Skepticism – Alloy CD
Skepticism – Farmakon CD
Skepticism – Lead And Aether CD
Comets On Fire – S/T CD
Buzzoven – Welcome To Violence CD
Zeni Geva – Freedom Bondage CD

Amebix – Arise LP
Morbid Angel / Possessed – Demos LP

From the Show No Mercy column by Brandon Stousy

The best way to introduce you to Lawrence, Kansas, doom crusts Samothrace is to let you listen to “Awkward Hearts”, the second (and shortest) song from their excellent four-song, 47-minute debut, Life’s Trade. Think Thou, Sanctum, Asunder, and Zoroaster minus the latter’s recent psychedelic noodling. There are a number of delicate passages, more fist pumping/lighter territories than you can count. Much like their sound, the quartet’s lyrical content– the human condition, the powerless becoming powerful– is bleakly triumphant, no matter how heavy it gets. I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Bryan L. Spinks while the band was on the road– where they always seem to be.

Pitchfork: How long have you been playing together?

Bryan L. Spinks: We have been playing together for three years this fall. We had to form the band via phone and internet due to living situations, mainly one of us in Kansas and two of us in New Mexico.

Pitchfork: How did Samothrace come about?

BLS: We conceptualized Samothrace out of the respect we had for one another from our various crust and stoner bands of the past, and the level of musicianship involved. We wanted to play heavy, heavy tunes for the times.

Pitchfork: How does a crusty doom band from Lawrence, Kansas end up with a name referencing an island town in Greece? Looking at the album art for Life’s Trade, I’m thinking maybe you’re named after the sculpture The Winged Victory Of Samothrace.

BLS: We had a few reasons for choosing the name Samothrace, none of which having to do with heritage or lineage. It is said that Homer wrote the story of Poseidon, God of the Sea, from atop the highest peak on the island whilst watching the Trojan war unfold in the sea. We thought that was a good start. As for the statue of Nike; it was discovered at the “Sanctuary of the Great Gods.” Thing is, scholars are uncertain as to exactly who/what the “Gods” were. We were thinking that a god(s) fallen to antiquity would be an even better basis. The statue was discovered with no head or arms, defeated. The Goddes of Victory, defeated. Yeah, buddies!

Pitchfork: While we’re on the topic, can you discuss the concept behind the cover art? Is it something you collaborated on with the artist? How does it relate to the concepts contained within the record?

BLS: After our first bit of artwork from artist Tom Denney, we decided to stick with the imagery of the Winged Goddes of Victory. Tom drew our first shirt design depicting the statue as alive and struggling to break out of this desolate marsh, if you will. We ended up really liking the art/concept, so when we were moving forward on the art for Life’s Trade, we thought we’d suggest a continuance of this imagery. All that was said to Life’s Trade artist David V. D’Andrea was, “Maybe you’d like to do your own variation on the statue of Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory, found at Samothrace island?” He did all the rest, and we are extremely stoked with it. We’ve had lots of positive comments on the artwork. Folks dig. As for relating to the album concepts, not sure how tied in it may actually be. May be a question better suited for Mr. D’Andrea, but I can say that even defeated, broken, and restrained, anything can have a bit of awe left. A bit of life. Perhaps even in death.

Pitchfork: On the topic of lyrics… In “Awkward Hearts” the lyrics refer back to the album title.

BLS: “Awkward Hearts” is about the plight of the oppressor and the oppressed, and the dichotomy between them. The basic statement of “Awkward Hearts” is that we are merely a vessel in existence, to be traded freely as those who seek to do so see fit. Basically, we are nothing to those in power, to be traded freely as human commodity. Forcing a meaningless and/or thoughtless existence. The lyric explains to the oppressor that they’re pigs in shit for what they’ve done. To the oppressed, that they’re chosen destiny is forced upon them and that all they are is a trade in life’s game. The song then goes on to explain, albeit poetically, that life’s trade are souls sold, the crushing of ideals and culture, and the merging and destroying of gods and religion. Man, we’ve heard so many staright forward, cookie cutter lyrics over the years. I wasn’t setting out to confuse or beat around the bush, I just wanted to leave it up to the listener. Stretch the brain.

