Tourniquet will release a new cd (best of?) in October

TZ75 wrote:
What is the reference to Aaron on Gary’s song?

It's a thing subject to interpretations, but the chorus talks about alienating people one by one, and people leaving one by one, and it ends with "all but one can see that you lost control." As Aaron is the only old member still in the band and he's in good terms with Ted he's supposedly the "one" who can't see the truth all the others can.

I dig the song and I love Gary, but the song is quite a bit too venomous what comes to the lyrics. It's not nice either to imply that Aaron is still in the band just because he can't see what others have seen. It downplays Aaron quite a bit and I think that's unfair.
Obviously the song could technically be about anyone or just a certain type of a person in general, but lines like "said you see at 50 though you're blind" make it clear it's much more personal (that line is a reference to the lyrics of Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance: "you see at twenty what we do at fifty").

UAirola wrote:

TZ75 wrote:
What is the reference to Aaron on Gary’s song?

It's a thing subject to interpretations, but the chorus talks about alienating people one by one, and people leaving one by one, and it ends with "all but one can see that you lost control." As Aaron is the only old member still in the band and he's in good terms with Ted he's supposedly the "one" who can't see the truth all the others can.

I dig the song and I love Gary, but the song is quite a bit too venomous what comes to the lyrics. It's not nice either to imply that Aaron is still in the band just because he can't see what others have seen. It downplays Aaron quite a bit and I think that's unfair.
Obviously the song could technically be about anyone or just a certain type of a person in general, but lines like "said you see at 50 though you're blind" make it clear it's much more personal (that line is a reference to the lyrics of Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance: "you see at twenty what we do at fifty").

Yeah, I can see the Aaron connection. It’s kind of obvious like the rest is about Ted!

We need to remember that we don’t know what has gone on behind the scenes and even though I like Ted as a fan, he does seem to have a big ego and Dave Mustaine/Michael Sweet type of control over the band. As far as I know, the band was co-founded by Ted, Gary and Guy. Crawl to China’s cover was just a picture of Ted and to me that revealed a lot. Anyone remember those t-shirts with Ted’s face back in the late 90s? That was kind of strange for a Christian (ministry minded) band to do. I think it’s hard for someone to be in a band with Ted because he pretty much only wants his songs (the majority) on the albums. I know he’s a very creative guy and all... but you know the publishing credit is a factor to an extent. Don’t get me wrong. I like Ted as a fan, but I also like the other classic TQT members too. To be honest, most of my favorite TQT songs were written by Gary or co-written with Guy’s lyrics.

TZ75 wrote:

UAirola wrote:

TZ75 wrote:
What is the reference to Aaron on Gary’s song?

It's a thing subject to interpretations, but the chorus talks about alienating people one by one, and people leaving one by one, and it ends with "all but one can see that you lost control." As Aaron is the only old member still in the band and he's in good terms with Ted he's supposedly the "one" who can't see the truth all the others can.

I dig the song and I love Gary, but the song is quite a bit too venomous what comes to the lyrics. It's not nice either to imply that Aaron is still in the band just because he can't see what others have seen. It downplays Aaron quite a bit and I think that's unfair.
Obviously the song could technically be about anyone or just a certain type of a person in general, but lines like "said you see at 50 though you're blind" make it clear it's much more personal (that line is a reference to the lyrics of Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance: "you see at twenty what we do at fifty").

Yeah, I can see the Aaron connection. It’s kind of obvious like the rest is about Ted!

We need to remember that we don’t know what has gone on behind the scenes and even though I like Ted as a fan, he does seem to have a big ego and Dave Mustaine/Michael Sweet type of control over the band. As far as I know, the band was co-founded by Ted, Gary and Guy. Crawl to China’s cover was just a picture of Ted and to me that revealed a lot. Anyone remember those t-shirts with Ted’s face back in the late 90s? That was kind of strange for a Christian (ministry minded) band to do. I think it’s hard for someone to be in a band with Ted because he pretty much only wants his songs (the majority) on the albums. I know he’s a very creative guy and all... but you know the publishing credit is a factor to an extent. Don’t get me wrong. I like Ted as a fan, but I also like the other classic TQT members too. To be honest, most of my favorite TQT songs were written by Gary or co-written with Guy’s lyrics.

