Don't have ONWARD TO FREEDOM yet?

A few review highlights... you can get the CD here: http://www.tourniquet.net/audio.html

“I dare to say that this release stands a mark in metal albums - with special guests and a spectacular sound.” - powerfulwhitemetal.blogspot.com
 
“Ted Kirkpatrick churns out an album in which genres overlap, mingling, and where the enormous technical quality is what makes the whole disk really incredible.” - Luca Maccario metalized.it
 
“Each track is like another stone in the edifice of pure creativity – 9/10 – almost perfect”
– metal-temple.com
 
“The album tackles the subject of animal cruelty head-on . Every song uses guest vocalists and guitarists to accompany Kirkpatrick’s killer drums. The guest list is impressive and the production, performances, and arrangements high-caliber. Onward to Freedom’ is solid, classic American Made Heavy Metal with plenty of skills and an important, heartfelt message. Recommended.” - chadrschulz.com
 
“The result is fantastic” 9 out of 10 – metalland.cf
 
"In my humble opinion it’s their best work since Psycho Surgery. The lyric s are hard and uncompromising, and the music is expertly written and played." - Christian St. John / Christian Review
 
"This hard-hitting album is a plea for compassion; a call to rise and stand up to animal cruelty and injustice. Tourniquet’s captivating Onward to Freedom is musically powerful, lyrically moving. A must-have for heavy music fans.” - Darcy Rumble /  giantsinthesound.com
 
"Onward to Freedom" is practically a Metal Opera. Quality indisputable.” 8.5/10
blogartemetal.blogspot.com.
 
“With Tourniquet they are outspoken in a manner that lets their instruments do the talking. Onward to Freedom is no exception. Heavy weight songs for a heavy weight subject – animal abuse.” – Martell   http://www.welovemetal.com/newsite/wordpress/2015/01/07/
 
“I guarantee you will not be bored listening to this. Excellent musicianship throughout, quality production and plenty to get your teeth into.” - JohnESmoke midlandsmetalheads.com
 
"It’s got the metal rhythms and riffs that I’ve come to expect on a Tourniquet album." - Scott Foster /   skullbanger.net
 
“Excellent prog metal album with an “animal rights” concept and an impressive list of guests.” - teenmusicgeek.blogspot.com
 
“Musically it's top notch. The guitar solos are all amazing! Some of the band's best guitar solos ever!” http://pattononmusic.blogspot.com/

Yeah I really still am not sure I really want this album yet.  The samples I have heard on itunes are anything but metal and certainly not Thrash.  This still is more of a Ted solo to me than a Tourniquet album.  I love Tourniquet but Ted's solo stuff NOT SO MUCH.  I do enjoy the Christmas album but not the other solo stuff.  While I have no issue with some animal rights stuff fact is God put them on earth for us and gave us animals to use as food so the over the top putting animals above people thing is really not appealing to me as we are to rule over animals, now does this mean to beat and mistreat NO but eating animals is not mistreating them it is doing what they were given to us for.  I understand that not all animals are for food.   Some are for pets, like cats and dogs.  Horses are for riding and in the old days were transportation oxen are used for plowing fields etc.  In non of these cases is that forbidden by the bible in fact the bible often states that they are for such.  So with that in mind I find MOST animal rights activist to be off putting.  I mean if it were up to peta it would be illegal to have a cat or dog as a pet, it would be illegal to drink milk or eat eggs, it would be illegal to have any food made from anything that comes from animals, it would be illegal to have any clothing made from animals etc.  In otherwords if it were up to peta we would all be naked and eat grass.... at least until peta formed a foundation to protect all plant life in which case we would just all die of starvation.  There is a fine line but in general for the most part animal rights activists go WAY OVERBOARD and totally ignore what the bible has to say about what animals were put on earth for in the first place.

Hey - thanks for your comments, and yes - just like some Christians, some animal activists, or any activists for that matter, can go overboard. Here's a couple of my posts put together from our Tourniquet Facebook Page if you're interested... 

Onward to Freedom is 10,000% an album representing Christian principles. It is not PETA based, tree-hugger based (although when someone calls me one, I say “thank you” – I have a thing for trees) or anything but bible based. It’s an anthem for God’s innocent creatures who have no voice of their own - and our call to be compassionate and merciful to them as is pleasing to God. How we treat animals in our lives should be an integral part of our overall faith. I make no apology if some of the lyrics maybe hit too close to home for some of you. In fact, that’s kind of the whole point – for us not to look away from their suffering, which for anyone with an ounce of compassion, can and should make us uncomfortable.

