's "Cemetery Dirt" single.

Discography

Solo Studio albumsEin schöner Tag... (1996) Ein Tröpfchen voller Glück (1998) Ein Strauß bunter Melodien (1999) Ich glaub' nicht an den Weihnachtsmann (2000) Nunc Est Bibendum (2011) H.E.L.D. (2014) Bier Ernst (2018)Compilation albumsDas blaueste Album der Welt! (1999) Die volle Dröhnung (2003) Ich glaub' nicht an den Weihnachtsmann (2006)

With Sodom

With DezperadozStudio albumsThe Dawn of Dying (2000)

With BassinvadersStudio albums'Hellbassbeaters (2008)

Filmography ActorLunatics: Torture (music video, 1990) – ChauffeurOnslaught feat. Phil Campbell and Tom Angelripper: Bomber (music video, 2010) – Himself

Writer Sodom: Silence Is Consent (short, 1994) (writer)

Second unit or assistant director Sodom: Lords of Depravity: Part I (2005) – (assistant director)

Composer Sodom: Silence Is Consent (short, 1994) – (composer)

Soundtrack Klimbim (TV series, 1975) – (writer: "Caramba, Caracho, ein Whisky")

Self Sodom: Silence Is Consent (short, 1994) – HimselfWacken Metal Overdrive (video, 2003) – HimselfSodom: Lords of Depravity: Part I (2005) – HimselfGet Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal (2006) – Himself – SodomDestruction: A Savage Symphony – The History of Annihilation (video, 2010) – HimselfSchwarzes Gold – Musik im Ruhrgebiet (TV movie, 2010) – HimselfSodom: Lords of Depravity: Part II (video, 2010) – HimselfDoro: 25 Years in Rock (video, 2010) – HimselfAtrocity: Die gottlosen Jahre (video, 2012) – HimselfCoroner: Rewind'' (video, 2016) – Himself