Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance

Infobox Album | Name = Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance
Type = studio
Artist = Tourniquet

---

Released = 1992
Recorded =
Genre = Christian metal, thrash metal
Length = 57:36
Label = Intense Records/Metal Blade
Producer = Bill Metoyer
Reviews =
Last album = "Psycho Surgery"
(1991)
This album = "Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance"
(1992)
Next album = "Intense Live Series, Vol. 2"
(1993)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = 2001 Cover
Type = studio


Lower caption =

"Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance" was the third album by the Christian metal band Tourniquet, released in 1992. It is the last album to feature vocalist Guy Ritter who left the band after the recording of the album. The album was also independently rereleased in 2001 with digital remastering, bonus tracks and new cover art (with "Dissonance" misspelled as "Dissonence" on the tray liner edges). Readers of HM Magazine voted "Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance" as "Favourite Album of the 1990s". Intense Records released the album to Christian market and Metal Blade Records released it to secular market.

Recording history

"Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance" was recorded at different studios, one being Mixing Lab A & B:n. The album was produced by Bill Metoyer.

Musically, the album went for a more aggressive thrash metal direction. The songs are complicated and technival and feature experiments with styles such jazz and blues. The latter can be heard on the song "Phantom Limb". The band's characteristical style of incorpotaing classical music into its guitar riffs is especially reminiscent on the beginning of the title track. The album introduced a more Slayer-esque shouting vocal patterns by Gary Lenaire as well as a darker atmosphere. Guy Ritter sang less on the album than on previous Tourniquet albums. It is often thought that the vocalist Guy Ritter left the band during the recording session. However, in a HM Magazine interview he clarified:

Ritter stated his reasons for leaving the band:

According to Ritter, there was also some disagreements concerning the label:

Themes

The lyrics kept the pattern that began on Psycho Surgery and feature bizarre medical terminology. These terms and syndromes are used as metaphors for spiritual and social issues. The album title refers to color blindness and the title song uses it as a metaphor for lack of wisdom of sight from God. "Gelatinous Tubercles of Purulent Ossification" is about nicotine addiction that causes larynx benediction. The sound samples of the song are produced with Western Electric 5000 voice synthesizer.

The 10 minute song "The Skeezix Dilemma" uses the board game Uncle Wiggily's (also a children's book series by Howard Roger Garis) concept as an allegory for child abuse. The song starts out with a minute of circus music (organ played by Bob Beeman) which is followed by a nervous child reading a bit of the game's introduction. The heavy metal song "Exoskeletons" contains a short riff of Black Sabbath's song "Supernaut" at the end. On the Metal Blade Records version of this album, there is a bonus track "The Tempter" (a Trouble cover lifted from Tourniquet's "Intense Live Series, Vol. 2")

Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance was re-released and re-mastered in 2001 with new artwork and layout. The bonus tracks include live recordings of the title song and "Bearing Gruesome Cargo" played at Flevo Festival, Liempde, The Netherlands in 2000.

Track listing

# "Impending Embolism" – 2:05
# "Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance" – 4:26
# "Phantom Limb" – 5:41
# "Ruminating Virulence" – 5:31
# "Spectrophobic Dementia" – 5:16
# "Gelatinous Tubercles of Purulent Ossification" – 5:12
# "Incommensurate" – 5:48
# "Exoskeletons" – 3:55
# "Theodicy of Trial" – 4:29
# "Descent into the Maelstrom" – 1:32
# "En Hakkore" – 3:38
# "The Skeezix Dilemma" – 10:00

Bonus track on Metal Blade version

13. "The Tempter" - 6:10

Bonus tracks on 2001 remaster

13. "Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance" (LIVE 2000) - 5:27

14. "Bearing Gruesome Cargo / drum solo" (LIVE 2000) - 10:30

Credits

*Guy Ritter - vocals
*Gary Lenaire - guitar, vocals
*Erik Mendez - guitars
*Victor Macias - bass
*Ted Kirkpatrick - drums

2000 Live Tracks

*Ted Kirkpatrick - Drums
*Luke Easter - Vocals
*Aaron Guerra - Guitars, Vocals
*Steve Andino - Bass

References

External links

* [http://www.tourniquet.net/discography/index.php?id=3 Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992) at Tourniquet.net]
* [http://www.tourniquet.net/discography/index.php?id=13 Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (2001) at Tourniquet.net]