Tag: speed metal

The first time I heard this band, I was completely blown away. The year was 1988. I was about 14 years old, and I had just started getting into Christian metal via bands like Jerusalem, Whitecross, and Barren Cross. Sacred Warrior was probably the heaviest I’d heard at the time. Then one night I was listening to KOKF 91FM out of Oklahoma City, a Christian radio station that had a late night metal show. I heard the most intense, loud, gnarly thing I’d ever heard in my life.… Continued →

Many fitting tributes have been written about the one and only, the mighty drummer/musician/song-writer/animal rights activist Ted Kirkpatrick. So much has been said about his life, his music, and his impact that I can’t really add much here. Ted’s incredible musicianship is impossible to overstate. He was revered even by the most ardent anti-religion folks, for his musicality alone, including folks like King Diamond and Marty Friedman. While I never got to meet Ted, I did have the chance to see Tourniquet live once. It was their first tour with Luke Easter as the new lead vocalist.… Continued →

Metalheads are divided over whether the subgenre dubbed “speed metal” actually exists or not. Often confused with shred metal and/or Neo-classical (yes, those guys play fast, but that’s not the same thing), it’s almost synonymous with thrash except there are often clean vocals and/or slightly cleaner guitars. In the Christian scene, the most obvious examples are the seminal and fantastic Valor, Tourniquet’s early work (also adding a progressive element) and the mighty Deliverance. While Deliverance has flirted with a lot of different styles (speed/thrash, gothic metal, alternative metal, groove, etc.),… Continued →