TOROK – Addiction Of Fools

Addiction Of Fools is Torok’s third release (fourth counting the first, self-titled, out-of-print release) in a career that thus far has sustained for a bit over a decade. Even the somewhat earthy production job can’t condense the big Arena Rock sound of the band Torok. That particularly becomes obvious as the guitars crank in “Full Moon.”

“Wolf Within” pounds its way throughout and the band successfully blends bass-driven heaviness and vocal harmony in “1,000 Reasons,” which surely has Rock radio potential. The title track turns out to be a piano ballad; “Addiction Of Fools” comes as a surprise after the mentioned previous guitar heavy attack. It’s too much of a contrast that does not come across too well, though the absence of heavy guitars at the same time actually saves it from turning into a cheesy power ballad-like fest.

“Infamy” picks up the pace again, where a faster-paced Metal riff coupled with keyboards occasionally is in the foreground. “The Burden,” boosts a riff, which groove is comparable to Skid Row’s “My Enemy.” Moreover, “‘Y” has a fair share of Funky overtones and would had sit nicely in the Funk-inspired Hard Rock frenzy of the early 90s with bands such as Extreme and Electric Boys. It’s a nice touch that overall works well for the band, although the in-your-face molten Rock is what Torok clearly does best, and thus should remain their main ingredient.

At times, their music includes slight Blues leanings, as in “Do U Harm,” further magnifying the band’s musical roots, which is a sufficient mix of a relaxed 70s vibe as well as the 80s Arena Rock approach. The ending track “Forsaken” is as good of an example of that as any other track.

The production job is reasonably good for a self-produced affair, although it would certainly have benefited from a bigger sound. The band is built around vocalist Bryan Erickson and guitarist Mike Torok (supposedly where the band got their name), who used to be in Shock Rockers Impaler. There isn’t really anything shocking about Torok the band though; just serious, well-played Hard Rock performed in a relatively traditional way. Erickson’s powerful and passionate delivery lifts it all up a notch, and his voice is quite prominent in the mix. As a side note that might be worthy of mention; Bryan Erickson also has a couple of solo albums under his belt, under the moniker Son Of Eric, which also features Torok guest playing.

Erickson and Torok have been looking to have more people get involved and helping further shape the music. Aside from a number of guest appearances throughout the album, courtesy of members of Touched and King’s Machine to name a couple, Torok also features John Jankowski on keyboards, bass player Bill Holmberg, and drummer Tim Davis. Of quoted influences named in the press release, Zeppelin and Van Halen are bands Torok’s growing ground first strikes a similarity, with parts of later-eighties Whitesnake, just not as “over the top,” but more down to Earth in attitude and thus delivery. Fans of mentioned bands, as well as fans of Traditional Hard Rock in general ought to find good qualities in Torok’s music.