They're Simply Notes Put Together In Bars

Tourniquet is a Christian thrash band who have been around a long while. The album I'm reviewing today has a more power metal feel, but don't worry, the thrash is still there. "Microscopic View Of A Telescopic Realm" is a great and diverse album. Where Tourniquet originated as fast thrash, they've now grown, but still managed to keep the fast thrash feel, only the songs are more complex.

The album starts off with Megadeth like riffing and fires into some good Tourniquet thrash. "Besprinkled In Scarlet Horror" blasts the listener about the flak Tourniquet and other Christian bands like them have received because the music is heavy metal. The band hammers it home lyrically with this song, the words are thought provoking and honest. And I agree. Who said God's praise can only be sung through hymns by church choirs accompanied by an old person tinkling on a pipe organ who almost knows how to play and only hitting wrong notes 40% of the time? God's praise comes from the heart. Everybody knows that and I always laugh when I hear that criticism like this actually happens. Mortification, Living Sacrifice, Tourniquet and many other Christian metal bands sing God's praise with equal if not more passion than any number of gospel/hymn choirs. I'll hold Exousia's "Extreme Love" up against anything Jars Of Clay have done (which, mind you, I'll be reviewing one of theirs at a later date). Whew, that said, the opener pulls you in nicely as well as featuring a flute solo which also appears in "Immunity Vector".


The whole album just rocks, but stand outs are the title track which blasts into you with an sensation of urgency almost like the song is ending before it starts. It works. "Erratic Palpitations of the Human Spirit" is another throw back to early Tourny and I love the narrative style verses.

Along with flute, other power metal influences appear "The Skeezix Dilemma Pt.II (The Improbable Testimony of the Pipsisewah)" with its folk like guitar work and doomy violin solo adds another level to this very Megadeth like song. And the sick goat sounds midway through add a real eeriness to it.


My favourite track is "Servant Of The Bones". It's a solid thrash tune with a great sing along chorus: "Burn me once, shame on you, Burn me twice, shame on me. You'll never get that close, not while I serve the Bones." Beautiful!

I'm going to branch out again, before continuing with more Christian Metal bands, but before I do I want to review Horde. This is a one man "Anonymous" project by a guy whose explored a wide variety of extreme metal.