Re: Flood - Polarized (ex-tourniquet Gary Lenaire, Guy Ritter, Erik Mendez) PREVIEW VIDEO available

by Raegoul Fri Jan 28, 2022 2:55 pm

Right, you guys convinced me to order the CD, something I haven‘t done in years. Can‘t wait!

by Temple of Blood Fri Jan 28, 2022 3:03 pm

Raegoul wrote:Right, you guys convinced me to order the CD, something I haven‘t done in years. Can‘t wait!

You've not ordered a CD in years?

by Raegoul Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:22 pm

Temple of Blood wrote:
Raegoul wrote:Right, you guys convinced me to order the CD, something I haven‘t done in years. Can‘t wait!

You've not ordered a CD in years?

Indeed. I collected vinyls. Hip Hop vinyls.

by Son of Nun Fri Jan 28, 2022 6:55 pm

Raegoul wrote:Hip Hop vinyls.

Leave the hall.

by Schorsch Sat Jan 29, 2022 11:35 am

Listened to it for at least ten times. I love some of it (e.g. Freeloading Larceny, Darfur). Others, like Biotech Babylon seem like a mess to my(!) ears, with too many parts randomly thrown together (not that I don't like the riffs or the solos). The instrumentals, especially In Remission - like it. 'My Last Ride' - lyrically my very least favorite. The guitar solos shine on every song.

Others already mentioned it....the drums. I don't know, on my in-ear headphones it's unbearable to me, in particular the snare. On my hifi system the drums sound less unnerving, but still lessens the overall exitement massivly. Is it the recording or the mixing? I don't know. The whole sound of the album is very bright, sterile to me. Maybe that's why some wonder, if in some parts a drum machine was used?

Is Polarized a successor to the glorious days of old Tourniquet? I wasn't hoping for it to be, because, well, it wouldn't be possible. Ted's drumming defines too much of Tourniquet's sound. And quite honestly, I find the Tourniquet albums that followed Pathogenic equally great. Different, but great nonetheless. For me Polarized is a mixture of a lot of Echo Hollow (vocals), early Tourniquet (guitar solos), ... and 2050.

Overall I really like the album, but I think it suffers from the mixing. So far the two videos on youtube have ~7000 views together. I hope the album gets more listeners than just a few die hard fans, it deserves it.

by Son of Nun Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:56 pm

I got my autographed CD today. I think they must just be running behind (hopefully they're selling a lot of copies). I ordered on Jan. 15th and it didn't ship until a few days ago, but they sent it Priority. Also no communication (shipping confirmation or response to my inquiry) so I'm assuming they're busy. Will listen soon.

by Frozen Fire Sat Jan 29, 2022 10:48 pm

Schorsch wrote:Ted's drumming defines too much of Tourniquet's sound.

Interestingly, I love David's drumming in Extol and Azusa. I think he's fantastically creative in those bands. Here it sounds like anyone on the planet could have played on the album. I didn't expect him to sound like Ted but he doesn't even sound like himself. There a small few bursts where he does something unique but it is otherwise almost non-existent. I don't think it's possible for Ted to sound ordinary, ever. He always flavors things to the better.

Ultimately, this album doesn't "need" something unique in that department but considering David and Anna's talent, aside from the instrumentals, the regular tracks could have anyone playing on them.

I still absolutely love the album though.

by CrimsonWarrior Sun Jan 30, 2022 9:58 pm

Schorsch wrote:'My Last Ride' - lyrically my very least favorite.

Glad I'm not the only one!

by TZ75 Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:11 am

CrimsonWarrior wrote:
Schorsch wrote:'My Last Ride' - lyrically my very least favorite.
Glad I'm not the only one!

The irony is that it seems like a Ted K type of song. A dog version of “Twilight” from Vanishing Lessons.

by Airola Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:24 pm

Speaking of My Last Ride, a lyric video for it was released today.

I love the song. It's both musically and lyrically sad. And yes, it's lyrically very simple and maybe a bit naive, but it's from the perspective and point of view of a dog, so the simplicity fits really well to it. It still makes me cry.

by scottmitchell74 Wed Feb 02, 2022 10:01 am

My review:

When I first got it I was pretty disappointed. After the major hype around here I was expecting the second coming of STB or one of the first three. But, to be fair, I wasn't able to listen to it in one sitting. So I went back to the well.

I decided to listen to it a number of times over a two week period. It has definitely grown on me.

There are 4-5 really, really good songs.

There are 1-2 good songs.

That's pretty good for an album: 5-7 good-great songs.

There are at least one too many instrumentals. I'm not a huge fan of them. The first one is good. The last half of Darfur is basically a long, slow instrumental. The 2nd instrumental is a skipper.

The "dog" song I find...is "cringe" the going word these days? It's just so goofy lyrically I can't stand it. If the actual song was so fast or brutal that the lyrics kind of get buried maybe I'd listen to it, but it's not a good enough song to endure those lyrics. I skip it.

The first 3.5 songs are great. Stop the Bleeding is awesome!!!!!!Great album ender! Polarized and Freeloading Larceny are very good. The dog song is a skip, the 2nd instrumental is a skip.