The original Crawl to China cover was what it was because of the record label. Ted wasn't too fond of it and that's why the re-release had a completely different cover.

I have no idea about the shirts. First time I've heard of it.

Airola wrote:

TZ75 wrote:

UAirola wrote:

TZ75 wrote:
What is the reference to Aaron on Gary’s song?

It's a thing subject to interpretations, but the chorus talks about alienating people one by one, and people leaving one by one, and it ends with "all but one can see that you lost control." As Aaron is the only old member still in the band and he's in good terms with Ted he's supposedly the "one" who can't see the truth all the others can.

I dig the song and I love Gary, but the song is quite a bit too venomous what comes to the lyrics. It's not nice either to imply that Aaron is still in the band just because he can't see what others have seen. It downplays Aaron quite a bit and I think that's unfair.
Obviously the song could technically be about anyone or just a certain type of a person in general, but lines like "said you see at 50 though you're blind" make it clear it's much more personal (that line is a reference to the lyrics of Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance: "you see at twenty what we do at fifty").

Yeah, I can see the Aaron connection. It’s kind of obvious like the rest is about Ted!

We need to remember that we don’t know what has gone on behind the scenes and even though I like Ted as a fan, he does seem to have a big ego and Dave Mustaine/Michael Sweet type of control over the band. As far as I know, the band was co-founded by Ted, Gary and Guy. Crawl to China’s cover was just a picture of Ted and to me that revealed a lot. Anyone remember those t-shirts with Ted’s face back in the late 90s? That was kind of strange for a Christian (ministry minded) band to do. I think it’s hard for someone to be in a band with Ted because he pretty much only wants his songs (the majority) on the albums. I know he’s a very creative guy and all... but you know the publishing credit is a factor to an extent. Don’t get me wrong. I like Ted as a fan, but I also like the other classic TQT members too. To be honest, most of my favorite TQT songs were written by Gary or co-written with Guy’s lyrics.

The original Crawl to China cover was what it was because of the record label. Ted wasn't too fond of it and that's why the re-release had a completely different cover.

I have no idea about the shirts. First time I've heard of it.

I was at the Walker Hall show (the one on the video) and I saw at least one person wearing a professionally made t shirt with Ted’s face. Totally like a rock star image type thing.

Crawl album cover was exactly what Rami said. It was our only album on a "Nashville" label - and they preferred that image for the cover. BTW - of all our album covers, that one is Marty Friedman's favorite - weird and understated. As for the "shirts with my face": it was precisely ONE shirt - worn by a drummer fan who took the pic from the Vanishing Lessons release and had it made at a T shirt shop. Also - please be careful not to confuse "big ego" with confidence, leadership, and having a clear vision for something. You think there would be a Megadeth or a Stryper without the vision, songwriting talent, and leadership of those two guys? Any band with no leader will likely not last long...

Ted Kirkpatrick wrote:Crawl album cover was exactly what Rami said. It was our only album on a "Nashville" label - and they preferred that image for the cover. BTW - of all our album covers, that one is Marty Friedman's favorite - weird and understated. As for the "shirts with my face": it was precisely ONE shirt - worn by a drummer fan who took the pic from the Vanishing Lessons release and had it made at a T shirt shop. Also - please be careful not to confuse "big ego" with confidence, leadership, and having a clear vision for something. You think there would be a Megadeth or a Stryper without the vision, songwriting talent, and leadership of those two guys? Any band with no leader will likely not last long...

Thanks for the reply and explaining the shirt thing... 

