Samoth
| Samoth | |
|---|---|
Samoth on Metalmania 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen |
| Also known as | Samoth |
| Born |
9 June 1974 Hammerfest, Norway |
| Genres | Black metal, death metal, thrash metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, viola, violin, double bass, synthesizer, vocals |
| Associated acts | Emperor, Zyklon, Zyklon-B, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Mayhem, Scum |
Samoth (born Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen; 9 June 1974) is a musician and multi-instrumentalist in the Norwegian black metal scene. He was well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formation of the death metal band Zyklon. In very early Emperor releases, he was called Samot (his name "Tomas" backward), and with the formation of Zyklon he became known as Zamoth. Samoth was the owner of the record label Nocturnal Art Productions and had a close relationship with Candlelight Records.
Samoth was born on June 9, 1974 in Hammerfest, Norway. He is the son of Spoonful of Blues bass player Jens Haugen, who encouraged his son to play bass guitar. He grew up in Akkerhaugen, Norway. When Samoth was a young man, he met a fellow musician, who would later become known as Ihsahn, at a rock clinic in Bergen. The two soon became friends and started playing music together. They formed a band and moved through various names – they were called Dark Device, Xerasia, and finally Embryonic. The group eventually settled on the name Thou Shalt Suffer in 1991. They were playing an early form of black metal with keyboards strongly influenced by death metal, particularly vocally.
Samoth and Ihsahn's friendship proved to be strong, and the two eventually took their musicianship to a new level. Partially due to the influence of Euronymous of the band Mayhem, Samoth left Thou Shalt Suffer and with Ihsahn, began writing music for a new band called Emperor (in which he played drums). Ihsahn was the only member of Thou Shalt Suffer to remain, and soon bass player Mortiis and drummer Faust were recruited for Emperor; Samoth moved back to his more familiar position of guitar. At this point, the group was playing fully developed black metal. Emperor was quick to release several demos in 1992 and 1993, which gained them recognition and popularity in the underground. Mortiis did not stay in the band, and decided to form his own, more electronic-based solo band. He was succeeded by Tchort.
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