Overall - It's a solid 8/10 which is a big, pleasant surprise.

For a Quarter of a Century we've heard Bride, Deliverance, Morty, Tourniquet, etc...saying, "This one is a return to form" and then...meh. So, the fact that the 3/4 Tourniquet team put out an album that for 3/4 of the album sounds like a nice mix of the First Three...not too bad at all.

Now! Before anyone gets on me.

I do like some of the post-90s Morty. I like Erasing the Goblin.

Tourniquet's impossibly good first 3 were hard to beat, to be certain. I thought Where Moth and Rust Destroy and Antiseptic Bloodbath were good-to-very good.
Gazing at Medusa - I heard the title track and bought instantly. Only to find out that's the only good song on the whole album!

Bride - My all-time favorite band - hasn't had an album I've really liked since Scarecrow Messiah.

Deliverance - Since Stay of Execution I've only found As Above, So Below to be pretty good.

Stryper - Stryper has been about the only band to come back really strong and hit a number of home runs.

Impellitteri never had a letdown, in my opinion.

by TZ75 Wed Feb 02, 2022 10:41 am

Frozen Fire wrote:
Schorsch wrote:Ted's drumming defines too much of Tourniquet's sound.
Interestingly, I love David's drumming in Extol and Azusa. I think he's fantastically creative in those bands. Here it sounds like anyone on the planet could have played on the album. I didn't expect him to sound like Ted but he doesn't even sound like himself. There a small few bursts where he does something unique but it is otherwise almost non-existent. I don't think it's possible for Ted to sound ordinary, ever. He always flavors things to the better.

Ultimately, this album doesn't "need" something unique in that department but considering David and Anna's talent, aside from the instrumentals, the regular tracks could have anyone playing on them.

I still absolutely love the album though.

To be fair, I don’t think just anyone could play the double bass speed that David performed on Biotech Babylon. In that way, he blows Ted out of the water. Ted never had fast feet.

I do agree that David’s skills could have been more utilized. The same thing happened with Jayson Sherlock when he played on Deliverance’s “Hear What I Say” album.

by Airola Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:16 am

TZ75 wrote:The same thing happened with Jayson Sherlock when he played on Deliverance’s “Hear What I Say” album.

Yeah, I agree. Jayson on Deliverance sounded exciting on paper but the end result sounded very lukewarm.

It's like with Donnie Hamzik getting back in Manowar. His drumming on the Manowar debut was better than perhaps any drumming Scott Columbus or Rhino did in later Manowar albums. And when Manowar had the live show where they had all their previous members on stage together - there were three drummers on stage at the same time - Donnie was clearly the best of the bunch and had way better stage charisma too. So when they were recording a new album with Donnie on drums I got pretty excited. But the end result sounded almost like a very basic Scott Columbus. There were zero things that made his drumming any different than what the previous albums had.

I think the only time my expectations have been met with a "legendary drummer" being part of a new album was Jim Chaffin on Deliverance's The Subversive Kind. That was some really human and warm and wild drumming there!

What comes to David on Flood, I guess my only gripe is with how sterile the drumming sometimes sound and I still think that's only an issue of mixing (and perhaps using electronic drums - I have no idea if that's what he used though). He is very precise and as you mentioned his double bass work is quite phenomenal what comes to speed. And the drumming in general is very good. It lacks the warmth and exciting details of what Ted Kirkpatrick's drumming has been and had in every single Tourniquet album, but it's not bad drumming at all, and not even just average. At best it's rather great I think. Apart from the "sterileness" of it I think it met my expections better than Jayson on Hear What I Say (and Donnie Hamzik on Manowar's The Lord of Steel).

by TZ75 Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:54 pm

Airola wrote:
TZ75 wrote:The same thing happened with Jayson Sherlock when he played on Deliverance’s “Hear What I Say” album.

Yeah, I agree. Jayson on Deliverance sounded exciting on paper but the end result sounded very lukewarm.

It's like with Donnie Hamzik getting back in Manowar. His drumming on the Manowar debut was better than perhaps any drumming Scott Columbus or Rhino did in later Manowar albums. And when Manowar had the live show where they had all their previous members on stage together - there were three drummers on stage at the same time - Donnie was clearly the best of the bunch and had way better stage charisma too. So when they were recording a new album with Donnie on drums I got pretty excited. But the end result sounded almost like a very basic Scott Columbus. There were zero things that made his drumming any different than what the previous albums had.

I think the only time my expectations have been met with a "legendary drummer" being part of a new album was Jim Chaffin on Deliverance's The Subversive Kind. That was some really human and warm and wild drumming there!

What comes to David on Flood, I guess my only gripe is with how sterile the drumming sometimes sound and I still think that's only an issue of mixing (and perhaps using electronic drums - I have no idea if that's what he used though). He is very precise and as you mentioned his double bass work is quite phenomenal what comes to speed. And the drumming in general is very good. It lacks the warmth and exciting details of what Ted Kirkpatrick's drumming has been and had in every single Tourniquet album, but it's not bad drumming at all, and not even just average. At best it's rather great I think. Apart from the "sterileness" of it I think it met my expections better than Jayson on Hear What I Say (and Donnie Hamzik on Manowar's The Lord of Steel).