Pitchfork: When I think of Lawrence, I think of Burroughs. Has he had any influence on you guys/your worldview? How about Lawrence, Kansas in general… the landscape or the people or whatever.

BLS: Burroughs, nah. Lawrence, maybe? Lawrence is just where we ended up. It’s an awesome little town. Good scene for all types of music, good folks, etc… Couple of great bars, too. The metal community there is strong and growing. It’s a great stop on those long-ass tours where the midwest is failing you. We call Lawrence “the Dirty South of the Midwest.”

Pitchfork: Your take on doom is pretty complex. There’s a lot going on… it’s ideal headphone music in a lot of ways– a bunch of layers. There are moments of drone, but a ton of intricate passages with dual guitar interplay, extending soloing, big builds and crashes, extremely delicate passages. Who were some early influences? How did you develop your current sound? Did Sanford add anything in the studio?

BLS: As for influences, we are all so varied. It’d take days to explain. We have all been involved in the underground and DIY metal/punk/hardcore community for years. We all started booking shows, playing gigs, and touring when we were teenagers. We were very much involved in these communities in Oklahoma and Kansas. That totally shaped our way of life. As for current sound, we just set out to play detuned doom with our own spin. At least that’s what we hope we’ve done. We knew we wanted a prominent dual guitar sound with intricate bass lines and varied drumming. We started playing together and over the course of a year or so we developed our formula/approach to writing and playing Samothrace’s music. Kinda fell into a groove, so to speak. We love traditional doom/stoner metal, but we knew we had to play it differently for ourselves and for y’all.

Pitchfork: Dave (from 20 Buck Spin) “discovered” you guys at a live show, right?

BLS: Here is how it went down… Dave was at SXSW in Austin in 2007. He was at a party at our brother Theron’s house. Theron had the non-mastered copy of our demo CD I had given him a week or two before in Lawrence. The demo was playing on the stereo and Dave heard it and inquired as to who it was. Immediately upon his return to California he wrote us and asked if we’d be interested in putting out a record on 20 Buck Spin. Needless to say he really dug it and we were equally stoked since the demo hadn’t even officially been completed. After some time, here we are.

Pitchfork: Speaking of touring, when I wrote Dave for your info, he mentioned you were stranded in NOLA. What happened?

BLSs: Our faithful 1987 Chevy 20, Van Waylon aka Vantoine Lavoisier, finally had to be put to rest, or at least at bay. So, we had to search for another van. We finally got one, but had to cancel two shows due to timing issues. Sorry Pensacola and Tampa! Alas, we are back on the road with a sweet ass new van. Haven’t fully decided the name, but we really like Vangela Vansbury or Vantonio Vanderas. We’ll figure it out.
Pitchfork: Finally, what’s with the photo of the muscle woman at your MySpace?

BLS: The muscle woman is [guitarist] Renata’s proflie picture. She used to get lots of muscle heads hitting her up. Good shit!

Information regarding the Hammers Of Misfortune 2xLP “Fields / Church Of Broken Glass” as well as Pussygutt’s “She Hid Behind Her Veil…” CD has been added to the site in the releases section. MP3 samples have also been added. The releases will be available in approximately 1-2 weeks.