All these years my friend and I have remembered seeing “that guy” wearing the shirt with the image of your face in the crowd and thinking it was a little strange for a band that was primarily focused on ministry. You just clearly said it was a “one off” custom made fan shirt. I have absolutely no problem with any fan admiring your drum skills because I am among the fans that do! I just perceived the shirt as a strange merch item for a ministry oriented band. Now for the “diss tracks” like Gary’s latest song, didn’t you guys kind of fire the first shot with that song on the Microscopic View album? I know it’s perceived to be about Guy Ritter, but it definitely appeared to be a personal attack aired like dirty laundry for everyone to see. I’m not quite sure why you and Gary have this long lasting feud, other than what I gather from the song about control issues and creative differences. Nonetheless, there is unresolved bitterness. 

I’m sorry if I came across salty... 
The truth is that I am a old school Tourniquet fan that loved the chemistry you guys had on the first three albums (and I give a strong nod to VL too). I’m a fan and I continue to look forward to your new music. But I gotta say... I really hope you can find a permanent singer that can do your music justice. Ripper is great, but we all know he’s a non committed hired gun in multiple projects. There’s very little chance he will make any live appearances with TQT. Have you considered using his friend and colleague Sean Peck from the band Cage?

Thanks for the reply Ted.

And for the record: none of this is our business, but we are fans and I'm sure you yourself have a favorite band or two that you like to get the scoop on and talk about as well....

It seems to me that in many (not all) cases there is a Chief and bunch of Indians in any team, club, tribe, band, etc.

I've seen the same thing happen with Tobias Forge from Ghost, Roger M. from Vengeance Rising, Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, Steve Harris from Iron Maiden (maybe not the best example), Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth), Axl Rose, Paul Speckman (Master), Nergal (Behemoth), Steve Rowe (Mortification), Klayton (Circle of Dust), etc

But once in a while you get two Chiefs that can maintain a good or decent working relationship. But, MANY MANY bands usually have ONE Chief and if there are two like in the case with Gary and Ted or Tobias Forge and Martin Persner from Ghost, then you have problems. Not saying Martin Persner was a Chief in Ghost, but he wrote some awesome songs too, not just Tobias. Another good example of two Chiefs is King Diamond and Andy LaRoque. Another is Gene and Paul from KISS.

Ted is right in many ways, but it breaks our hearts as fans and it really really saddens me when original lineups can't stay together. I personally, will ALWAYS love Ted, Gary, Guy, Victor and Erik.

I’m grateful that I at least got to see a remnant of old TQT with Ted and Gary together at the Junkyard show in Norco billed as “TNT” (Tourniquet, Neon Cross and Titanic). And also the acoustic show at Golgotha Music Center.

TZ75 wrote:
Now for the “diss tracks” like Gary’s latest song, didn’t you guys kind of fire the first shot with that song on the Microscopic View album? I know it’s perceived to be about Guy Ritter, but it definitely appeared to be a personal attack aired like dirty laundry for everyone to see. I’m not quite sure why you and Gary have this long lasting feud, other than what I gather from the song about control issues and creative differences. Nonetheless, there is unresolved bitterness. 

The lyrics for that song were written by Luke and he has denied it's about Guy. If it was about Guy I kinda doubt Ted had any idea who it was aimed at and probably thought it was just generally about letting old grudges go.
The tone of that song vs. Gary's song is also very much different. It didn't have any references to hitting anyone to the ground or giving middle fingers.

As far as I know Ted hasn't had a grudge with Gary but it's been Gary who hasn't been able to let it go. Now, it could be that Gary interprets interviews of Ted as Ted somehow dissing him. Lately he definitely hasn't been happy about Ted talking how he has played guitars in a lot of the old songs and I guess he takes that as being disrespectful of him, even though Ted is telling the truth. Obviously there might be a lot of other things going on that we just don't hear about.

