Tom Allom might have been the man to perfect a seminal British metal sound; Classic records from Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Kix, and Rough Cutt take up much of Allom’s wild discography but the engineer/producer honed his ear and his words on the influence of that little Chelsea studio and their almost invisible undercurrent affecting everything that came after. He spoke with us in Kensington, London, of a time when you just went out and did the job, learned on the job and lived the job; No matter what.
Still recording and enjoying music, Tom had a lot to say about the new musical landscape and of his time getting what he needed on tape. From tweaking those first Sabbath demos into their classic debut record to the real life “simplicity” of sticking a microphone into the chaos and capturing what is actually there with bands like The Strawbs, the sonic master emphasised both the musician and the medium.
Leaving us after a quick pint on the Queen’s birthday to get back to business Tom highlighted much of the themes of The Parts You Don’t Hear with wit and pathos. Many thanks to Tom for giving us his space, time and his stories of the Sound Techniques team and his incredible rockin’ history.