Angels Of Light – We Are Him 2xLP
Bonnie Prince Billy – Lie Down In Light LP
Burmese / Potop – Split LP
Burning Star Core – Challenger LP
Crystal Stilts – Crystal Stilts LP
Daniel Higgs – Metempyschotic Melodies LP
Daniel Higgs – Ancestral Songs LP
Fitz Of Depression – Peel Sessions / BBC LP
Fucked Up – Chemistry Of Common Life 2xLP
Ghost – In Stormy Nights 2xLP
Growing – His Return LP
Jay Reatard – Singles ‘08 LP
Kawabata Makoto – We Don’t Know… LP
Nurse With Wound – The Bacteria Magnet LP
Nurse With Wound – The Musty Odour… LP
OM – Pilgrimage LP
Pussygutt – Sea Of Sand 2xLP
Robedoor – Endlessly Blazing LP
Robedoor – Shapeshifter Slave LP
Shellac – At Action Park LP
Shellac – Excellent Italian Greyhound LP
Shorebirds – Its Gonna Get Ugly LP
Sick Llama – Born Again To Die LP
Skull Defekts – The Drone Drug LP
SUNN – Domkirke 2xLP
Sutcliffe Jugend – This Is The Truth LP
Sutcliffe Jugend/Prurient – End Of Autumn 2xLP
The Accused – Baked Tapes LP
The Endless Blockade – S/T EP
The Hospitals – Hairdryer Peace LP
Velvet Underground – Another View LP
Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls LP

Five more new reviews for “Life’s Trade”, the debut LP from Samothrace:

From Invisible Oranges

First Cough, then Thou, then Samothrace – it’s a great time for American
sludge/doom. Why this Lawrence, KS outfit named itself for a Greek island
is unclear, as it sounds distinctly American. Big slabs of downtuned dirt
abut melodies that recall Earth’s leanings towards Americana. In fact,
this record might satisfy those disappointed by Earth’s recent refusal to
drop the hammer. It has the soul – the jangle, the blues – but it also has
the weight, constantly shifting tectonic plates so that slow never becomes
static. These tracks are 10 minutes plus, and they feel much shorter. On
only its debut, this band has mastered the momentum that makes good doom
much more than just slow tempos. (Add Renata Castagna to the list of
worthy extreme metal axewomen.) Producer du jour Sanford Parker turns in a
reliably thick, naturalistic recording.

David D’Andrea refracts the floral/angelic theme of Tom Denney’s previous
artwork for Samothrace (which is extremely similar to his cover for
Sourvein’s Ghetto Angel) into a lovely gold/black package. The LP version
comes in double gatefold vinyl with a poster (gold vinyl limited to 150
copies); mailorder copies include a patch and sticker. This is yet another
killer release this year for 20 Buck Spin, who have a spiffy new
label/distro website.

From the Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT)

Lawrence, Kan., band Samothrace introduces itself by unleashing a
slow-motion apocalypse on its debut. Heavy down-tuned riffs, rough and raw
vocals and some pretty, melodic guitar textures combine to create a
monolithic din that reveals new layers of sound with each repeated listen.
It all adds up to one pretty impressive debut.

The quintet plays doom metal, but adds extra parts, like soaring guitar
lines played on top of lumbering riffs. Each song is a mini-epic where the
riffs lay the foundation for the guitar parts played on top of them.
Vocalist Bryan L. Spinks’ raw-throated howls sound like another
instrument, giving more power to the band’s crushing sound.

Opener “La Llorona” starts with a quiet, melodic guitar part before giving
way to a heavy riff and Spinks’ tortured vocals. As the song winds through
its 11-minute running time, guitar lines rise out of the muck, giving the
music extra muscle and making the songs more dynamic and emotionally
powerful. Even more impressive is that Samothrace shows its depth mostly
through its music — the vocals are pretty sparse.

It all adds up to what sounds like a bright future for a band in the bleak
world of doom metal.

From Cerebral Metalhead

You may cry while listening to Life’s Trade. Your tears will be real,
honest tears, borne of the knowledge that someone, somewhere, is so
acquainted with hopelessness that he can capture it in sound, carve it in
stone so transparently with weeping guitars and funeral procession drums
and deep screams that creep up the vertebrae like they were rungs on a
ladder. That this heart-rending expression of pain comes from a Kansan
doom metal band named after an ancient Greek island matters not. Life’s
Trade is as purely emotional an album as you will find in any genre, and
if you can’t at least perceive that, there is no hope for your soul.

