Samoth (born Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen, 9 June 1974) is a Norwegian guitarist and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a ...

in the country's

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

scene. He is well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

, as well as his formation of the

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

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 Candlelight Records is a British record label based in England and founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black met ...

Biography

Samoth was born on 9 June 1974 in

Hammerfest Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...

. 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 A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care nee ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. 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

with keyboards strongly influenced by

, 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 Øystein Aarseth (; 22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the No ...

of the band Mayhem, Samoth left Thou Shalt Suffer and with Ihsahn, began writing music for a new band called

(in which he played drums). Ihsahn was the only member of Thou Shalt Suffer to remain, and soon bass player

Mortiis Mortiis is an electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as the ...

and drummer

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...

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. In 1994, Samoth was sentenced to 16 months in prison for burning Skjold Church in Vindafjord, together with

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian writer and retired musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Burz ...

. The

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

was committed during a pause in the recording of the

Burzum Burzum (; ) was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black m ...

EP ''Aske'' (''Ashes''), where Samoth performed as a session bass player. As Tchort and Faust were also imprisoned at this time, Ihsahn was the only remaining band member outside prison, and Emperor did not release another album for three years. Tchort and Faust did not return to the band. After years of playing in Emperor and being featured on various black metal side projects, Samoth, in conjunction with Ihsahn, decided to dissolve Emperor in 2001 due to their differing musical tastes. Although black metal was both Samoth and Ihsahn's biggest influence and favorite genre of music, Samoth was leaning toward a futuristic death metal sound, while Ihsahn was more influenced by

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

and

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guita ...

. After Emperor's final release, '' Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise'', composed entirely by Ihsahn, Emperor was no more. Samoth went on to play guitar with fellow drummer Trym in the death metal band Zyklon. Emperor regrouped in 2006 with the core trio of Ihsahn, Samoth and Trym augmented by a bassist and a keyboardist, and played a few one-night-off gigs in Europe and US in 2006 and 2007. Recently Samoth was involved in Norwegian-American supergroup Scum, which also featured

Bård Faust Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun (born 21 April 1974) is a Norwegian drummer known primarily for his work with black metal band Emperor. In 1993, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder. He has been out of prison since 2003. Education ...

, Cosmocrator of Mindgrinder, Chasey Chaos of

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...

and Happy Tom from

Turbonegro Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style. History Early years ( ...

. Samoth did voice work for 2007's

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

cartoon '' Metalocalypse'' episode "Dethfashion". In 2008, Samoth formed The Wretched End with Cosmo and went on to release 3 albums: Ominous (2010), Inroads (2012) and In These Woods, From These Mountains (2016).

Personal life

Haugen was married to German musician Andrea Haugen (née Meyer), with whom he fathered a daughter. The couple later divorced. On 13 October 2021, Andrea was killed alongside four other people in the Kongsberg attack. After his divorce from Andrea, he married his second wife Erin, with whom he also has a daughter.

Endorsements and equipment

;Endorsements *

ESP Guitars is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and basses. They are based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, with distinct product lines for each market. ESP Company manufactures instruments under severa ...

& Basses * Marshall Amplifiers *Vader Cabinets * Dunlop Picks * Ernie Ball Strings ;Other equipment * Gibson Guitars * Jackson Guitars *

B.C. Rich B.C. Rich is an American brand of acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitars founded by Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. History The company started making electric guitars in the 1970s. In the following decade B.C. Rich gained a broad expos ...

Guitars * Fender Basses *ENGL Amplifiers * Peavey Amplifiers * Pearl Drums & Hardware * Sabian Cymbals *Ahead drumsticks ;Drum kit Samoth has stated in an interview with ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' that the following kit was used by himself to record drum tracks for the demo "'' Wrath of the Tyrant''". *

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium ca ...

