Samothrace
Life's Trade

Release Date: 2008 | Tracklist

One of the more interesting metal bands to have crossed my path in recent times happens to be the Kansas bred doom metal outfit Samothrace. The band caught me off guard a short time ago with their stunning debut record, “Life’s Trade“, a scathing blend of funeral and death/doom with a unique twist to it. Doom is generally a hit and miss for me and not really a style that I consider to be one of my favorites but Samothrace have proved that even a sub-genre based on slow repetition can evolve. And that’s just what they have done with this album. Life’s Trade is a four track, forty seven minute lumbering behemoth that swallows the listener whole in one gulp with the suffocating atmosphere of funeral doom trading off with the lush, sonorous vibe of modern post-rock.

Samothrace is a four man band consisting of Bryan Spinks, Dylan Desmond, Joe Noel, and Daniel Noke who help create one of the strongest and more interesting doom albums to date. Starting with front man/ guitar player Bryan and rhythm guitarist Daniel, Samothrace capture the mood with a blend of amplifying power and sophisticated elegance at times bringing in elements of southern rock and sludge. Atypical of funeral doom, the overall tempo of “Life’s Trade” is quite stagnant yet never fails to creatively impress me. The heaviness responds well to the melody, balancing each other in harmony while the mix genre swirling textures out to be just as effective. The vocals range from unintelligible howling to deeper, throaty growls, while throwing in an occasional shriek. There are plenty of instrumental sections peppered out between the four ten minute tracks so Bryan isn’t utilized to his full extent but quite effective nonetheless. The bass tone is stimulating and heavy, with Dylan’s finger tapping skills providing a compelling take on the rhythmic balance. Closing out the instrumentation is Joe’s hard hitting drum kit assault. Opting for the standard yet always efficient comatose beat-down technique, his drum playing is intense and full of cymbal crashing power.

Samothrace excel at creating epic dirges while maintaining enough interest to keep such non funeral doom aficionados such a myself interested. Production is dirty with a clean polish, lending a brutally heavy edge with melodic tendencies creeping in from time to time. Songwriting is varied and creative enough to appease even the most seasoned of metalheads around. My only complaint with this record is that it tends to end rather abruptly. I know that four tracks totaling almost fifty minutes of material is quite a handful I can’t help but feel that one more track would make this feel more complete. On a positive note, Samothrace have created one of the years top doom records in “Life’s Trade’s” so if you like what you’ve read from this then I assure you to check out the bands official myspace and/or last fm who is currently streaming the album.

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4.2 excellent

Rank: #23 for 2008