Despair wears many guises in heavy metal, whether it’s the doleful sorrow
of English gothic doom, or the nihilistic hatred of Norwegian black metal.
Samothrace looks closer to home for inspiration, straight to the dusty
well of southern blues. But there is none of Eyehategod’s ugly,
whisky-soaked lurching on Life’s Trade. “Cacophony” is anything but — its
thick, tolling chords sound like the mournful hell-howling of Robert
Johnson, corroded by distortion pedals and vocal nodules but beautiful all
the same. Guitarists Bryan Spinks and Renata Castagna jam their molten
riffs like a metallicized Allman Brothers; solos glide delicately over the
end-vamps of “La Llorona” and “Cacophony,” raw and virtuosic as vintage J.
Mascis.

Lyrics are short and telegraphic, vehicles for Spinks’ throaty scours.
“Life’s Trade. Souls sold. Weight’s felt. Gods break.” Strained vowels
stretch out over the long expanses between guitar crashes, electric winds
howling over the plains. Producer Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Buried At
Sea, Indian) proves once again that he can squeeze nuance out of even the
most overpowering sounds. Doom metal rarely feels this personal.

From Coke Machine Glow

One listens to Samothrace and imagines the city of Lawrence, Kansas
rendered post-apocalyptic: immutable dusky snow scattering like static on
a broken television, fenceposts stuck jagged out of the dirt. I suppose
there’s the same spread of shopping malls and sports bars and community
centers as most other urban centers, but, like I said, Samothrace seems to
erase this, the city then a festering wound stuck up out of the brittle,
flat farmland with this band and this music something like leeches at once
living on that split flesh while suturing the mistake shut.

I’m getting carried away. But this is melodramatic music, with a post-rock
sense of theater and doom metal’s swollen ambience. Besides, locale can be
important to a young band (why else would we listen to We Are
Scientists?), and the music of Samothrace truly seems wrenched from that
flat vista. The predominant unifying factor, after all, of the four pieces
on Life’s Trade is a strangely Midwestern affection for melody. On
“Cacophony” the band evokes decrepit, failed crop-shares with shuddering,
windswept gloom, which is all to be expected on a doom metal affair—but
inserts within this barren place warm guitar licks like bonfires against
the cold and lonely synth lines like baying wolves. Those lupine synths
feel, strangely, familiar. Home-y. It’s a moving sentiment, edging into
outright sentimentality, to create a sense of home within this murky
music, but the gamble pays off. This is imminently listenable, immediately
likeable music to hate yourself and everything else to.

There’s a second component to Life’s Trade worth mentioning, aside from
the general excellence of the compositions and instrumentation. I’m
talking about the production. The general MO on such efforts is “sound
loud,” but Samothrace sounds worn. The interlocutor between the almost
subconsciously rendered melodies and the ice age chill of their setting is
a sloppy Crazy Horse sense of stomp and fuzz, a production aesthetic with
an earned sense of forgiveness, if that makes sense. It may not, but it
will: The end of “Awkward Hearts,” for example, after eight minutes of
baleful (and unchanging) riff-work, ruptures into half-time and finally a
dust-worn shitstorm of a guitar solo, nothing psychedelic or particularly
tuneful but instead worn snare stabs and loping, twirling guitar
melancholia.

Woven through the curious curlicues of melody, this whiskey-piss
production gives Life’s Trade its workmanlike sense of distinction. Here’s
a press quote nobody wants to read: “Finally, the doom metal Kings of
Leon,” but it’s true—assuming that we mean the old Kings of Leon, the
weird and genuinely inebriated young men that sounded spawned fully formed
from the fever dreams of Rolling Stone magazine, before the band turned
into the scarf-wearer’s Bon Jovi. Point, I suppose, being: Samothrace have
released an assured debut, but its refinement is a dangerous proposition.
Here’s hoping they cut dirtier and drier still on further work; the
results could be outright tornadic.

