View source for Samoth

{{Short description|Norwegian guitarist}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Samoth
| image            = Samoth-Emperor TonsOfRock-2025-2.jpg
| caption          = Samoth with [[Emperor_(Norwegian_band)|Emperor]] at Tons of Rock 2025<br><small>Photo: Birgit Fostervold</small>
| birth_name       = Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen
| alias            = Samoth, Samot (early)
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1974|6|9|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Hammerfest]], Norway
| instrument       = Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, viola, violin, double bass, synthesizer
| genre            = [[Black metal]], [[death metal]], [[thrash metal]]
| occupation       = Musician
| associated_acts  = [[Emperor (Norwegian band)|Emperor]], [[Zyklon]], [[Zyklon-B (band)|Zyklon-B]], [[Burzum]], [[Gorgoroth]], [[Satyricon (band)|Satyricon]], [[Mayhem (band)|Mayhem]], [[Scum (band)|Scum]], The Wretched End
}}

'''Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen''' (born 9 June 1974), better known by his stage name '''Samoth''' is a Norwegian guitarist and [[multi-instrumentalist]] in the country's [[black metal]] scene. He is well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band [[Emperor (Norwegian 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" backwards), 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]].

== Biography ==
Samoth was born on 9 June 1974 in [[Hammerfest]]. 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 fellow musician Vegard Tveitan, who would later become known as [[Ihsahn]], at a rock [[Clinic (music)|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 (band)|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 [[Øystein Aarseth|Euronymous]] of the band [[Mayhem (band)|Mayhem]], Samoth left Thou Shalt Suffer and with Ihsahn, began writing music for a new band called [[Emperor (Norwegian band)|Emperor]] (in which he played drums). Ihsahn was the only member of Thou Shalt Suffer to remain, and soon bass player [[Mortiis]] and drummer [[Bård Faust|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]].

In 1994, Samoth was sentenced to 16 months in prison for burning [[Skjold Church, Rogaland|Skjold Church]] in [[Vindafjord]], together with [[Varg Vikernes]].<ref>NTB. (29 June 1994). Ubetinget fengsel for kirkebrann. (Norwegian) ''Aftenposten'' (morning), p. 4.</ref> The [[arson]] was committed during a pause in the recording of the [[Burzum]] EP [[Aske (album)|''Aske'']] (''Ashes''),<ref>Fragell, Geir. (28 June 1994). – Alle kirker skulle brennes. (Norwegian) ''VG'', p. 11.</ref> 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]] and [[symphonic metal]]. 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 Torson|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 (music)|supergroup]] [[Scum (band)|Scum]], which also featured [[Faust (musician)|Bård Faust]], Cosmocrator of Mindgrinder, Chasey Chaos of [[Amen (American band)|Amen]] and Happy Tom from [[Turbonegro]].

Samoth did voice work for 2007's [[Adult Swim]] 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/emperor-guitarists-ex-wife-among-five-people-killed-in-norway-bow-and-arrow-attack/|title=EMPEROR Guitarist's Ex-Wife Among Five People Killed in Norway Bow-And-Arrow Attack|date=16 October 2021}}</ref>

After his divorce from Andrea, he married his second wife Erin, with whom he also has a daughter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/zyklon-emperor-guitarist-welcomes-addition-to-family|title=Zyklon/Emperor Guitarist Welcomes Addition To Family – May 4, 2008 |date=4 May 2008 |access-date=2 December 2010}}</ref>

== Endorsements and equipment ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Endorsements
*[[ESP Guitars]] & Basses
*[[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] Amplifiers
*Vader Cabinets
*[[Dunlop Manufacturing|Dunlop]] Picks
*[[Ernie Ball]] Strings

;Other equipment
*[[Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson]] Guitars
*[[Jackson Guitars]]
*[[B.C. Rich]] Guitars
*[[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]] Basses
*ENGL Amplifiers
*[[Peavey Guitars|Peavey]] Amplifiers
*[[Pearl drums|Pearl Drums]] & Hardware
*[[Sabian Cymbals|Sabian]] Cymbals
*Ahead drumsticks
{{col-2}}

;Drum kit
Samoth has stated in an interview with ''[[Metal Hammer]]'' that the following kit was used by himself to record drum tracks for the demo "''[[Wrath of the Tyrant]]''".{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

*[[Pearl drums|Pearl]] Export Drums (jet black w/ black hardware)
**{{convert|22|x|18|in|abbr=on}} Bass Drum
**{{convert|13|x|6.5|in|abbr=on}} Snare Drum
**{{convert|10|x|8|in|abbr=on}} Mounted Tom
**{{convert|12|x|9|in|abbr=on}} Mounted Tom
**{{convert|13|x|10|in|abbr=on}} Mounted Tom
**{{convert|16|x|16|in|abbr=on}} Floor Tom
**Pearl Eliminator Double Pedal
*[[Sabian cymbals|Sabian]] and Wuhan Cymbals
**{{convert|20|in|abbr=on}} Sabian Solar Ride
**{{convert|14|in|abbr=on}} AA Sizzle Hats
**{{convert|18|in|abbr=on}} Wuhan China
**{{convert|19|in|abbr=on}} B8 Rock Crash
**{{convert|6|in|abbr=on}} AA splash
**{{convert|12|in|abbr=on}} Wuhan china
**{{convert|18|in|abbr=on}} B8 Pro Heavy Crash
**{{convert|20|in|abbr=on}} AAX Metal Ride
**{{convert|22|in|abbr=on}} Wuhan China
{{col-end}}

