Black Tora is a power trio from McAllen, TX. The band is young, but they have an old school sound, that can’t be matched. I swear this CD could have came out in 1982. The sound is classic and the songs have the same vibe from that era. Don’t get me wrong, the CD doesn’t sound dated, it just has a raw feel which is reminiscent of a lot of the hard rock and metal that was coming out around that time. These guys have been able to capture some of magic in a bottle from the early 80’s, which I think might get them noticed. The band recorded their debut CD on Paul Shortino’s Rock Quary/Music Works label. Paul produced the CD as well as lending a guest vocal to the final track Warrior.
Rise of the Tora is chock full chock of raw, adrenalized hard rock tunes. The CD starts with the hard rocking track Burn Out, but it wasn’t until the 2nd track Never Enough, that I was sold. Never Enough is one of those classic tunes that will get stuck in your head and won’t let go. It is an aggressive song with a very catchy melodic chorus. The next track Criminal has a cool Rainbow type feel to it. It is a mid paced rocker that has a cool Man on the Silver Mountain vibe to it. Cool tune. The CD is pretty solid from start to finish.
The songs are well written and catchy. It is so amazing how dead on these guys sound is; it’s really pretty scary. Oh yeah one more great thing a bout this band is that guitarist Dave Benitez can rip. There is some really nice axe-work on this CD and if that ain’t enough vocalist/bassist Chris Daniels has a cool raspy voice which is reminiscent of Manowar’s Eric Adams. The CD has a nice mix of up and mid tempo rockers. All in all a solid CD form start to finish.
Bottom Line: Great new rock from a hard rock trio that are poised to take the world by storm. Solid tunes mixed with great musicianship makes for a solid debut outing. I swear, once you hear this CD, you will think that you have been transferred back in time 25 years. And we all know that ain’t a bad thing. Fresh new rock with an old school sound.
Standout Tracks: Never Enough, Criminal, Stealing Thunder, Wild Child.
Ragman needs to check these local dudes out live.