From Live 4 Metal

Holy shit, where the fuck did this come from? Samothrace (an island in the
Aegean Sea, by the way), a trio from Lawrence, Kansas, are playing some of
the best stoner-influenced doom I’ve heard since “III” by Acid King.
Absolutely out of nowhere, the band’s debut full-length, “Life’s Trade”
from 20 Buck Spin Records, arrives in my lap, and my jaw has just dropped
at how insanely catchy this album is with blues driven, sludge-induced
riff after riff blowing my mind.
Sleep and Acid King are definitely the templates here, as Samothrace are
instant masters at the catchy riff played at a slow pace with plenty of
strummed, mild guitar melody in place to introduce those riffs. When fully
in place, the backbone riffs of “Life’s Trade” just crush everything in
their path, and obviously set the pace and tone of this four-song opus.
“Life’s Trade” draws heavily from influences running the gamut from the
aforementioned Acid King and huge amounts of Sleep, early High On Fire
before the pace picked up, Bongzilla, and even a few doses of Earth,
particularly with some of the strummed guitars. Complimenting the heavy
riffs are deep growls and howls that are a bit in the background, a
crushing percussion, a deep bass, and a nice melancholy touch that shies
away from European influences and, instead, embraces an American
blues-based sound.
Needless to say, I’m highly impressed by “Life’s Trade”, as too often in
this genre many bands come up short in the riff writing department, the
genre’s obvious cornerstone. Not so with Samothrace, who may just inherit
the throne left vacant by Sleep. That’s a tall order for a band with
merely four songs recorded, but the future looks bright indeed for
Samothrace. Buy or die.

Look in the New Stuff section of the store for these fine releases:

Paul Metzger – Canticle Of Ignat / All Glass CD (Archive)
Merrell Baker & Jordan – Nagual CD (Archive)
LSD Pond – Live 2xCD (Archive)
Suishou No Fune – Live Jam Session At Lemur House DVD (Archive)
Mick Barr – Live 2xDVD (Archive)
500mg – Another Order Of Existence CD (Archive)
Klyst – Chaos Live DVD (Archive)
Jay Reatard – Matador Singles ‘08 CD (Matador)
Fucked Up – The Chemistry Of Common Life CD (Matador)

Stormcrow

10/14 – Arcata, CA – The Firehouse
10/15 – Eugene, OR
10/16 – Salem, OR – Burial Grounds
10/17 – Portland, OR – Cook St House
10/18 – Seattle, WA – The Funhouse
10/19 – Spokane, WA – Cretin Hop
10/20 – Bozeman, MT – Filling Station
10/22 – Denver, CO – Old Curtis Street Station
10/23 – Albuquerque, NM – The Stove
10/24 – Dallas, TX – Reno Chop Shop
10/25 – Emory, TX – No Thanks Fest 2
10/26 – Austin, TX – Room 710
10/28 – El Paso, TX – Sleepless Nites
10/29 – Tucson, AZ – The Living Room
10/30 – Phoenix, AZ – Rockin A
10/31 – Boyle Heights, CA – The Blvd
11/1 – Canoga Park, CA – Cobalt Café
11/2 – Santa Barbara, CA – Casa De La Raza
11/8 – Berkeley, CA – 924 Gilman St (with Corrupted, Asunder)

Lots of news today folks.

First up, our new websites have been launched. 20buckspin.com has received a full makeover. It’s more organized and easy to look at now. At the same time it’s more stripped down. The homepage is now our news/blog page, and is RSS enabled, as are the other pages on the site. This blog will replace 20buckspin.blogspot.com so please update your news feeds.

