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Tommy Victor
Tommy Victor
	Victor performing with Prong in 2020
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Michael Victor
Born	1961 or 1962 (age 62–63); New York City, U.S.
Genres	Groove metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, alternative metal, crossover thrash
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1984–present
Member of	Prong, Danzig
Formerly of	Ministry, Tapeworm

Thomas Michael Victor^[1] (born 1961/1962^[2]) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for heavy metal band Prong, which he founded in New York City in 1986, as well as the guitarist for heavy metal band Danzig intermittently since 1996 and full-time since 2008.

Biography

Victor on the tour bus with Ministry in 2008

In the late 1980s, Victor worked as a sound engineer at the music club CBGB in New York City. After the release of Rude Awakening in 1996, Prong disbanded and Victor moved to Los Angeles, but later revived the band to release new Prong records. He took a break from Prong during which he worked alongside rock musicians including Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Trent Reznor, and Glenn Danzig.

Since 2012's Carved into Stone, Prong have been very active again, releasing albums and touring regularly. 2013 saw the band release their Official Bootleg – Unleashed in the West album which featured re-recordings of 17 classic Prong tracks. The next studio album, Ruining Lives was released in 2014, and 2015 saw the band release their first covers album entitled Songs from the Black Hole.

Victor is also part of the hard rock, heavy metal, hardcore punk and punk rock supergroup Teenage Time Killers.

Victor has toured and recorded with Ministry and Danzig. He has also provided guest vocals for the Soulfly album Omen. He contributed to the Argyle Park album Misguided, and wrote the main riff for the song "Doomsayer", which he later used on the Prong song "Controller".^[3]^[4]

Influences and equipment

Victor has cited numerous bands as influences, including Die Kreuzen, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Parliament-Funkadelic, Yes, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Destruction, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Metallica,^[5] Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Stooges, Sex Pistols, Motörhead,^[6] Neil Young, Fugazi, Minor Threat,^[7] and Adolescents.^[8]

Victor has been endorsed by Schecter Guitar Research ever since reuniting with Prong, using both an S-1 and C-1 in early live performances. He would later on start using their Devil guitar, which would be the basis for his second signature model. In 2013, his first signature model was released,^[9] based on the newly introduced Banshee series, but with a mahogany body and neck, ebony fretboard, EMG pickups, and custom inlays. In 2015, his second signature model was introduced, based on the Devil series guitar and with similar specifications to his first signature model, but with black nickel hardware, and a single 12th-fret Prong inlay.

Before using Schecter, Victor relied on several guitars, most famously a Charvel Surfcaster. Other guitars he used around that era were a Charvel LSX, Charvel Predator, and Gibson SG Custom. Around the release of Rude Awakening, and before Prong's breakup, he was endorsed by Fernandes Guitars, using both a Vertigo and Deuce WS model.

References

^ "ABSENCE OF LIGHT". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ @TheSDRShow (April 8, 2022). "Prong (Band) H For Breakfast | Full Interview | The SDR Show". YouTube. at 5:54. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022.
^ "Circle of Dust interview". HM Magazine. 2003. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
^ "Misguided - Argyle Park". Allmusic. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
^ "An Interview with Tommy Victor of Prong". Smells Like Infinite Sadness. April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2024. We were into Die Kreuzen a lot. Killing Joke of course, I was totally goth back then, I was into Bauhaus big time, and Black Flag, and [as] far as like hard-core I was really into Bad Brains…A cross-section of a lot stuff…I was into everything from Parliament Funkadelic to Yes, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple is a BIG huge influence…And then Euro-metal like Destruction and Creator and Celtic Frost…A little Slayer, I still love Slayer, I mean they are one of my favorite bands. And Metallica, a lot of the thrash bands – there was like hordes of them back them… we combined that with New York hardcore and our knowledge of bands like Killing Joke and goth stuff.
^ "Prong". Threatening Society Fanzine. 2020. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
^ Shlosman, Rafi (July 12, 2012). "INTERVIEW – TOMMY VICTOR OF PRONG". Cryptic Rock. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024. On the other side, artists like Neil Young was (sic) a really huge influence on me along with Fugazi and Minor Threat.
^ "Interview: Prong Frontman Tommy Victor Walks Us Through The New Album". New Noise Magazine. April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024. [Adolescents] might get forgotten at times, but this song never will. It's a classic timepiece with the goth elements, dissonance, and the snotty vocals. We didn't do a straight copy of it, though: we slowed it down and made it a lot gloomier. But a lot of the elements here were stuff I was influenced by, like the chaos guitar.
^ Welding, Alan D (January 17, 2013). "PRONG's Tommy Victor Unveils Signature Schecter Guitar Confirms NAMM Signing and Performance". Pittsburgh Music Magazine. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2024.