Currently I think that the idea of Gary and Ted sharing a stage is even more impossible than it used to be for Dave Mustaine sharing a stage with Metallica. And I'm not seeing it ever resolving the way Metallica vs. Megadeth resolved. That one took about 30 years to happen so I guess there's still about 10 years time for the same to happen with Tourniquet and Gary
I think that if there is any chance of any old member being part of Tourniquet for even just one gig it would most certainly be Erik, but definitely not with Gary as that bridge has been burned to the ground so bad that building that bridge again might take too much time. But with Erik I think there could at least in theory be a chance. And if anything else would happen with the other members I think the key to resolving any other issues would have to go through Erik. As I said, he is currently the only one who has still openly shown respect towards Ted and hoped to talk with him again.

Airola wrote:

TZ75 wrote:
Now for the “diss tracks” like Gary’s latest song, didn’t you guys kind of fire the first shot with that song on the Microscopic View album? I know it’s perceived to be about Guy Ritter, but it definitely appeared to be a personal attack aired like dirty laundry for everyone to see. I’m not quite sure why you and Gary have this long lasting feud, other than what I gather from the song about control issues and creative differences. Nonetheless, there is unresolved bitterness. 

The lyrics for that song were written by Luke and he has denied it's about Guy. If it was about Guy I kinda doubt Ted had any idea who it was aimed at and probably thought it was just generally about letting old grudges go.
The tone of that song vs. Gary's song is also very much different. It didn't have any references to hitting anyone to the ground or giving middle fingers.

As far as I know Ted hasn't had a grudge with Gary but it's been Gary who hasn't been able to let it go. Now, it could be that Gary interprets interviews of Ted as Ted somehow dissing him. Lately he definitely hasn't been happy about Ted talking how he has played guitars in a lot of the old songs and I guess he takes that as being disrespectful of him, even though Ted is telling the truth. Obviously there might be a lot of other things going on that we just don't hear about.

Currently I think that the idea of Gary and Ted sharing a stage is even more impossible than it used to be for Dave Mustaine sharing a stage with Metallica. And I'm not seeing it ever resolving the way Metallica vs. Megadeth resolved. That one took about 30 years to happen so I guess there's still about 10 years time for the same to happen with Tourniquet and Gary
I think that if there is any chance of any old member being part of Tourniquet for even just one gig it would most certainly be Erik, but definitely not with Gary as that bridge has been burned to the ground so bad that building that bridge again might take too much time. But with Erik I think there could at least in theory be a chance. And if anything else would happen with the other members I think the key to resolving any other issues would have to go through Erik. As I said, he is currently the only one who has still openly shown respect towards Ted and hoped to talk with him again.

How bad is the bridge burned for Guy Ritter? He has generally been pretty quiet since he left the band.

It’s hard to believe that song Caixa de Raiva isn’t about Guy because there are some clues that are hard to explain. The reference to morning coffee... I believe Guy had a website with a title like that and the quote about a box that “echoes” with rage. Echo Hollow ring a bell? And finally, the last line “six years and counting”... so if the song was written in 1999, that would go back to around the same time in 1993 when Luke replaced Guy in TQT.

TZ75 wrote:
How bad is the bridge burned for Guy Ritter? He has generally been pretty quiet since he left the band.

The last time Guy talked more about the past was in 2007 when he was interviewed for Heaven's Metal.
You can read the interview here if you haven't already:
https://sites.google.com/site/silenceismadness777/guy-ritter/guy-ritter---interview

At least back then he was very open about making amends with people and just have a talk.
Here's a quote:
"It is common for band members to have disagreements after going separate ways. When we parted ways, we had an agreement to respect one another and to avoid any negative talk going forward. However, there were some comments made by both sides that shouldn’t have been made. The things I said were out of frustration from hearing stuff that Tourniquet had said about me, mainly after shows. That said, it would be nice if Ted called or wrote me someday. He can reach me through www.guyritter.com. I am sure that if we talked, we would have a great conversation. We have a lot to reminisce about. I would apologize too for anything I’ve said to hurt his feelings out of frustration. I am sure it will happen someday. I would also like to ask Luke why he wrote “Caixa de Raiva”. I would prefer that we all make amends for the things we have said or done."

