Guy Ritter (born 1966) is an American musician who primarily performed

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

and

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

. Ritter is best known for his vocals in the

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

band,

Tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to stop the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can be made from a stick and ...

History

Ritter started his musical career with the band Holy Danger. At the time of Holy Danger's beginning in 1985, Ritter was 19. The band disbanded in 1987. In 1989, Ritter had moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to find musicians to play with. He found Gary Lenaire and

Ted Kirkpatrick Ted Kirkpatrick (May 22, 1960 – August 19, 2022) was an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work with the American Christian thrash metal band Tourniquet. Primarily a drummer, Kirkpatrick was the principal songwriter for the ...

, and the three founded

. The band recorded three albums before Ritter's departure in 1993, after the recording of ''

Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance ''Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance'' is the third studio album by the American Christian metal band Tourniquet. It was originally released on Intense Records in 1992 to the Christian market and later released on Metal Blade Records in 1993 to the secu ...

'' There was much speculation on why Ritter departed, such as "This was Guy Ritter's last album with the band. His reasons for leaving were he was getting tired of the thrash vocals and medical allegory" or "Apparently Guy Ritter was unhappy with this new heavier direction the band had taken and decided to part ways in the middle of the recording." In 1996, Ritter and former bandmate Gary Lenaire formed a new band called Echo Hollow. They formed the band with Matt Rosenblum, a drummer Gary knew, and Matthew Fallentine, Ritter's now-brother-in-law. The band later on added Rafik Oganyan in June 2001. The band disbanded in 2004. In 2017, Ritter performed guest vocals on the song "Stop the Bleeding" on Lenaire's solo album, ''No Time Now''. In 2020, it was announced that Ritter would be performing vocals, alongside Luke Easter, who replaced Ritter in Tourniquet, and Erik Mendez (ex-Tourniquet, 2050) playing guitar on the album, with David Husvik (

Extol Extol are a Christian metal band from Bekkestua, Norway that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive metal, death metal, black metal and thrash metal. Over the course ...

Azusa Azusa may refer to: Relating to California From a Native American language, likely Tongva ''Asuksagna:'' *Azusa, California, a city in the United States *Azusa Pacific University, a Christian-based institution in Azusa, California *Azusa Street Rev ...

) on drums, recording on Lenaire's sophomore solo album. In 2021, the band was announced as FLOOD, consisting of Ritter, Lenaire, Mendez, Husvik, and Anna Sentina.

Personal life

Ritter is married to Christin Ritter, Matthew Fallentine's sister. They have two children. Ritter is an outspoken Christian. Ritter worked on editing systems for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

. He enjoys exercise, including hiking and cycling.

Bands

Current *FLOOD - Vocals (2020-present) Former * Holy Danger - Vocals, Rhythm Guitars (1985-1987) *

- Vocals (1989-1993) * Echo Hollow - Vocals (1996-2004)

Discography

Tourniquet * '' Stop the Bleeding'' (1990) * '' Psycho Surgery'' (1991) (2001 rerelease titled ''Psychosurgery'') * '' Ark of Suffering'' (1991) - Music Video * ''Video Biopsy'' (1992) - VHS * ''

'' (1992) Echo Hollow *''Diet of Worms'' (1998) *''Superficial Intelligence'' (2004) Holy Danger *''One Way'' (1986) *''Demo'' (1986) Other appearances *''Gary Lenaire - No Time Now'' (2017) (Song: "Stop the Bleeding")

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritter, Guy Living people American performers of Christian music Date of birth missing (living people) 1966 births Singers from Oregon Christian metal musicians Place of birth missing (living people)