I am amazed and thankful for the huge percentage of Christians who now “get it” as compared to 1990 when I wrote the song Ark of Suffering. We are all called to do different things in our faith – I know this is where God is pleased to have me be a voice. And guess what? It’s no problem for Christians to minister to people AND help animals at the same time – shocker!!


If you really want to learn and challenge yourself - come over to The Tourniquet Ark and join the people from all walks and all faiths (and lack of faith). I believe you will likely see why I am so passionate about helping animals. And Onward to Freedom has been a blessing to many non-Christians who have previously only heard Christians talk about how animals are here for us to use however we want. (a really twisted version of “have dominion over”).

Track 7 – IF I HAD TO DO THE KILLING – Special thanks to Kevin Young from Disciple, who did such an awesome job conveying the anguish of this track – amazing vocals!! Plus our own Aaron Guerra did the cool leads on this one!  https://tourniquet.bandcamp.com/track/if-i-had-to-do-the-killing-featuring-kevin-young-and-aaron-guerra

Well as you might imagine, I probably have enough to say on this to fill a book. There are few people against the idea of going to their local animal shelter and adopting a needy animal. But when it comes down to the fact that for most people, what we eat came from a previously living animal – pardon the pun, but often the claws come out! For those who are interested and willing to not just look the other way, there are endless pictures, videos, articles – evidence to support this fact: that the great majority of animals in the food industry suffer tremendously and systematically at the hand's of humans before they end up on our plates.

The most gruesome and disturbing parts of it are extremely guarded and the animals story is told (more like pounded into our heads) by these companies in an often ridiculously untrue way through commercials, packaging, images of green pastures and happy animals, humane care labels, by those companies who have so much to lose (mostly $$$). But the genie is out of the bottle – permanently – thanks to undercover video, the internet, etc. and thankfully for the animals and for people like me and countless others - it can't ever be put back in the bottle. The question is this: are you willing to at least bear witness to their suffering? I believe it’s the very least we owe them.

Some people are quick to point out that the bible says it's OK to eat meat, and that Jesus probably ate meat. I guess I will trot out the dated saying “What would Jesus do – today?”
Let's face it: The world has changed a little in the last 2000 years. There are readily available and affordable alternatives to meat, dairy, fur, and most other animal products you can think of. And the long-ago proven truth that we do not in any way need to consume animal flesh to be healthy is now widely known. Unless you are in a survival situation or live in an extremely unusual situation, animals are raised and are killed purely for our dining pleasure.

What if that animal flesh or diary product came from an animal who had a short miserable life? A laying hen so crammed in a cage that she can’t even spread her wings - ever? A pig crammed in a stall so tightly that she can’t even turn around – for almost her entire life, as she is artificially impregnated again and again? How about a mother cow who has her baby immediately stolen from her so humans can drink her milk instead of her baby. And yes – they often wail and mourn for hours as this happens. A life filled with fear, pain, boredom, frustration, extreme confinement – and a total lack of doing the things that God created them to do: form social groups with their own kind, choose a mate, feel the earth beneath them instead of concrete or wire, raise and care for their young, build a nest, run, fly, play – all these things and more are taken from them from the minute they are born to the second they take their last breath.

They are victims and products of the following undisputed and un-Christlike behaviors: greed, indifference, domination, oppression, disdain, and unspeakable cruelty and pain. Would THAT animal be OK to eat? Would Jesus eat pieces of THAT animal? Well, of course, I leave that up to you. For me, it’s my way of showing mercy to creatures that share many of the same desires we do: to raise their young, to live without constant fear, etc. And unlike the phrase we use in thanks that animals “give” their lives to us, the truth is this: Animals do not “give” their lives to us. They struggle with everything that is in them to avoid dying, just as you or I would do in their place.

Metal/ thrash culture is partly about being extreme, radical. You want extreme? Then join us at The Tourniquet Ark where you will see the joys and horrors of the animal world. You will also be able to help them and in the process, maybe help yourself…

I leave you with this bible passage:
The Parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10: 25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Like the injured man lying in the ditch - to me, these are the victims of factory farming and other forms of animal cruelty and injustice. I take pity on them. My choice and passion is to try and be a Samaritan to them.

Do what you will Ted, just don't try and tell us that the bible in any way raises the rights/value of animals to the level of humans created in the image of God...

Well I suppose if you like Tofu, salads and peanut butter and fake bread to eat every day of your life then yes I suppose a person can live.  However Cows, pigs, Chickens, Fish, Deer and many more have been given to us for things such as food, milk eggs etc.  Remember the Old testament where God talked about eating animals? 