I remember when the interview was published people fans would look at this and either say Ted's an ass for not making contact or Guy's an ass for just waiting for Ted to contact him instead of trying to be the one to contact Ted. That was when fans had this big divide and having Luke vs Guy and Old TQT vs New TQT fights, so they would look for someone to blame for whatever.


I kinda think that ship has sailed already though. At best they might have a talk one day but Guy being part of Tourniquet seems impossible. Not because of any grudges but because I'm not sure Guy would be interested in being the lead singer for a band like Tourniquet anymore. When he departed the band he wasn't much into this type of heavy music anymore, and even with Gary he has only been a guest singer in one song after the two Echo Hollow albums. Initially he was supposed to be part of the 2050 project with Gary, Erik and Victor, but he ended up not doing that for some reason. It's great thought that he ended up doing one new song last year though. Perhaps he could do something like that with Tourniquet too. One song as a guest. A song like Can't Make Me Hate You from Gazing at Medusa would fit perfectly to him with what we know his current voice is like.


I'm listening Psychosurgery right now and it's a damn shame Guy hasn't put his voice in this type of aggressive music in over 26 years now. It's a fact that his voice is among the most unique in heavy metal history and he was at his best when he was able to play with his voice the way he did in those early records. Ripper Owens is a fantastic singer and pretty certainly technically much better than Guy but Owens can't go to the same levels of uniqueness Guy did. There just is this special something in so many songs with the way Guy finishes his lines and phrases different words and wildly breaks his voice when needed. There has been NOTHING like that since then in heavy metal. I'm 100% sure that when Ted listens to the original recording of Broken Chromosomes he recognizes that they really hit all the right spots flawlessly right there. Guy's voice there is the absolute best and the most fitting that this song could ever have and Guy was able to make a performance of a century with his vocals there. Guy's voice was this perfect blend of raggedness, brutality, beauty and honesty. I'm sure Ted still appreciates and respects a lot what Guy was able to do.



And Broken Chromosomes wasn't the only song he was able to do wonders with. When you start to listen closely to his vocals in other songs you'll get to hear so many details and textures in the voice that it's actually pretty mindblowing. Take a good listen to Guy's part in Vitals Fading. "Wrinkled hands reach out for cold metal rails, whom the human bond of callous family ignores." No-one else would bring out that line the way Guy did. Luke wouldn't do that, Ripper Owens wouldn't do that. It's a voice that has the unexpectedness of a bum, the honesty of a priest and it haunts like a ghost. There really is no-one else like that.

In fact, while I know it's probably not really true and this is written quite a bit in a joking manner, when Ted used these certain "ugly" guitar tones that fill the air and make the paint crumble from the walls (I mean this all in a good way) in Perfect Night for a Hanging, In Death We Rise, in Ode to a Roadkill and stuff like that I think he was subconsciously trying to channel the perfect roughness of Guy's voice that had been missing from Ted's music.

Anyway, I think Ted and Guy could be able to be in the same room with each other. I just think they both have been able to move on so a reunion for them musically probably wouldn't happen, but I don't think the bridge between them is too badly burned. I guess the same goes with Victor too. I wonder if he'd be interested in playing on a Tourniquet album. He's now in Deliverance so musically I doubt there would be any problems. Erik is the only one who has publicly shown interest in playing with Ted again so he would probably be the easiest one to join forces with. But then again Erik also has said that he actually was asked by Ted to play as a guest guitarist in one of the albums at some point (maybe in Antiseptic Bloodbath) but that didn't end up happening because they just stopped talking and Erik has no idea why. Maybe it's just that Ted has moved on and has no real interest to go back. Who knows.

Guy Ritter = BEST. METAL. VOCALIST. EVER.

Airola, great description...

Airola, thanks for writing that! You nailed the importance and uniqueness of Guy’s voice. It feels like Ted wants to completely shut out Guy and especially Gary almost like Vinnie Paul did with Phil Anselmo. Except nobody’s brother was murdered in the TQT story... 

