TOURNIQUET is a band you've most likely never heard of and it's a shame because this three piece possess a tremendous amount of talent. They've been around since 1989 but never seemed to be able to crawl out of the underground Metal scene. It's been nearly a decade since TOURNIQUET's last release, "Where Moth and Rust Destroy", so "Antiseptic Bloodbath" has been greatly anticipated by many TOURNIQUET fans. Following up their previous release was no small task and "Antiseptic Bloodbath" does not fall short. It's full of everything a TOURNIQUET record should have; awesome guitar solos, lovely drum fills, and a Christ centered message. If you like Progressive / Technical Thrash Metal then this is right up your alley.

The opening track of this cd starts off sounding like a kids bop track but don't hit skip yet, at the 33 second mark that unique TOURNIQUET guitar sound comes in and you are free to bang your head the rest of the hour long album. If you are a longtime fan of TOURNIQUET you'll be happy to know that Luke Easter's vocals are still right on the mark. If you are new to this band the vocals might be a turn off for you. Let's just say the vocals are "unique" and take some getting used to. If you can stand the vocals the rest of the album is extremely enjoyable, but to reassure you, over time Easter's style will be less of a nuisance. The second song is the title track and probably the thrashiest song on the album. It has a nice solo towards the end which flows into a neat TOURNIQUET remix of "Onward Christian Soldiers". The progressive elements are certainly made clear with the intro to "The Maiden Who Slept in the Glass Coffin". The intro has a trumpet playing while the guitar harmonizes with it. It may not sound like anything special while you are reading this but when you hear it on the cd it'll sound different and unique. The next track "Chamunda Temple Stampede" has a maddening solo right off the bat followed by a killer riff that is easy to bang your head to. After the chorus there is a little vocal break down that sounds kind of groovy, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when you hear it. On "86 Bullets" there is yet another awesome riff accompanied by yet another wicked solo. This song, from my understanding, has to do with an animal getting loose from a circus and running through the city only to be shot down with 86 bullets. This sounds sort of comical but strange tales like this one is nothing odd for Tourniquet. The last track is an eight minute TOURNIQUET epic, full of guitar harmonies, drum fills, tempo changes, and a Biblical story about people being eaten by dog vultures. Now that's Metal!

To pick a favorite track would be just about impossible. They are all so good and full of tasty riffs and exuberant drumming. The only bad thing about this whole CD is the vocals but after the second play through they aren't that bad. If you want to compare this to other bands of the same genre you'd have to find bands that sound like TOURNIQUET. I don't know any bands that are Technical Thrash fused with progressive elements. TOURNIQUET has its own unique sound and that's why I enjoy listening to them. Please support this band and buy "Antiseptic Bloodbath", you won't regret it.