Marq Torien (born Mark Joseph Maytorena; September 22, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the hard rock act
BulletBoys
BulletBoys is an American hard rock/glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1987. The group's original lineup was composed of singer Marq Torien (formerly of Ratt, King Kobra, and Kagny & the Dirty Rats), guitarist Mick Sweda (formerly of King ...
. He is the only member to have remained with the group since the release of their
self-titled debut album in 1988.
History
Prior to BulletBoys, Torien was a guitarist in the then-unsigned band
Ratt
Ratt (stylized as RATT) was an American glam metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum and multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA. ...
, a guitarist for the band Hawk, a member of
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
recording artists
Kagny & the Dirty Rats, a lead vocalist briefly for the band
King Kobra.
In 1984, Torien formed the band Touch with multi-instrumentalist
Marc Danzeisen, future
Icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
frontman Jerry Harrison, and future
Chalk FarM bassist Orlando Sims. The group recorded a five-song demo, which was heard by
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...
during his search for new acts to perform songs for
Rocky IV. The band recorded "The Sweetest Victory" which did not appear in the film but was included on the soundtrack. The song was featured in Stallone's director's cut of the film in 2021.
In addition to periodic BulletBoys ventures, Torien's solo projects included Sexual Chocolate, Ten-Cent Billionaires, and This.
Torien added vocals on the track "Texas Lawman" from The Regulators on their 1993 self-titled album on
Polygram/Polydor. Torien provided lead vocals for two tracks on Cherry St.'s second album ''Monroe'' in 1994. The tracks being "Dogtown" and "One More Tonight"
In the book ''Off the Rails'' by
Rudy Sarzo
Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban-American musician. He remains best known as the bassist for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well k ...
, Sarzo tells a story about Torien's audition for the
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
band after the death of
Randy Rhoads as the group's guitarist.
Discography
with Kagny & The Dirty Rats
* ''
Kagny & the Dirty Rats'' (1983)
with Touch
* ''
Rocky IV'' (1985)
Song: "The Sweetest Victory" (credited as Mark Torien)
with Bulletboys
* ''
BulletBoys
BulletBoys is an American hard rock/glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1987. The group's original lineup was composed of singer Marq Torien (formerly of Ratt, King Kobra, and Kagny & the Dirty Rats), guitarist Mick Sweda (formerly of King ...
'' (1988)
* ''
Freakshow'' (1991)
* ''
Za-Za'' (1993)
* ''
Acid Monkey'' (1995)
* ''
Sophie
Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom".
People with the name Born in the Middle Ages
* Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson
* Soph ...
'' (2003)
* ''
10¢ Billionaire'' (2009)
* ''
Rocked and Ripped'' (2011)
* ''
Elefante''' (2015)
* ''
From Out of the Skies'' (2018)
with King Kobra
* ''The Lost Years'' (1999)
References
External links
Official Marq Torien Myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torien
American heavy metal singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American hard rock musicians
Glam metal musicians
Ratt members
King Kobra members
BulletBoys members
Living people
1961 births
20th-century American guitarists