But that’s how strained and thick the animosity feels. I don’t understand why they all can’t just bury the hatchet and at least be cordial. I know they won’t be in a band together again, but carrying unforgiveness isn’t good.

Did you guys read what I wrote?

I'm sure this kind of chatter and gossip and over interpreting just makes all the TQT members annoyed as hell.

It's cool to discuss and nerd out for SURE, but man... none of us were there and none of it is our business.

I wish with all my heart and believe me: I wish with all my heart the original guys or at least Guy and Gary could play with Ted again. but you all sound immature

jaydeecrawson wrote:Did you guys read what I wrote?

I'm sure this kind of chatter and gossip and over interpreting just makes all the TQT members annoyed as hell.

It's cool to discuss and nerd out for SURE, but man... none of us were there and none of it is our business.

I wish with all my heart and believe me: I wish with all my heart the original guys or at least Guy and Gary could play with Ted again. but you all sound immature

Discussing a topic or subject related to Christian Metal on a discussion board isn’t immature. Once a band releases lyrics to a song, it’s going to be dissected and interpreted by fans. No insults are being said... just inquisitive discussion. Musicians are not untouchable Kings. Don’t be condescending towards us. We haven’t broken the board rules. I’m sure the band has taken note of your selfless heroic monitoring on their behalf.

jaydeecrawson wrote:Did you guys read what I wrote?

I'm sure this kind of chatter and gossip and over interpreting just makes all the TQT members annoyed as hell.

It's cool to discuss and nerd out for SURE, but man... none of us were there and none of it is our business.

I wish with all my heart and believe me: I wish with all my heart the original guys or at least Guy and Gary could play with Ted again. but you all sound immature

What exactly was immature in my post?

Sure, none of it is really our business, but as you said people like to talk about their favorite bands. Not that many bands get to be popular enough that people still after almost 30 years are interested in both what the band is doing currently and everything about their history. It shows Tourniquet has left its mark in the world when people are still talking about the full history of Tourniquet and people are still interested to know everything about that. We'd all be eager to read a book about Tourniquet, that's for sure, and that can't be said about too many bands.

Besides, if you read what I wrote, you would know that the issue of speculating and gossiping was already addressed in my very first post to this thread.
Your first post in a thread about Tourniquet's new compilation album was about thinking if Antiseptic Bloodbath Voiceless was an insult towards Luke and posts after that are all about how the old material is the best and, without really knowing about it much at all, you went on to say Ted's not even the original member because of Holy Danger. So I'm not sure if you are the one to listen to about this kind of chatter and gossip being bad.

Don’t worry Airola, I have a feeling he was mainly referring to me but didn’t want to single me out. 

I agree with you. Would a band rather fans talk about them (warts and all)? Or not care and let them fade...

Kind of chuckled at the references to Megadeth and Stryper, seeing that both Mustaine and Sweet have been publicly candid about how their big egos have caused their bands some problems through the years. I always appreciated that about them, even when they did things that I personally found annoying. People with big egos rarely ever realize it or own up to it.

The bigger issue to me is did they ever figure out how the highly-pixelated, off-center artwork made it onto the Vanishing Lessons vinyl re-issue, and will they make sure those mistakes don't happen to future releases?

grandeped wrote:The bigger issue to me is did they ever figure out how the highly-pixelated, off-center artwork made it onto the Vanishing Lessons vinyl re-issue, and will they make sure those mistakes don't happen to future releases?

I think Ted might've done the layouts of the Vanishing Lessons vinyl and Gazing at Medusa layouts and typographic things by himself as there weren't any mention of any of that in the final products. I love owning these (I have three Vanishing Lessons vinyls and one Gazing at Medusa vinyl and CD) but yeah, you can see quite a bit of JPG encoding artefacts or something like that in VL vinyl artwork. And there is this certain lack of polish in how the lyrics and liner notes and stuff like that are shown. If you look at the spine of the Medusa CD the text is super basic and doesn't have much of a "character" to it, so to speak. The spine texts in older Tourniquet CDs look way more polished. In Medusa's cover booklet the background pictures are cool and fine, but the text should've gone through more attention to detail and polish. It's a bit of a shame as the cover art is really good. The text looks like it would've needed at least some bolding effect and probably a font change too. By the way, never underestimate the bolding effect when making a commercial product. It gives surprisingly much more punch and visibility to the text. Sometimes just picking up a nice looking font isn't enough, but it needs additional bolding or other changes to it (like perhaps widening the spacing between letters or something else).

