Tourniquet
Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Oh yeah! The intro to this album ("Besprinkled in Scarlet Horror") ends all the speculation - Tourniquet is not experimenting with a new sound anymore . . . they're blowing your head off with blazing heavy metal. Fans of Tourniquet's first three albums will feel like they're getting the follow-up to Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance with its biting and rising guitar scales. There's a harpsichord break and even a piccolo solo near the end, bringing the listener down after the rocket ride of the first 6 minutes. After just one song, both J.S. Bach and Randy Rhoads will be rolling over in their graves with a smile and a thumbs up. The first sign that we haven't traveled back in time are the Vanishing Lessons-era vocals by Luke Easter, which become prominent in the second track, "Drinking From the Poison Well." There's times (like the end of "Besprinkled..." and the intro to "The Tomb of Gilgamesh") where Luke doesn't sound like a rock star, but more like any guy from my high school singing in a Christmas play. I'd rather hear him sound tough than gentle. For example, the lines in "Erratic Palpitations of the Human Spirit," much like the classic "Acid Head," sound like Luke is picking a fight, not serenading a lady. Many other tunes here, like "Indulgence by Proxy," feature the signature call/response vocals between Luke and Aaron. They sound good yelling at each other (they must be in a band together!). The drumming is very busy and intricate, giving the listener something to study and pick out, kinda like the instruments in a symphony. It would be interesting to get the metronome out and note the differences in timing of each song. The guitar work throughout is what shines most brightly here. There's leads and solos, and the spotlight riffing has that treble bite that marks the difference between classic metal and grunge. This is the kind of album that might inspire more Jackson and BC Rich new guitar sales than kids buying used and beat up Fenders. There's a little bit of the odd guitar noises a la Korn or Rage, but overall the impression will be one that dukes it out in the thrash metal field. I love the "Skeezix" flavored guitars that start "Martyr's Pose," which marry classical guitar picking with the electric guitar. The riff that takes over is monstrous, like the huge walls of sound on the Metallica black album. And speaking of "Skeezix," we get "Part 2" of the classic tune here - just shy of 10 minutes long. Another highlight has to be the complex instrumental, "Immunity Vector," which conjures images of "Psycho Surgery" with its precise and fast riffing, and the energy of a Ted Kirkpatrick drum solo a la "K517." Since these songs are so imaginative, and the field is now more narrow, this is probably better than any of its mainstream peers (Carcass, Death, Slayer, etc.). I think this album is a good example of an artist listening to its fans, and giving them what they want without sounding contrived. I'd give the boys an "A."
Other coverage for this album
7ball #31Reviewed by David MuttilloEarly in Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm, Tourniquet quotes Bach's humble description of his great music: "They're simply notes put together in bars." Much like that great classical composer of old, the sum of this trio's output is much greater than just so many creatively arranged notes from a scale. It's easy to fall for such an assumption, though, since nobody can cram as many notes…