Tourniquet

Item: Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance
Author: Doug Van Pelt

Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance

(1992)

Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

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Label Intense RecordsHeaven's Metal #39January/February 1993

progressive metal thrash metal

The new Tourniquet album comes after a strong showing on their debut album, with tunes like "Ark of Suffering" and vocals eerily close to King Diamond; and a most excellent sophomore effort with "Psycho Surgery." The anticipation for this album has been high--and undoubtedly mounted after a three-month delay. My widest observation of this project? It takes longer to get into than "Psycho," which was immediately accessible to these ears. After several listens, the riffs and efforts behind these songs begin to jell. Only a few songs carry the immediate "grab you by the throat and pick you up" hooks; those being "Phantom Limb," "Exoskeletons" and "Theodicy On Trial." "Impending Embolism" starts off the record as a non-song intro, beginning with a voice-over on top of spinning, psychotic riffs trading off from left to right channels. The title track follows as a real screaming thrasher, with the chorus simply being the title slowly shouted out. "Exoskeletons" is the best song on the album. It's got an excellent groove and a great chorus hook, which is probably driven in the ground a bit at the end. There's an emotional a cappella delivery on top of swirling samples in the first two verses, followed by the big groove, bringing to mind the classic "Broken Chromosomes." I can't get enough of this tune. It's a monster! "Ruminating Virulence" has a very contagious and thrashin' rhythm and feel with Gary Lenaire handling "urgency" vocals on the first two verses and Guy Ritter comes in for resolution on the concluding verse: "When you put away bitterness, you will see what you have missed." Wanna heavy, "beat you over the face," tune? Check out "Incommensurate," featuring the angry vocals of Lenaire and Macias (singing in Spanish no less!). "Gelatinous Tubercles of Purulent Ossification" is a heavy, psychedelic-type tune. The middle of the song has a long bridge with several cool starts and rests. "Theodicy on Trial" features some cool lyrics about Job, with an excellent vocal shout/trade-off between Guy and Gary in God's "argument" with Job. Lyrically, it's easy to wonder if Tourniquet desires to make us all medically literate (By the way, this medical vocabulary comes from drummer Ted Kirkpatrick's pen and not vocalist Guy Ritter--as erroneously reported in HM #37). Anyway, there's some awesome statements here, like the parallel drawn in "Phantom Limb" about the mysterious phenomenon amputees have when they "feel" their missing limbs with the severing of communication with God: "But just like the feeling in your arm that is gone/ You've severed communication with Him all along." In "Gelatinous Tubercles of Purulent Ossification," Ted addresses the end result of cigarette smoking for many: throat cancer. "The dreams that you had grown cold/ Your mistake burdens you a hundred fold/ God knows our hearts are weak/ But we must learn to think before we speak/And consider the damage that we wreak/By choosing a foolish road to seek." Interspersed throughout the song are samples of one such victim, who must hold a voicebox to his throat to speak in synthesized tones. Cool effect that doubles the lyrical impact. Although my initial disappointment with this album has turned to glee, I still think Tourniquet could've done better on this one--its second album licensed to Metal Blade. Hopefully, most of the listeners of this album will give it a chance to sink its very contagious hooks into their skulls.