Defiantly one of the most pure melodic Thrash Metal releases coming form a group of positively inspired guys. You know, some of you wouldn't think that Christian Rock would have a place in the Metal world, well listen to this album and guess again. Lyrically and musically these guys do it all.
Having many achievements brought upon them, winning several awards in the Christian Music field, receiving publicity left and right, releasing numerous releases, and receiving critical acclaim from all fans alike,
Tourniquet has made some friends along the way by the likes of
Marty Friedman (Megadeth/ Cacophony) and Bruce Franklin (Trouble), who add their lead axe attack to the record.
While the connotations of the early thrash influence of
Death Angel and Exciter crossed with the melodic prominence of early
Metallica and Megadeth, adding the aggression of Motorhead and Exodus,
Tourniquet's sound remains balls-to-the-wall complete with thick melodic riffs and rhythmic punch, giving Where Moth and Rust destroy the vibe of a classic thrash metal album conjoined with a modern production.
Lyrically this record combines classic literary work ideology with biblical concepts, the band admits that they combine influences from the works of Edgar Allen Poe, among others, to Old Testament theology, creating deep and inspired conceptual passages.
With the whole musical comparisons aside, the band keeps their songwriting and production to the point, without going overboard, leaving the sound to a rawness, putting the guitars-bass-drum setup up front and in-your-face. Such a band has created songs like the Slayer-esque
"Architeuthis," The dark Sabbath inspired
"Convoluted Absolutes " and the even darker
"Healing Waters of the Tigris," which is a moody slow paced cut. The speedy Thrash cut
"Drawn and Quartered" keeps the record interesting using a real string quartet in the intro, yes, real strings! No keyboards on this record, just guitars, hell, shouldn't the names I mentioned above say it all. There are some dabbles in progressive experimentation with
"Restoring the Locust Years" as well as the title cut, with the guitar work having some neo-classical riffs, but in general, the album stays heavy throughout.
This is one of the most down to earth Metal albums that is out right now, with no elements of Black or Death Metal, no ambient experimentations, and no going overboard with the production, it is just a straight ahead Metal record.
Written by
Hashman Sunday, July 13, 2003
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