Best Young Guitarists 40ish and Under: Thomas Erak
Age: 38
Bands: Fall of Troy, Just Like Vinyl, Push Over, Chiodos, Thomas Erak and the Witching Hour
Essential Album: Doppelganger by Fall of Troy
I first heard Thomas Erak’s guitar in 2005 when Fall of Troy’s first album, Doppelganger, was released. It was back in the day, when they had headphone stations at the music store, and you could scan a CD and listen to 20 second previews of each song. I went into the store looking for a new band with angsty guitars. That’s the word I used in my thoughts that day – “angsty.” How pretentious I was back then.
Anyway, I picked up Doppelganger on a lark because of the weirdly intriguing cover, and I put on the headphones. And from the very first few notes, I had the thought that this guy was going to be the last of the guitar gods. What a strange thought. His guitar wasn’t only angsty, it was electrifying! I was amazed at the speed and precision and complexity of his guitar. It was astonishing like a car crash. I had never heard anyone play quite him. I was just completely captivated by the whole band, for sure, but especially Erak’s spellbinding guitar work.
Through the years, I’ve followed his music. He had ups and downs in his life and his career. And I don’t think that he ever managed to quite catch that lightning in a bottle again. The guitar playing on Doppelganger, in my opinion, is his finest. Though the guitar solo on Walk of Fame on the album In the Unlikely Event is absolutely smoldering. But on every album, he is always reliably good and a truly rare talent.
HERE is a link to some epic guitar work by Thomas. If you haven't heard his music, you should definitely check him out!
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