The original releases of previous records are all really good what comes to layouts. It's an art form that requires certain type of delicacy. You can just put the texts in and let it be what it is, or you can try all kinds of things and make it be all over the place. The new millennium reissues of first three albums by Brian J Ames honestly were quite a bit overdone and done without delicate polish. Heck, even the spine of Pathogenic had "dissonance" typoed as "dissonence", and do I even need to mention how the new cover art of it looked... I'm glad the next batch of reissues got the original cover art back. Apparently Ted noticed what was wrong with it too.

It takes surprisingly lot of time and work to get seemingly simple things as just some album title or liner notes to look like they are part of a complete polished package. It's a shame whenever the art looks fantastic but then the text on or around or wherever along with it looks like it was more or less slapped in without giving that little detail the extra care it needed. I'm not just talking about Tourniquet products but products in general.

I'm really disappointed in this thread. In the old days, it would have been locked by now. You guys are getting calm in your old age.

The tracks included in the album are:

(note: this probably isn't the order they are going to appear in the album)
Trivializing the Momentius, Complicating the Obvious
Fed by Ravens, Eaten by Vultures
Skeezix Dilemma
Skeezix Dilemma Part II
Healing Waters of the Tigris
The Hand Trembler
Peaceful Beauty of Brutal Justice
Besprinkled in Scarlet Horror
Viento Borrascoso
The Tomb of Gilgamesh


No new tracks.
Fed by Ravens will have Ripper Owens on vocals instead of Luke Easter.
No Harlot Widow and the Virgin Bride which I thought would've been an obvious choice because it's the first really epic Tourniquet track. Tears of Korah would've been good in an "Epic Tracks" album too. Bummer that nothing from Stop the Bleeding is included. Then again, there are too many epic tracks especially in the post 2000 Tourniquet albums for all of them to be included. I think Drawn & Quartered should've been there too.

But still, their first epic track (or second if you think Tears of Korah is more epic) that was in their debut album is not included... Maybe he didn't include them because they are Gary's and Guy's songs, or maybe it's just what was the best fit for as many tracks in a CD that there can be and choices had to be made. I'm not really disagreeing with any of the choices there. Even Viento Borrascoso fits the theme. But if one song could've been removed I would've got rid of Peaceful Beauty. But then again, obviously it's good to have at least something from the latest album there too. And that would've been a bit over 5 minutes of more free time and I'm not sure there would've been other contenders to fit that space unless Viento Borrascoso would've been out too, so...

Really glad that Trivializing and The Hand Trembler are included. And it's also good that he didn't put anything from Onward to Freedom even though Drowning in Air would've fit the theme too and would've been a good song too.

Here's hoping they'll release THE FAST TRACKS someday too. Filling that CD would be easier and there would probably be space for new tracks too. It's a bit disappointing that there are no new tracks in THE EPIC TRACKS although it's understandable as the songs are longer and it's harder to choose what to leave out. At least Fed by Ravens is partly new, although certainly really polarizing within fans.

I'll pass this cd... Great cover, but I have all the tracks and ''Fed...'' with new vocals I'll stream by official  ways. It's very expensive to import a cd now to Brazil, so I need to choice wisely what I want...

Only one track from Psycho Surgery! And it’s the instrumental...

Could it be a snub to Guy Ritter? 

I think Broken Chromosomes is more of an “epic” track (in a emotional sense). Viento is cool, but it’s kind of just a showcase for a drum solo.