The last Tourniquet lineup consisted of Ted Kirkpatrick (drums) and Aaron Guerra (guitar, vocals, bass).

[4] In addition to their use of classical music, the band is known for frequently using medical terminology in their album and song titles and lyrics.

[5][6] The band's 2003 release, Where Moth and Rust Destroy, features special guests Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth) and Bruce Franklin (of Trouble), both on lead guitar.

According to the band, a tourniquet is a metaphor for "a lifelong spiritual process by which a personal God, through the atoning blood, death, and resurrection of His only Son—Jesus Christ—can begin to stop the flow of going through life without knowing and serving our Creator.

Musically, the album showcased elements of 1980s speed metal with its Mercyful Fate/King Diamond influences, notably the falsetto vocals.

In this lineup, Guy Ritter sang the melodic vocal parts while Gary Lenaire did the aggressive, thrash metal shouts.

The video had some limited airplay on MTV, but the network quickly pulled it due to violent content portraying animal abuse.

On the song "Spineless", the band experimented with rap rock in the vein of Anthrax and Faith No More long before the style became popular in the late 1990s.

[9] Psycho Surgery showcased Kirkpatrick's classical music influences more prominently than Stop the Bleeding, and his background in the pharmaceutical industry became apparent with many of the song's lyrics utilizing medical terminology as metaphors for social/spiritual issues.

[5] On Psycho Surgery Tourniquet continued to work with producer Bill Metoyer and signed a distribution agreement with Metal Blade Records.

Metal Blade released Psycho Surgery to a wider general market audience than the band had been able to reach with Stop the Bleeding.

It was recorded between Ritter's departure and Luke Easter's joining of the band with the melodic vocals being handled by Bloodgood vocalist, Les Carlsen.

In 1994, Tourniquet abandoned most of the medical terminology in their lyrics, altered their style to a more accessible heavy metal/hard rock sound, and released Vanishing Lessons.

[10] The band later released a compilation album, The Collected Works of Tourniquet, in 1996, which included two new songs "Perfect Night for a Hanging" and "The Hand Trembler".

Many of these performances had been filmed, and in 1997 these clips were compiled on a home video release (VHS) titled The Unreleased Drum Solos of Ted Kirkpatrick.

They signed directly to Metal Blade Records,[9] and began work on Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm, their most technical album since Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance.

[9] In 2003, Ted Kirkpatrick, Luke Easter, and Steve Andino recorded Tourniquet's seventh studio album, Where Moth and Rust Destroy, with the help of guitarists Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth) and Bruce Franklin (Trouble).

This release also featured segments in which Ted, at his home and around town, answers questions from fans, and takes the viewer on a partial tour of his vast collection of butterflies and insects.

Aaron Guerra returned to Tourniquet in 2005, and they began to make sporadic appearances at concert events both in the U.S. and abroad.

The Bobfest appearance was released on DVD as Till Sverige Med Kärlek (Swedish for "To Sweden With Love") in 2006.

"[13] Kirkpatrick also announced plans to release solo albums of stoner metal and drumming over classical music.

[22] On March 17, 2018, the band announced that Deen Castronovo (Fear Factory, Ozzy Osbourne) was performing vocals for the title track of the album.

[23] A month later, Tourniquet announced the lineup of the title track, rounding it out with Chris Poland returning on lead guitars.

[26] Later, on September 28, 2022, Aaron Guerra confirmed via his Facebook page that there were no plans to continue Tourniquet after the passing of Kirkpatrick, effectively ending the band.

The music video for "Ark of Suffering" received airplay on MTV, and garnered attention for its stance on animal abuse.

1 in various sales and airplay charts:[full citation needed] In 2024 former Tourniquet members Gary Lenaire, Guy Ritter and Luke Easter formed a Tourniquet tribute band StB (acronym for Stop the Bleeding) along with Anna Sentina on bass, Neil Swanson (Richie Sambora, Orianthi) on guitar and Devin Chaulk (Haste the Day) on drums.