Tourniquet - Besprinkled in Scarlet Horror

What actually is the message of this song? Because while there is an obvious message about people accusing them of being not Christian because they are metal and have darker/more disturbing themes, but several lines seem to genuinely criticizing disturbing imagery in art. Is it both messages in the same song?

I think the lines you are referring to are from the perspective of the pearl-clutching types who are attacking them over their choice of imagery and style of music:

"Words verbose, gory - to what end do they serve?
Or images vivid scarlet horrors absurd
Of shrieking sounds that evoke the legions of hell
The notes that you choose and the beats that you sell

You're not giving all the glory to Him
because your artwork depicts a severed limb
And all the people buy into your deceit
because you're keeping way too frantic a beat"

No, the song doesn't criticize disturbing imagery in art. The accusatory parts are from the perspective of people who think horrifying words, images and music are evil. The song goes to show how Bach's music was also criticized like that in the past while today we see the art and beauty even in the sad and terrifying sounding pieces of music he made. Heavy metal in itself is really no different from that.
(the same kind of a message can be found in Deliverance's It's the Beat)

And when it comes to evil sounding and looking words and images, the song simply points out how the Bible itself has plenty of disturbing words. The Bible didn't shy away from depicting the brutal side of reality. The Bible could've easily just said John the Babtist was no more, but it specifically said he was killed, and not only killed but executed, and not only executed but decapitated, and not even leaving it to that but specifically mentioning his severed head was brought in a platter. If Godly message is ok to be written like that in the Bible, it surely should be ok to be written like that in other pieces of art too.

The end of the song points out that if a disturbing image is too hard to watch, what would've you done if you had been there when Christ was crucified. Would you have looked away? Maybe, but would you have looked away because a sight of that is evil? Of course not.

Especially if the intention is to give a Godly message through art, then it can be done with disturbing imagery too. It might be hard to watch or listen to but it's not of the Devil.

^ exactly. I think songs that talk about gory/disturbing things just to be shocking are not good, but Tourniquet’s point is that expecting music to be overly sanitized is not good either. Sometimes reality can be gruesome, and Tourniquet’s lyrics always had a clear purpose to point the listener to God. This is one of my favorite TQT songs btw

One of the best metal songs, period.

Okay. Yeah, I did notice the similarity in message to It's The Beat. Honestly, if Tourniquet didn't have slightly more disturbing imagery in them, I might not have been as curious about the songs when I first heard about them lol

The only time I was bothered by TQT’s imagery was the Antiseptic Bloodbath cover. 

Good album, though.

Yeah while I think Ted had noble intentions in his passion for animals, he definitely carried it to the extreme sometimes. Comparing Jesus’s suffering to animal suffering is one of those time.

Antiseptic Bloodbath cover art was fine.

I don't see it really comparing the suffering of Jesus to the suffering of animals, but instead it's about people ignoring the ugly part of the suffering of both. I think there is a difference.

I mean, it's not that Ted was thinking the suffering of animals is the same as the suffering of Jesus. Instead he tried to point out peoples' reaction to both. We gladly take what looks and feels good but just as gladly ignore the ugly facts. It's like "yeah, salvation for me please, but please don't show me the blood on the cross" and "yeah, meat for me please, but please don't show where it came from" - I don't think that's about comparing the sufferings with each other but instead it's about commenting on the attitude of people when it comes to suffering for the good of us in general.

Be it little kids who make the phones for us in China, or be it soldiers who lose their lives or limbs in battlefield, or anything, we don't want take a closer look at the realism of that and we might even want to censor. It's not that what the kids or the soldiers do is anywhere near what Christ has done, but censoring or even the unwillingness to take a look into the gory details of what it really was when Christ was tortured and executed is the ultimate form of wanting to ignore the problems of child labor or the misery of soldiers or the condition of animals all the while still wanting to take what they give to us.

But yeah, I can see how that might not be clear from the cover. Or maybe people just don't see the difference.

It's strange to me some people found Ted's passion for animals and the care thereof as something bad or something that makes them sick. What can I say except for—

Humans be Humans

Nothing changes.

I think it’s more the extreme lengths he took it. I think his care for animals came from a genuine good place, and he was right about some things. Animal abuse is a serious issue, and factory farms could certainly use reform. But he was kind of PETA-level in some of his beliefs on the issue, like the idea that killing animals is inherently immoral and everybody should go vegan, and that hunting is bad

I want to make it clear I mean no disrespect to Ted btw, although I happened to disagree with him on certain issues he was a brother in Christ and an undeniable musical genius who used his music to glorify God and advocate for what he was passionate about

Hmm can't be a hypocrite I enjoy meat and too selfish to stop eating it. But I mean that's what he felt more power to him

Remember going out hunting and the guys I was with shot a roaming cat in a field minding its own business, just for kicks. I said nothing but from that day on I decided humans are the lowest from of creature on the planet.

Take a look at the world I'm not wrong. If there be a Heaven then animals deserve it more than humans, with Ted there looking after them. Cheers.

Yeah I have to agree killing animals merely for fun is wrong

And yeah no human deserves heaven. That’s why it’s only by grace anyone gets the chance to go there

Friday13th wrote:One of the best metal songs, period.

I agree… "Besprinkled…” is from a great metal album, period.