Biography
Crossbone Skully functions as the creative alter ego of singer, songwriter and guitarist Tommy Henriksen, drawing from his extensive sideman experience alongside Alice Cooper and the Hollywood Vampires. The project’s first full-length release, Evil World Machine in 2024, delivered buoyant and unrestrained melodic rock framed by an expansive conceptual narrative that echoed the dramatic flair of his primary associates.
Born in New York in 1964, Henriksen was raised alongside four siblings by a single mother and devoted his early adult years to contributing guitar work across numerous metal and alternative-rock outfits of differing visibility. His formative credits encompass German metal band Warlock, heavy-rock groups Needle Park (assembled by C.C. DeVille following his exit from Poison) and War & Peace (featuring Dokken’s Jeff Pilson and future Steel Panther guitarist Russ Parrish), the alternative act P.O.L., plus a more pop-oriented solo album issued in 1999 and produced by Keith Forsey.
Following roughly ten years of session activity, Henriksen achieved a major breakthrough through his studio and touring partnership with longtime shock-rock veteran Alice Cooper, beginning with the 2011 album Welcome 2 My Nightmare. After supplying guitar, percussion and programming for Cooper, he joined the singer in 2012 as vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist in the supergroup Hollywood Vampires, which also included Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and actor Johnny Depp; Henriksen has since contributed songwriting and performances to the band’s output, notably its self-titled 2015 album and 2019’s Rise.
Henriksen developed the Crossbone Skully sound together with Swedish guitarist and keyboardist Tommy Denander, discovering a shared affinity with pop and rock icon Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who served as executive producer of Evil World Machine and added his distinctive backing vocals to multiple tracks. Additional contributors include Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen on “The Boom Went the Boom” and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx on “High on You.” The project’s playfully irreverent storyline centers on intergalactic freedom fighters known as the Misfits of the Universe—among them Alice Cooper and his wife Sheryl, Cooper’s mid-’80s guitarist Kane Roberts, Joe Perry and Nikki Sixx—who battle an evil sorcerer portrayed by Johnny Depp, with Henriksen authoring an accompanying comic book to advance the lighthearted plot. The lyrics of Evil World Machine confront themes of inequity, personal vices and the struggle between good and evil, reflections drawn directly from Henriksen’s own path as a working musician.
Born in New York in 1964, Henriksen was raised alongside four siblings by a single mother and devoted his early adult years to contributing guitar work across numerous metal and alternative-rock outfits of differing visibility. His formative credits encompass German metal band Warlock, heavy-rock groups Needle Park (assembled by C.C. DeVille following his exit from Poison) and War & Peace (featuring Dokken’s Jeff Pilson and future Steel Panther guitarist Russ Parrish), the alternative act P.O.L., plus a more pop-oriented solo album issued in 1999 and produced by Keith Forsey.
Following roughly ten years of session activity, Henriksen achieved a major breakthrough through his studio and touring partnership with longtime shock-rock veteran Alice Cooper, beginning with the 2011 album Welcome 2 My Nightmare. After supplying guitar, percussion and programming for Cooper, he joined the singer in 2012 as vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist in the supergroup Hollywood Vampires, which also included Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and actor Johnny Depp; Henriksen has since contributed songwriting and performances to the band’s output, notably its self-titled 2015 album and 2019’s Rise.
Henriksen developed the Crossbone Skully sound together with Swedish guitarist and keyboardist Tommy Denander, discovering a shared affinity with pop and rock icon Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who served as executive producer of Evil World Machine and added his distinctive backing vocals to multiple tracks. Additional contributors include Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen on “The Boom Went the Boom” and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx on “High on You.” The project’s playfully irreverent storyline centers on intergalactic freedom fighters known as the Misfits of the Universe—among them Alice Cooper and his wife Sheryl, Cooper’s mid-’80s guitarist Kane Roberts, Joe Perry and Nikki Sixx—who battle an evil sorcerer portrayed by Johnny Depp, with Henriksen authoring an accompanying comic book to advance the lighthearted plot. The lyrics of Evil World Machine confront themes of inequity, personal vices and the struggle between good and evil, reflections drawn directly from Henriksen’s own path as a working musician.
Albums
Singles
