The current members of Tourniquet are Ted Kirkpatrick (drums), Luke Easter (vocals), and Aaron Guerra (guitar, vocals).
Former members include Gary Lenaire, Guy Ritter, Victor Macias, Erik Mendez, Steve Andino (bass) and Vince Dennis.
The band is named after a tourniquet which is a surgical device for arresting hemorrhage by compression of a blood vessel. According to the band, tourniquet is a metaphor for "a lifelong spiritual process by which a personal God, through the atoning blood, death, and resurrection of His only Son—Jesus Christ—can begin to stop the flow of going through life without knowing and serving our Creator. He is our Tourniquet."
Tourniquet was formed as a christianthrash metal band. The group was one of many bands who were, at the time, affiliated with a church group called Sanctuary - the rock and roll refuge in Los Angeles. They started out with Ted Kirkpatrick(drums), Guy Ritter (vocals) and Gary Lennaire (guitaris/vocalist).
Their first record Stop the Bleeding was produced in 1990, by Bill Metoyer of Metal Blade Records, and released by Intense Records. While it was mostly distributed to Christian bookstores, Stop the Bleeding was a notable Christian thrash metal album in its time. Tourniquet's characteristic style broke new ground and quickly gained them fans all over the world. In their early line up, Guy Ritter sang the more melodic vocal parts while Gary Lenaire did the aggressive, thrash metal shouts. The band brought forth their first single Ark of Suffering, which received some minor airplay on MTV, but was pulled down due to video shots of animal abuse. Because of the song and it's subsequent video, the band became known for its stance on animal rights.
In 1991, Tourniquet abandoned most of its 1980's metal influences and recorded a more modern album titled Psycho Surgery. On the song Spineless the band experimented with rap rock in the vein of Anthrax and Faith No More long before the style became popular later in the 1990's. Psycho Surgery showcased the classical music influences more clearly than on 'Stop The Bleeding', and the drummer’s background in the pharmaceutical industry became more apparent: many of the songs utilized medical terminology as metaphors for social/spiritual issues. On Psycho Surgery. Tourniquet continued to work with producer Bill Metoyer, and eventually signed a distribution agreement with Metal Blade Records, which released Psycho Surgery to a far wider general market audience than the band was able to reach with Stop the Bleeding. However, Intense Records still released Psycho Surgery and distributed it to Christian retail
In 1993, Tourniquet recorded what is considered their most technical and dark album, Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance. Guy Ritter left the band during the recording of Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance. Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance quickly became one of the most popular of the band's albums among Tourniquet fans, and it was voted Favourite Album of the 1990's by the readers of HM Magazine. As with the previous album, Metal Blade Records released Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance to the general market and Intense Records released it to the Christian market. Luke Easter, who had formerly sung in a more pop rock oriented group, replaced Ritter, joining Tourniquet for the Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance tour. On this tour, Tourniquet was scheduled to play the Milwaukee Metalfest in 1993, but professed satanist Glen Benton of Deicide, the festival headliner, refused to play with a Christian band. The festival was forced to cancel Tourniquet's performance. This brought more publicity and notoriety to Tourniquet.
The band's sound took a sharp turn from their early thrash metal days, following the departure of original vocalist Guy Ritter. In the interim, the band recorded a "live in studio" album with Les Carlsen of Bloodgood. The following album, Vanishing Lessons was much more hard rock, but no less technical. After another EP, Gary Lennaire left the band.
The band's latest release, Where Moth and Rust Destroy, features special guests Marty Friedman, formerly of Megadeth, and Bruce Franklin, formerly of Trouble, on lead guitar (tourniquet had previously covered Trouble's The Tempter on their live EP).
Bats
Tourniquet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You think they'll hit you, but they won't
You think they nest in your hair, but they don't
Bats, bats, bats
You think that feathers is what they got
The old adage "blind as a bat" - the truth is they can see
But not as good as you and me
Bats, bats, bats
I used to think that God was always serious
And I could walk the fence, I must have been delirious
I wonder if He laughs
I guess that I'm just curious
Bats, bats
The God Jehovah is not feathers, wood, or stone
The Word became flesh, and ascended to the throne
He walked the earth like you and me
And dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be
And dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be
Bats, bats
"Bats" by Tourniquet is a song that delves into the misconceptions people have about the mammal. The song starts with "Bats, bats, bats," which is repeated throughout the song. The lyrics address fears people have about bats, such as the fear that they will hit you or nest in your hair, and the misconception that they have feathers like birds. The old saying, "blind as a bat," is also addressed, and it's revealed that bats can see, just not as well as humans.
The second half of the song turns to spirituality, questioning the idea of God always being serious and wondering if He has a sense of humor. The lyrics specifically mention the God Jehovah and how He is not represented by feathers, wood, or stone, but rather became flesh and ascended to the throne. The song emphasizes the idea that God wants to dwell in our hearts.
The song's lyrics may seem disjointed, but they come together to show that we often have preconceptions about things we know nothing about, whether it is bats or spirituality. The song's message is that we should seek to understand and see things for what they truly are.
Line by Line Meaning
Bats, bats, bats
Repetition of the refrain throughout the song
You think they'll hit you, but they won't
Contrary to popular belief, bats won't harm you even if they come close to you
You think they nest in your hair, but they don't
Another myth debunked - bats don't use human hair as a nesting place
You think that feathers is what they got
People mistakenly associate bats with having feathers, which they do not possess
You think they are a bird - but they are not
Bats are often mistaken for birds, but they are a separate species altogether
The old adage "blind as a bat" - the truth is they can see
A common misconception about bats is that they are blind, but they can actually see (albeit not as well as humans)
I used to think that God was always serious
The singer used to believe that God was always solemn and grave
And I could walk the fence, I must have been delirious
The artist admits to being foolish in thinking that they could stay balanced on the fence of belief and doubt
I wonder if He laughs
The artist expresses curiosity about whether God is capable of laughter
The God Jehovah is not feathers, wood, or stone
The artist asserts that God is not to be equated with physical objects such as feathers, wood, or stone
The Word became flesh, and ascended to the throne
A reference to the Christian belief that Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine, and that he ascended to the throne of heaven
He walked the earth like you and me
Jesus lived a human life on earth, experiencing the same joys and hardships as any person
And dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be
The singer believes that Jesus wishes to have a personal, intimate relationship with each individual
And dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be
Repetition of the line, emphasizing its importance
Bats, bats
Repetition of the refrain at the end of the song
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