I mean I am sure that humans can fabricate all kinds of fake clothing material or even use plants to make cloths but how long until ok animals aren't enough now we have to protect all plant life?  How long until it becomes ok now we have to protect the ground and to do so we have to make farming and gardening illegal?  I look at it this way if God said it is ok to eat animals and to eat their eggs and use them for clothing and to help us plow fields etc or to have as pets then it is not only ok but it is indeed not in any way unChristlike to do so.  By the way I was raised on a farm and we had cows, pigs Chickens, Cows, Horses, Sheep, Ducks, Turkeys etc. All had over 10 acres of space for the animals we had to live on now not all animals roamed the whole ten acres but the chicken coupe had lots of room as did the pig pen.  The Sheep more or less kept the yard mowed.  Hate to say it but yes to eat the animal you DO have to kill it you can't just take a bite out of it and let it just roam afterward.  That would be un Christian like,  the bible says not to eat the blood of the animal just the meat.  

Why is it that animal activists only go after mankind to try to prevent eating or using animals for clothing.  I mean a lion will eat other animals why are they not being harrassed about doing so?  When a Lion or Tiger or Shark eats a human where is the outcry for human rights?  So there is a fine line and for the most part it is liberalism trying to have it's way and Liberalism is so antichrist it isn't even funny so I can't see why even start to venture down a path that is so fine a line as this.

Candlemass wrote:Do what you will Ted, just don't try and tell us that the bible in any way raises the rights/value of animals to the level of humans created in the image of God...

+1 

Which lyrically seems to be exactly what OTF is doing.

Animals not having a soul has nothing to do w/their ability to sin or not, but that they do not have intellect, reason, the will to act or not to act. While that article indeed shows that we should not treat animals w/cruelty, it goes no where close to what that means to you, or how you define it...

I just put that article there as a reference. Nothing to do with the track NO SOUL.

You know Ted, I like what you're doing even if I don't agree. As long as you really believe this is what God wants then keep it up. Hopefully you reach all those people who have "non-traditional" values with the gospel because of your reconciliation of animal rights and Christianity. I think there's room for disagreement, no? It's kinda like those who promote non-literal 6 day creation. I might be one of them and I might not. It's a way of reconciling Biblical Christianity with science, and, whether it's the correct interpretation or not, the important thing is people hung up on the science of it will finally have a reason to believe in Jesus.

I still wish there was more thrash on the album. I dug the Dug though 

You know Rob Bell, I like what you're doing, even if I don't agree. As long as you really believe this is what God wants then keep it up. Hopefully you reach all these people who have "non-traditional" values with the gospel because of your reconciliation of gay/transgender rights and Christianity. It's kinda like those who promote...wait, it's nothing like that at all! 

With the last two albums, I wasn't a big fan, but I am digging this one. "Slave Ring" is a beast of a song.



As to Ted's views, I don't see all the reason for the criticism. If he was in a Secular band writing these songs, a lot of people would probably be happy that he was a Christian as well. Six of one, half dozen of another.

Also, Gabbie Rae surprised me with her vox. I remember when she was a little bublegum pop singer.

I'm sure musically it's quite good...

I'd be turned off by the hyper animal rights fodder by any artist, just like I tire of Chrissy Hynde's rhetoric...

The real "Ark of Suffering!"

deathisgain wrote:

Also, Gabbie Rae surprised me with her vox. I remember when she was a little bublegum pop singer.

That Gabbie Ras sample is one of the ones I heard.  And RED is heavier musically than that song.

Candlemass wrote:You know Rob Bell, I like what you're doing, even if I don't agree. As long as you really believe this is what God wants then keep it up. Hopefully you reach all these people who have "non-traditional" values with the gospel because of your reconciliation of gay/transgender rights and Christianity. It's kinda like those who promote...wait, it's nothing like that at all! 

Rob Bell also taught Universalism as being true too.  Kinda like no values instead of NON traditional ones.

Those "no values" have been around for quite some time...

Uh oh... if I see the words "Dale," "Thompson," or "Bride" in this thread I'm locking it... 

Kerrick wrote:Uh oh... if I see the words "Dale," "Thompson," or "Bride" in this thread I'm locking it...   

Umm who's that?  

^Right answer!

Kerrick wrote:Uh oh... if I see the words "Dale," "Thompson," or "Bride" in this thread I'm locking it... 

But you just said the key words. So ....

I don't get called The Tyrant for nothing... 

Marshal Thompson rode over the dale to wed his bride.