I can’t comment on the Manowar comparison because I’ve never been a fan of theirs. But I agree with you on your assessment of Jim Chaffin, and the sterile sound of David’s playing on the Flood album. I still think his double bass playing is superior (but he doesn’t compare to Ted’s drum fills and overall creativeness).

It’s a shame that Sherlock wasn’t used in a more appropriate way!

by TZ75 Thu Feb 03, 2022 11:02 pm

If anyone is familiar with Metal Church’s “The Dark” album… that big triggered snare sound is basically what I hear on the Flood album. Maybe a notch better… but still too digital.

I always liked Ted Kirkpatrick’s tight and natural drums. The drum sound is very important to me.

by Raegoul Sat Feb 05, 2022 1:45 pm

Finally got my copy and after a first spin I have to say wow this is a great album throughout. I did not expect this to be so good tbh. Impressive musicianship and great to hear Guy performing so well. Excellent work all involved!

Edit: My only gripe is the cover art. This looks like some Peter Gabriel type of artwork. Doesn‘t fit the music imho.

by Airola Sat Feb 05, 2022 3:53 pm

Raegoul wrote:Edit: My only gripe is the cover art. This looks like some Peter Gabriel type of artwork. Doesn‘t fit the music imho.

Well, maybe more like Justin Timberlake Very Happy

Flood - Polarized (ex-tourniquet Gary Lenaire, Guy Ritter, Erik Mendez) PREVIEW VIDEO available - Page 7 Justin11

by Pethead Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:39 pm

Airola wrote:
Raegoul wrote:Edit: My only gripe is the cover art. This looks like some Peter Gabriel type of artwork. Doesn‘t fit the music imho.

Well, maybe more like Justin Timberlake

by average joe Sat Feb 05, 2022 5:14 pm

For a Quarter of a Century we've heard Bride, Deliverance, Morty, Tourniquet, etc...saying, \"This one is a return to form" and then...meh. So, the fact that the 3/4 Tourniquet team put out an album that for 3/4 of the album sounds like a nice mix of the First Three...not too bad at all. wrote:
Now! Before anyone gets on me.

I do like some of the post-90s Morty. I like Erasing the Goblin.

Tourniquet's impossibly good first 3 were hard to beat, to be certain. I thought Where Moth and Rust Destroy and Antiseptic Bloodbath were good-to-very good.

Gazing at Medusa - I heard the title track and bought instantly. Only to find out that's the only good song on the whole album!

Bride - My all-time favorite band - hasn't had an album I've really liked since Scarecrow Messiah.

Deliverance - Since Stay of Execution I've only found As Above, So Below to be pretty good.

Stryper - Stryper has been about the only band to come back really strong

Agree with a lot of this. Been a long run of disappointing albums for sure. Got really exited about the Sacrament thing (we will see if the second band ever forms) and still hoping Temple of Blood can improve and put it all together, especially in the vocal and production department. Also, believe Flood has the ability to produce an even better album next go-around. So, a little hope still remains I guess.

by Schorsch Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:17 pm

So much talking about the drumming that even THE drummer ;-) started an extra thread. :-)

After listening to the album another couple times and reading here about David's very fast drumming on song like Biotech Babylon I realize that I don't really care for the speed. In my ears, the fast parts of Biotech Babylon or War in the sky sound like they are on the run. :-)

Anyway, there's a lot to like about the album and that's why I keep listening to it.

by Hardcore Christian Fri Feb 11, 2022 3:45 am

scottmitchell74 wrote:The first 3.5 songs are great. Stop the Bleeding is awesome!!!!!!Great album ender! Polarized and Freeloading Larceny are very good. The dog song is a skip, the 2nd instrumental is a skip.

Overall - It's a solid 8/10 which is a big, pleasant surprise.

For a Quarter of a Century we've heard Bride, Deliverance, Morty, Tourniquet, etc...saying, "This one is a return to form" and then...meh. So, the fact that the 3/4 Tourniquet team put out an album that for 3/4 of the album sounds like a nice mix of the First Three...not too bad at all.

Got my autographed copy a week or so ago.......
Been waiting for new Guy Ritter material for years!
Finally listened to it this evening.....

And this is pretty much my current review after a couple listens, Darfur and Polarized are my two favorites at the moment. And there is absolutely one or two too many instrumentals, other than that a really great album that showcases this supergroup pretty well. Just needs slightly better mixing for sure!

by alldatndensum Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:05 pm

I bought this and ripped it to my computer and still haven't listened to it.

by TZ75 Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:09 pm

Is Heaven’s Metal or any other review site gonna interview the band? It’s strange how silent they have been since the release of the album. It would be nice to hear from them and get some info on upcoming plans.

by TZ75 Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:10 pm

alldatndensum wrote:I bought this and ripped it to my computer and still haven't listened to it.

Why?

by Drawnsword Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:02 am

There powerful songs on this album!

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