Thomas Thorn

{{short description|American musician|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{BLP sources|date=September 2010}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Thomas Torquemada Thorn | image = | caption = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Thomas A. Lockyear, II | alias = Buck Ryder, Rev. Thomas Thorn | birth_place = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1964|8|2}} | origin = Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S. | instrument = Vocals, Keyboards, Sampling | genre = Rock<br>Metal<br>Industrial | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1986-present | label = Cleopatra Records, Wax Trax! Records | associated_acts = Electric Hellfire Club, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Sleep Chamber, Slavestate, Westworld, Wolfen Society | website = [http://www.myspace.com/electrichellfireclub Electric Hellfire Club on Myspace] }} '''Thomas Torquemada Thorn''' (born ''Thomas A. Lockyear, II''; 2 August 1964) is an American musician. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, he is best known as co-founder of, and lead vocalist for, the industrial metal band The Electric Hellfire Club.<ref name="Gardell2003">{{cite book|last=Gardell|first=Mattias|title=Gods of the blood: the pagan revival and white separatism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIwwWSSL5JIC&pg=PA299|year=2003|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-3071-4|page=299}}</ref>

During his youth, Thorn participated in several punk and post-punk bands (including the short-lived WestWorld), before founding the power electronics duo Slave State with Boris Dragos in 1987. Slave State played a handful of shows throughout the midwest along with staging a performance entitled "The Theory and Practice of Hell" in Antwerp, Belgium. While Slave State only released their music in cassette format, their influence was nonetheless far-reaching as they are cited by Godflesh founder Justin Broadrick as the inspiration for the title of his album bearing the group's name.

Re-locating to Chicago later that year, Thorn was approached and offered a position as live keyboardist for industrial dance pioneers My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, which he accepted, under the pseudonym "Buck Ryder".<ref name="Larkin1995">{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|title=The Guinness encyclopedia of popular music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_JdGAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Guinness|isbn=978-1-56159-176-3|page=1321}}</ref> Following Dragos' suicide in early 1989, Thorn signed on as a permanent member of the group. During his tenure with the band, Thorn (under his Buck Ryder guise) toured extensively with the band, and appeared in the music video for the song "Kooler Than Jesus". Thorn also claims to have contributed to both the "Confessions of a Knife" and "Sexplosion!" albums. Thorn chose to leave the group for undisclosed reasons prior to that album's release in 1991, instead relocating to Kenosha, WI where he founded The Electric Hellfire Club with Shane Lassen (Rev. Dr. Luv) and guitarist Ronny Valeo of Screamer. Thorn has also collaborated with bands such as Sleep Chamber, Chthonic Force, and Morphine Angel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickie |first=Tony |date=2020 |title=Chthonic Force - Delirium Tremens: The Best Of Chthonic Force |url=https://www.compulsiononline.com/chthonicforce_deliriumtremens.htm |website=Compulsion Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Griffiths |first=Joshua |date=October 9, 2020 |title=Music Review – Chthonic Force, 'Delirium Tremens: The Best of Chthonic Force' |url=https://theaither.com/music-review-chthonic-force-delirium-tremens-the-best-of-chthonic-force/ |website=The Aither.}}</ref>

During a 1996 tour with Boyd Rice, Rice introduced Thorn to Church of Satan founder, Anton LaVey. During their meeting, he was ordained a priest in the church by LaVey. Thorn later wrote a eulogy of LaVey following the latter's death in 1997, which appeared in the Church of Satan's house organ ''The Black Flame''.

== External links == *[https://www.discogs.com/artist/86432-Thomas-Thorn Thomas Thorn] at Discogs.com.

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorn, Thomas}} Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:American rock singers Category:Musicians from Madison, Wisconsin Category:Musicians from Kenosha, Wisconsin Category:Singers from Wisconsin Category:My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult members