Amorphis, Fates Warning, Nuclear Assault, Deliverance, Mortification, Anthrax, Extol, Ultimatum

Label :
Metal Blade
Released :
 
Catalog # :
3984-14407-2
Style:
Thrash Metal
 
  1. Where Moth and Rust Destroy 7:15
  2. Restoring the Locust Years 3:30
  3. Drawn and Quartered 8:12
  4. A Ghost at the Wheel 4:18
  5. Architeuthis 6:50
  6. Melting the Golden Calf 6:54
  7. Convoluted Absolutes 5:37
  8. Healing Waters of the Tigris 9:31
  9. In Death We Rise 7:02
 
 
  
  
Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. There’s probably no way to create a metal album more extreme: on one hand you’ll find soft acoustic guitar and organ parts, on the other incomprehensible fast grind sections, in between those poles they celebrate nearly everything heavy metal generated during history: Simple mid-tempo parts, leads for two in the style of Maiden, galloping thrash guitars, doomy seventies-axes or groovy modern riffs. You could go on for hours. Musically this band climbs the highest peaks where the atmosphere becomes thin. Though the team performance is equal, one has to emphasize the drumming of mastermind Ted Kirkpatrick. The breaks this man fires out of his feet and hands would drive a good amount of established drummers completely mad. The call and response singing of Luke’s melancholy rough voice and axeman Aaron, who sometimes reminds one a bit of Tom Araya, fit perfect to this extreme mixture. By the way, the hard job of creating the right sound for this piece of art was mastered by Bill Metoyer in an absolutely satisfying way by providing them with an awesome dry berserk sound. Ok, this disk isn’t metal easy listening because the songs are far too complex. Tourniquet puts more riffs into one song than other bands use during their whole career and through loads of uncommon beats make it hard to snap your fingers constantly during the piece, yet the compositions are never distracting, rather walking successfully the fine line between genius and madness. As mentioned at the beginning: Unbelievable, simply unbelievable

 

 

Tourniquet was formed in Los Angeles in 1990. Seven full length albums, two EP's, one acoustic album, one "Best of" album, and six videos later, the members of Tourniquet remain committed to communicating the message of the Gospel through music. Tourniquet has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including HM magazine's Favorite Band, two CCM magazine #1 Rock Singles, many #1 Metal Singles, and six Dove Award nominations. They have appeared in countless magazine, newspaper, and online publications. Known for their intense live show, their fans have been known to drive (or fly) long distances just to see the band play. As the popularity of the band increases, so does the opportunity to play international shows in Europe and South America, as well as performing in the U.S. The success of their "acoustic unplugged" shows has further advanced their strong reputation for musical integrity and versatility.

LYRICALLY - influences span a wide range-everything from Old Testatment narratives to medical allegories to Edgar Allan Poe type descriptive horror. Tourniquet has also tackled some important, unique and often controversial social issues as well. Ark of Suffering, from their very first release, created a lot of attention by addressing the biblical perspective against animal abuse. Ruminating Virulence offers hope to the severely disabled. Twilight addresses the neglect of the elderly. Most importantly, all social issues are balanced with the biblical perspective.

MUSICALLY - the span of influences is no less varied. Tourniquet's music has been classified in many different ways: from hardcore to hard rock, from technical metal to speed metal, from alternative to groove. As Tourniquet's music blends elements of all these styles, two things stand out...melody and originality. In fact the melodic incorporation of classical music into many guitar riffs has become a trademark of "the Tourniquet sound". Finally, as people, their approachability and respect for their fans lends itself to creating a comfortable common ground for discussing everything from Bach to Babylon.

  
 
 

DISCOGRAPHY
2003 - Where Moth and Rust Destroy (Metal Blade)
2000 - Microscopic View of a Telescopic realm (Metal Blade)
1998 - Acoustic Archives (Tourniquet Productions)
1997 - Crawl to China (Diadem)
1996 - Collected Works (Frontline)
1995 - Carry the Wounded-EP (Frontline)
1994 - Vanishing Lessons (Frontline)
1993 - Live-EP (Frontline)
1992 - Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (Frontline/Metal Blade)
1991 - Psycho Surgery (Frontline/Metal Blade)
1990 - Stop the Bleeding (Frontline)

VIDEOGRAPHY
2004 - Circadian Rhythms - The Drumming World of Ted Kirkpatrick
2003 - Ocular Digital DVD (Tourniquet Productions)
2000 - Video Biopsy 2000 (Tourniquet Productions)
1998 - Live in California (Tourniquet Productions)
1997 - Guitar Instructional Video (Tourniquet Productions)
1996 - The Unreleased Drum Solos (Tourniquet Productions)
1995 - Pushin Broom Video with "Bearing Gruesome Cargo" (Frontline)
1992 - Video Biopsy with "Ark of Suffering" (Frontline)

AWARDS / NOMINATIONS
2003, 1999, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90 - HM Magazine's Favorite Drummer of the Year (Ted Kirkpatrick)
2003 - HM Magazine's Favorite Lyricist of the Year (Ted Kirkpatrick)
HM Magazine's Favorite Band of the 90's
HM Magazine's Favorite Album of the 90's (Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance)
1999 - HM Magazine's Favorite Band of the Year
1999 - HM Magazine's Favorite Song of the Year ("Trivializing the Momentous...")
1999 - HM Magazine's Favorite Lyricist of the Year (Ted Kirkpatrick)
1995 - GMA Dove Award nomination for Metal Album of the Year for Vanishing Lessons
1995 - GMA Dove Award nomination for Metal Recorded Song of the Year for "Bearing Gruesome Cargo"
1997- 95,92, 91, 90 - HM Magazine’s Favorite Band/Thrash Band/New Band of the Year
1994 - HM Magazine’s Favorite Lyricist of the Year (Ted Kirkpatrick)
1994 - HM Magazine’s Favorite Album of the Year for Vanishing Lessons
1992 - GMA Dove Award nomination for Metal Album of the Year for Psycho Surgery
1992 - GMA Dove Award nomination for Metal Recorded Song of the Year for "Psycho Surgery"
1992 - HM Magazine’s Favorite Video of the Year for "Ark of Suffering"
1991 - GMA Dove Award nomination for Metal Recorded Song of the Year for "You Get What You Pray For"
1991 - GMA Dove Award nomination for Metal Album of the Year for Stop the Bleeding
1991 - Christian News Forum Contemporary Christian Music Award for Rock Video of the Year "Ark of Suffering"
1991 - HM Magazine’s Favorite Album of the Year for Psycho Surgery
1991 - HM Magazine’s Favorite Album of the Year for Stop the Bleeding