Carry the Wounded

Sometimes a band takes an EP as an opportunity to explore their other musical interests. Other times it signals a turning point and gives a taste of things to come. In the case of ‘Carry the Wounded’, both are true. On their previous length, ‘Vanishing Lessons’, the band already made a shift to a simpler, groove-oriented style, but that album still had enough heaviness present to be considered metal. On this EP the band moves even further from their thrash roots, treading into the territory of radio-friendly rock. The change was definitely a shock to longtime fans like me, but with the exception of one track I have to admit the band pulls it off with style.

The title track kicks things off with a straight up rocker. It might not have the heaviness of the band’s previous work, but who cares? The groove is just infectious, reminding me a little of ‘Barracuda’ by Heart. Luke’s vocals compliment the song almost perfectly. My only complaint would be the sudden crescendos he adds to the end of a couple words (…come undone, …rise above), something he did quite a bit on ‘Vanishing Lessons’ too, sounding a bit strained. But that’s a minor annoyance and not enough to ruin my enjoyment of this song by any means. Sometimes when I'm listening to this one in the car I will let track five loop back around to the beginning and listen to track one a second time. Yep, it’s that good.

However, track two gets the skip button and I have to wonder what drove the band to include it at all. Maybe they were all sitting around brainstorming and somebody said, Hey, I know! Why don’t we write a song people can sing at a wedding? The resulting song, and even the title (‘When the Love is Right’') are super generic and bland. I want to say the vocal harmonies remind me a little of something Ty Tabor or King’s X would do, but really they don't. In the end this is just a piano ballad for weddings; nothing more, nothing less.

Next the band does a cover of the 1969 Fleetwood Mac song, “Oh Well”. The variety of instruments used here to represent the bluesy flavor of the original is testimony to the fact that the band was still a 5-piece unit at the time (but not for much longer, *sigh*… oh well). Aside from that It’s handled very effectively in the same heavy groove-metal style used on ‘Vanishing Lessons’. In fact I’d be surprised if it wasn’t recorded during the same sessions. Come to think of it, I don’t know why they didn’t include it as a bonus track on the 2004 VL reissue. It would have been a perfect fit. Oh well.

Track four is an acoustic version of ‘My Promise’ and let me just say that the cello and violin make all the difference. The original ‘Vanishing Lessons’ version of the song was alright, but nothing special. The sound of the strings adds an elegance and power to the verses just not present on the original. Luke’s vocal lines are slower, more subdued and deliberate this time around (No more of those strained sudden crescendos either). This would have sounded killer on a movie soundtrack.

The EP wraps up with another radio friendly rocker, ‘Heads I Win, Tails You Lose’. It might not impress anyone satisfied with nothing less than the classic thrash era of the band, but man, is it ever catchy! Stylistically this song would not have sounded out of place on an Echo Hollow album either; Ironic, considering the reasons original vocalist Guy Ritter left Tourniquet. A goofy video for this song composed of candid band photos was also included on the Pushin’ Broom VHS.

So if you’ve already written off this release because you know it’s not the thrash metal the band is known for, you’re missing out on a varied and truly enjoyable collection of songs – well, four out of five of them anyway.