Published on Jun 13, 2003
Tourniquet is a Christian metal trio. In the CD inlay, the band
includes this Bible quote, which I assume is where the band got its
name: Psalm 147:3: “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their
wounds. ‘He is our Tourniquet…'”
The permanent members of this band are drummer/rhythm guitarist
Ted Kirkpatrick, vocalist Luke Easter, and bassist Steve Andino.
But this release is clearly powered by Kirkpatrick; he has sole
words and music credit on all but one track and on that track, “A
Ghost at the Wheel,” he wrote the music while vocalist Easter wrote
the words. This release features appearances by three guitarists
who play all the solos. The majority of the solos are performed by
former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. I recommend this CD to
fans of Friedman’s guitar playing.
Starting out with the title track, it’s quickly evident that
Friedman isn’t going to be the one to make or break this record:
it’s going to be whether vocalist Luke Easter can sustain the
personality he conveys through his vocal delivery. It’s wrong to
say he sounds like Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies, because he
doesn’t really, but that’s the only name that kept popping in my
head. I even put in
Lights, Camera, Revolution and sat there saying, “Easter
doesn’t sound like Muir.” Yet, when I hear “Give Me Your Money” on
Lights, I hear Easter.
The material here consists primarily of longer thrash metal
anthems, most in the six-to-nine-minute range. The band is driven
by the interesting drumming of Kirkpatrick whose clean drum tone
and slick snare fills are impressive. Bassist Andino locks in with
Kirkpatrick, especially on track three, “Drawn and Quartered,”
which starts out with an intense snare drum work out for the first
50 seconds. Then the song shifts to a mid-tempo rock song with
thunderous tom fills. At the 1:40 mark, the song shifts again with
crowd samples, then the song goes to double-time and thrashes out.
It’s interesting that the band chose to put so many different ideas
within a single song. It seems like they should have played each
section a bit longer to develop the theme more before shifting. By
the time guitarist Friedman lets loose, though, the band has me
hooked.
“A Ghost at the Wheel” sounds like something from the ’80s with
Kirkpatrick soloing over a relatively simple riff. Then around the
:42 mark, the band shifts into a laid-back groove. This song sets
up my favorite track on this CD, the nearly seven-minute
“Architeuthis.” This song, like “Drawn and Quartered” sounds like
two songs smushed together. The first 1:42 and the thrash section
that follows it don’t really fit together. It’s like they had two
ideas, neither were developed extensively, but they liked both
sections so they put them together. I think it fits. It provides
the most musical satisfaction on this release.
Until you get to the lengthy “Healing Waters of the Tigris”
which tells the story about a civilization building a city by the
Tigris river until “God’s judgment on that fateful day – a terrible
price to pay/ The greatest city of all – Ninevah – with towering
city walls/ The awesome power of the swollen river Tigris – caused
that massive city to fall.” These lyrics lead up to a blistering
Friedman solo with Kirkpatrick and Andino locking in. Then
Kirkpatrick takes a solo, with a lot of double bass and fancy
hi-hat work, leading up to a second Friedman solo. This song then
calms down, a bit, around the 5:30 mark, and spaces out the guitar
notes in what can’t be called a calm section, but definitely less
hectic than the previous few minutes. This groove continues for a
few more minutes, allowing Friedman to stretch out even more than
previous tracks. Kirkpatrick keeps his drumming interesting with
intricate tom-tom parts which eventually lead up to the original
pattern returning. This song is an excellent example of what modern
thrash bands could be doing with their material. You can have a
9:32 thrash metal song and it can capture your attention for the
entire song.
The CD ends with the slow, plodding “In Death We Rise.” It is
probably my least favorite on the release. The CD booklet says
there are lyrics, but after repeated listenings, I hear groanings,
not words. The tempo is a snail’s pace and doesn’t fit with the
other exciting, faster material. I suppose it makes the band “more
diverse” than a band that plays the same tempo for an hour. It just
doesn’t seem to fit in the band’s musical vision for this CD.
In conclusion, I like Tourniquet. I think Kirkpatrick is an
excellent drummer, Easter’s vocals are good, even though he made me
dig out a ST release, and Andino sounds good as well. I think the
band would be a good addition to a mid-range arena tour. Musically,
they can hold their own.