Marq Torien (born Mark Joseph Maytorena on September 22, 1961 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) is the lead singer of the hard rock act

BulletBoys BulletBoys is an American hard rock/glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1986. The group's original lineup was composed of singer Marq Torien (formerly of Ratt, King Kobra, and Kagny & the Dirty Rats), guitarist Mick Sweda, bassist Lonnie V ...

. 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 is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

, a guitarist for the band Hawk, a member of

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

recording artists Kagny & the Dirty Rats, a lead vocalist briefly for the band

King Kobra King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. History For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie F ...

. In 1984, Torien formed the band Touch with multi-instrumentalist

Marc Danzeisen Marc Stewart Danzeisen (born in Riverside, CA, January 17, 1961) is an American drummer and musician. He is best known for his work with Riverdogs, Gilby Clarke, Little Caesar, his contributions to Def Leppard, and his appearance in the 1995 f ...

, future

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

frontman Jerry Harrison, and future

Chalk FarM Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. History Manor of Rugmere Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned in ...

bassist Orlando Sims. The group recorded a five song demo, which was heard by

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

during his search for new acts to perform songs for

Rocky IV ''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...

. 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

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 PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

/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 hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

, 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 television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

band after the death of

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo alb ...

as the group's guitarist.

Discography

with Kagny & The Dirty Rats

* ''Kagny & The Dirty Rats'' (1983)

with Touch

* ''

'' (1985) Song: "The Sweetest Victory"

with Bulletboys

* ''

'' (1988) * '' Freakshow'' (1991) * ''

Za-Za ''Za-Za'' is the third album from the heavy metal band BulletBoys, released in 1993. This was their last album released by Warner Bros. Records, and the final one produced by Ted Templeman. Track listing Personnel * Marq Torien - lead vocals ...

'' (1993) * ''

Acid Monkey ''Acid Monkey'' is the fourth album from the glam metal band BulletBoys, released in 1995 on Swordholio Records. The album marks a change in direction and style after the breakup of the band in 1993, featuring more of an alternative rock and pop ...

'' (1995) * '' Sophie'' (2003) * '' 10¢ Billionaire'' (2009) * ''

Rocked and Ripped ''Rocked and Ripped'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band BulletBoys. The album was released August 31, 2011, on Cleopatra Records. The album consists entirely of cover songs. In addition to the 15 cover songs, the album also fe ...

'' (2011) * '' Elefante''' (2015) * ''

From Out of the Skies ''From Out of the Skies'' is the ninth studio album by the American hard rock band BulletBoys. The album was released March 23, 2018 on Frontiers Records. The track "D-Evil" features a guest appearance by Jesse Hughes from Eagles of Death Metal. ...

'' (2018)

with King Kobra

* ''The Lost Years'' (1999)

References

External links

Official BulletBoys Myspace pageOfficial 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