''Onward to Freedom'' is a solo album by

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 ...

drummer

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 ...

. Originally announced as a side project to be released as The Tourniquet Ark, Kirkpatrick made the decision to release it under the Tourniquet name with himself listed as the primary artist. This has led to confusion in the fan community, and the erroneous classification of the album as an actual Tourniquet release. This has been exacerbated by Kirkpatrick choosing to refer to it as part of the Tourniquet catalog instead of as a part of his solo catalog. The album features many musicians, such as

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until ...

and

Chris Poland Chris Poland (born December 1, 1957) is an American guitarist, best known as the former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Since 2002, Poland has been the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz fusion bands OHM (band), OHM and OHMphre ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

Mattie Montgomery Mattie Montgomery is an American musician and the former lead vocalist and frontman of Christian metal band For Today from 2007. He released six albums and one EP with the band before they broke up in 2016. In addition to his work with For Toda ...

For Today For Today was an American Christian metalcore band from Sioux City, Iowa, formed in 2005. They released two EPs, ''Your Moment, Your Life, Your Time'' and ''Prevailer'', and six full-length albums: '' Ekklesia'' in, 2008, ''Portraits'' in 2009, ...

and

Michael Sweet Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is a singer and guitarist from Whittier, California; he is the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of the Christian metal band Stryper. He's also had a successful solo career, and briefly ...

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

. The album was released on November 11, 2014, via Tourniquet's own label, Pathogenic Records.

Critical reception

Darcy Rumble writes "Start to finish, Onward to Freedom is an excellent record. Compelling performances by a host of musicians bringing an important message will certainly stir listeners and inspire action. There is enough diversity among the songs that even upon repeated listens, OTF does not grow old. Tourniquet’s captivating Onward to Freedom is musically powerful, lyrically moving. A must-have for heavy music fans, and lovers of Creation." "The best on this album comes early. Twelve songs, including three instrumentals and two public service announcement experiments. Leaving only seven actual Metal songs. ''Onward to Freedom'' is solid, classic American Made Heavy Metal with plenty of skills and an important, heartfelt message. Recommended." reports Chad R. Shultz. Peter John Willoughby says "Ultimately it is up to the fans to decide whether they want another concept album full of animal welfare" Tom Metcalf of Untombed writes "What a great album! All the performances were solid and I don’t see myself becoming tired of it anytime soon. I tried to give a track by track explanation as to how each individual guest lend their set skill and I hope it helps! I hope that Tourniquet, the band, can get together to put out an entire CD with all the band members soon. For we the fans want it!!!!"

Track listing

Personnel

;Tourniquet * Luke Easter - vocals (on track 9) * Aaron Guerra - guitar (on track 7) *

- drums ;Additional musicians *

(of

) - vocals (on track 2) *

(of

Besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

) - vocals (on tracks 2 and 3) *

(of

) - guitar (on track 9) * Nick Villars (of

The Great American Beast The Great American Beast (formerly known as The Red Affair) was an American Southern rock/ metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio. The group disbanded in 2010 to focus on other pursuits. History Formation and early releases (2002-2007) Formed in 2002 a ...

) - vocals (on tracks 3, 5, 11) *

(of

) - guitar (on track 3) *

Doug Pinnick Douglas Theodore Pinnick (born September 3, 1950), sometimes stylized as dUg Pinnick or simply dUg, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and songwriter for the hard rock and progressive metal band King's ...

(of

King's X King's X is an American rock band that originated in 1979 in Springfield, Missouri. They were first called The Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact for m ...

) - vocals (on track 6) *

Rex Carroll Rex Carroll is a guitarist and known for his work in the Christian metal band Whitecross (band), Whitecross. Rex Carroll is also the leader and guitarist of other bands including Fierce Heart, King James (band), King James and the Rex Carroll Band ...

(of Whitecross, King James) - guitar (on track 5) *

Bruce Franklin H. Bruce Franklin (born February 1934) is an American cultural historian and scholar. He is notable for receiving top awards for his lifetime scholarship in fields as diverse as American studies, science fiction, prison literature and marine e ...

(of

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

) - guitar (on track 6) *

Tony Palacios Tony Palacios is the lead guitarist of the Christian hard rock band, Guardian. Palacios joined the band in 1986 and has remained with them since, releasing nine studio albums, including three in Spanish. In 1998, Palacios released his first ins ...

(of

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

) - guitar (on track 11) *

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

- narration * Gabbie Rae - vocals (on tracks 5, 12) * Blake Suddath (of

Your Memorial Your Memorial was an American metalcore band from Hennepin County, Minnesota. The group is currently under contract with Facedown Records. Its debut studio album, ''Seasons'', was released in 2008. In 2010, the band released its second studio albu ...

) - vocals (on track 11) * Ashleigh Argota - vocals (on track 12) * Kevin Young (of

Disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

) - vocals (on track 7) ;Production * Josh Schroeder - producer * Consuelo Parra - cover art * Rex Zachary - cover art * Rick Narcarte - cover art

References

{{Authority control Tourniquet (band) albums 2014 albums