You’ll notice when you click on the store link you are taken to a separate, but similar looking website now, Phantomcityrecords.net. This site is still run and maintained by 20 Buck Spin. We wanted to give our physical store in Olympia a web presence and it made the most sense to just combine the stores into one. So going forward Phantomcityrecords.net is the official online store for 20 Buck Spin releases and mailorder distro as well as our new spin off label Actual Noise. Additionally we’ll be selling online some stuff through Phantom City that we normally wouldn’t have via 20 Buck Spin.

The store itself is an easy to use storefront based on the OScommerce system. You only have to register once and the site will store your address info so you don’t have to do it everytime. You’ll notice prices have been lowered, this is because previously we were using postage paid prices, and now the system calculates exact postage so we’ve taken the postage out of the prices. We still use the US postal system. When your package ships you will now receive a notification of shipment as some of you that have ordered recently have noticed. All domestic packages are now shipped with delivery confirmation.

TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF OUR NEW STOREFRONT AND WEBSITE WE ARE HAVING A 20% OFF SALE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. In order to get 20% off your order you will need to enter the following coupon code during checkout: PY6DFT. The discount will automatically be applied to your pre-shipping total. Again the 20% off sale is good for orders placed now through Wednesday October 15th.

If you notice any problems with the new site or have any questions please email: orders@phantomcityrecords.net.

The other big news this week is that the Samothrace debut album “Life’s Trade” is now available. The Gatefold 2xLP is available both on black, and on limited edition gold vinyl (150 copies). It is cut at 45 RPM. All copies include a poster the same A2 size as was included with the Coffins and The Endless Blockade LPs. All vinyl also includes a coupon for a free download of the entire album. The direct mailorder version also comes with an embroidered Samothrace logo patch and a sticker of the amazing artwork by David D’Andrea. The CD version is also available now.

Be sure to catch Samothrace on tour right now through mid-November. Check their site, myspace.com/samothraceproject for dates all over the US. Here’s a description of the album:

20 Buck Spin first heard Samothrace at a party in Austin during SXSW 2007. A crude rehearsal recording, but instantly we recognized how amazing these songs were gonna be. After inquiring about who it was we immediately got in touch with the Lawrence, Kansas band and offered to release their debut record.

Fast forward to the present and the album, Life’s Trade, has finally materialized. Samothrace plays ultra heavy doom with harsh alcohol-soaked vocals. And yet a somber melodic sense also permeates the 4 long tracks on Life’s Trade. Not in the overused, weepy Euro-doom tradition, but distinctly Midwestern, soulful and blues inflected. The songs shimmer with desperation, hopelessness and pain. “Awkward Hearts” is both world weary for the plight of the oppressed and also intensely personal. The melodic interplay of guitarist Bryan Spinks and Renata Castagna is distinct in doom played this heavy and each song is meticulously crafted for maximum emotional impact.

With several US tours under their belts, Samothrace have already familiarized themselves and won over doom fanatics across the country. With a planned 70 date fall tour, the band will be out in heavy support of Life’s Trade during 2008, with more US and Europe touring planned for early 2009. Recorded and mixed by Sanford Parker (Buried At Sea, Pelican, Nachtmystium) Life’s Trade rates as a stunning debut by a band soon to be on top of the doom genre.

Boise, Idaho’s Pussygutt has a new album coming out on 20 Buck Spin on November 18th called “She Hid Behind Her Veil”. The digipak CD features a single 46 minute track falling somewhere between Black Boned Angel, Phillip Glass and Corrupted. Look for it in our store prior to that date.

The new Hammers of Misfortune double album Fields / Church Of Broken Glass will be released in late November. A gatefold 2xLP with separate and distinct album artwork for each album (The artwork will be inverted on one side, both inside and out, to further distinguish the two separate LPs). The album will have printed inner sleeves and will include a coupon for a free download of both albums. 100 colored vinyl LPs will be available for mailorder – separate colors for each LP of course. The CD version of the album is being handled by Profound Lore.

Much more news to come soon regarding Actual Noise and upcoming 20 Buck Spin releases for 2009. In the meantime let us know what you think of the new websites.