Export Drums (jet black w/ black hardware) **22" x 18" Bass Drum **13" x 6.5" Snare Drum **10" x 8" Mounted Tom **12" x 9" Mounted Tom **13" x 10" Mounted Tom **16" x 16" Floor Tom **Pearl Eliminator Double Pedal * Sabian and Wuhan Cymbals **20" Sabian Solar Ride **14" AA Sizzle Hats **18" Wuhan China **19" B8 Rock Crash **6" AA splash **12" Wuhan china **18" B8 Pro Heavy Crash **20" AAX Metal Ride **22" Wuhan China

Discography

* Xerasia – ''Rehearsals '90'' emo– (1990) (guitar) * Embryonic – ''The Land of the Lost Souls'' emo– (1990) (guitar, bass) * Thou Shalt Suffer – ''Into the Woods of Belial'' emo– (1991) (guitar) * Thou Shalt Suffer – ''Open the Mysteries of Your Creations'' P– (1991) (guitar) *

– '' Wrath of the Tyrant'' emo– (1992) (drums) * Ildjarn – ''

Seven Harmonies of Unknown Truths Ildjarn was a Norwegian cult black metal project that formed in 1991. Ildjarn recorded music until 1997 but did not officially end until 2005. The man behind Ildjarn was Vidar Vaaer, although some releases were collaborations with a musician kno ...

'' emo– (1992) (session vocals) *

– ''Emperor / Hordanes Land'' Enslaved">Enslaved_(band).html" ;"title="plit w Enslaved (band)">Enslaved– (1993) (guitar) *

– ''Aske (album)">Aske'' P– (1993) (session bass) *

– ''As the Shadows Rise'' P– (1994) (guitar) *

– '' In The Nightside Eclipse'' – (1994) (guitar) *

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band ...

– ''

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle aro ...

'' – (1994) (bass) *

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

– '' The Shadowthrone'' – (1994) (bass, guitar) *

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of ...

– ''Constellation'' P– (1994) (guitar) *

Zyklon-B Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consisted of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...

– ''

Blood Must be Shed Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

'' P– (1994) (guitar) *

– '' Reverence'' P– (1997) (guitar) *

– ''

Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk ''Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk'' is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released on 8 July 1997 through Candlelight Records and Century Black. Background The album was recorded in the Grieg Hall in Bergen, No ...

'' – (1997) (guitar) * Hagalaz' Runedance – ''The Winds That Spoke of Midgard's Fate'' – (1998) (war drums, violas and contrabass) *

– '' Thorns Vs. Emperor'' plit– (1999) (guitar, bass) *

– '' IX Equilibrium'' – (1999) (guitar) * Zyklon – '' World ov Worms'' – (2001) (guitar, bass) *

– '' Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise'' – (2001) (guitar) * Zyklon – ''

Aeon The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timel ...

'' – (2003) (guitar) *

Notodden All Stars Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Notodden. Notodden was separated from the munic ...

– '' Valfar, ein Windir'' – (2004) (guitar on cover of "Destroy") * Scum – ''

Gospels for the Sick ''Gospels for the Sick'' is the debut album of the hardcore punk/black metal supergroup Scum. The album was released on 5 September 2005 through DogJob Records, Bitzcore and Candlelight Records. The album is noted for its fusion of black metal an ...

''- (2005) (guitar) * Zyklon – ''

Disintegrate Disintegration or disintegrate may refer to: Music Albums * ''Disintegrate'' (Zyklon album) or the title song, 2006 * ''Disintegration'' (The Cure album) or the title song, 1989 * ''Disintegration'', by I've Sound, 2002 Songs * "Disintegrate ...

'' – (2006) (guitar) *The Wretched End – ''Ominous'' – (2010) (guitar) *The Wretched End – ''Inroads'' – (2012) (guitar) *The Wretched End – ''In These Woods, from These Mountains'' – (2016) (guitar)

References

External links

Nocturnal Art Productions
– Samoth's record label

– Samoth's interview for The Lodge

– Samoth's interview for The Lodge {{Authority control 1974 births Living people Norwegian male bass guitarists Norwegian heavy metal guitarists Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian heavy metal drummers Male drummers Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian rock guitarists Musicians from Hammerfest Satyricon (band) members Gorgoroth members Zyklon members Arcturus (band) members Emperor (band) members 20th-century Norwegian criminals 21st-century Norwegian drummers 21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists Norwegian male criminals Norwegian arsonists