== Discography ==
[[File:02-08-2014-Tomas „Samoth“ Haugen with Emperor at Wacken Open Air 2014-JonasR 07.jpg|thumb|Samoth performing in 2014]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Band
!Role
|-
|1990||''Rehearsals '90'' (demo)||Xerasia||guitar
|-
|1990||''The Land Of The Lost Souls'' (demo)||Embryonic||guitar, bass
|-
|1991||''Into The Woods Of Belial '' (demo)||[[Thou Shalt Suffer]]||guitar
|-
|1991||''Open The Mysteries Of Your Creations'' (EP)||Thou Shalt Suffer ||guitar
|-
|1992||''[[Wrath of the Tyrant]]'' (demo)||[[Emperor (Norwegian band)|Emperor]]||drums
|-
|1992||''[[Seven Harmonies of Unknown Truths]]'' (demo)||[[Ildjarn]]||session vocals
|-
|1993||''Emperor / Hordanes Land''  (split with [[Enslaved (band)|Enslaved]])||Emperor||guitar
|-
|1993||''[[Aske (album)|Aske]]'' (EP)||[[Burzum]]||session bass 
|-
|1994||''[[As the Shadows Rise]]'' (EP)||Emperor||guitar
|-
|1994||''[[In The Nightside Eclipse]]''||Emperor||guitar
|-
|1994||''[[Pentagram (Gorgoroth album)|Pentagram]]''||[[Gorgoroth]]||bass
|-
|1994||''[[The Shadowthrone]]''||[[Satyricon (band)|Satyricon]]||bass, guitar
|-
|1994||''Constellation'' (EP)||[[Arcturus (band)|Arcturus]]||guitar 
|-
|1994||''[[Blood Must be Shed]]'' (EP)||[[Zyklon-B (band)|Zyklon-B]]||guitar
|-
|1997||''[[Reverence (Emperor album)|Reverence]]'' (EP)||Emperor||guitar
|-
|1997||''[[Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk]]''||Emperor||guitar
|-
|1998||''The Winds That Spoke of Midgard's Fate''||[[Hagalaz' Runedance]]||war drums, violas, contrabass
|-
|1999||''Thorns Vs. Emperor'' (Split with [[Thorns (band)|Thorns]])||Emperor||bass, guitar
|-
|1999||''[[IX Equilibrium]]''||Emperor||guitar
|-
|2001||''[[World ov Worms]]''||[[Zyklon]]||bass, guitar
|-
|2001||''[[Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise]]''||Emperor||guitar
|-
|2003||''[[Aeon (album)|Aeon]]''||Zyklon||guitar
|-
|2004||''[[Valfar, ein Windir]]''||[[Windir|Notodden All Stars]]||guitar on cover of "Destroy"
|-
|2005||''[[Gospels for the Sick]]''||[[Scum (band)|Scum]]||guitar
|-
|2006||''[[Disintegrate (Zyklon album)|Disintegrate]]''||Zyklon||guitar
|-
|2010||''Ominous''||The Wretched End||guitar
|-
|2012||''Inroads''||The Wretched End||guitar
|-
|2016||''In These Woods, from These Mountains''||The Wretched End||guitar
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.nocturnalart.com/ Nocturnal Art Productions] – Samoth's record label
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090529053818/http://www.webbworks.org/thelodge/emperorinterview2.htm Emperor Interview] – Samoth's interview for The Lodge
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090529055453/http://www.webbworks.org/thelodge/zykloninterview.htm Zyklon Interview] – Samoth's interview for The Lodge

{{Arcturus (band)}}
{{Emperor}}
{{Burzum}}
{{Gorgoroth}}
{{Satyricon}}
{{Zyklon}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Norwegian male bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Norwegian heavy metal guitarists]]
[[Category:Norwegian black metal musicians]]
[[Category:Norwegian heavy metal drummers]]
[[Category:Norwegian male drummers]]
[[Category:Norwegian multi-instrumentalists]]
[[Category:Norwegian rock guitarists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Hammerfest]]
[[Category:Satyricon (band) members]]
[[Category:Gorgoroth members]]
[[Category:Zyklon members]]
[[Category:Arcturus (band) members]]
[[Category:Emperor (band) members]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian criminals]]
[[Category:21st-century Norwegian drummers]]
[[Category:21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Norwegian male criminals]]
[[Category:Norwegian arsonists]]