Ark of Suffering
Encyclopedia
"Ark of Suffering" is a song by the American
thrash metal
band Tourniquet
. One of the band's best known songs from their early years, "Ark of Suffering" is the third track from Tourniquet's 1990 debut album Stop the Bleeding
. It is widely known for its stance on animal abuse and the music video which contained graphic material on the subject. "Ark of Suffering" is still an almost constant part of the band's live set list, frequently as the opening or closing song.
, "Ark of Suffering" has a more serious and darker atmosphere compared to rest of the album's songs. It is the only song on the album to feature the guitarist Gary Lenaire
sharing his shouting vocals with the melodic ones of Guy Ritter.
"Ark of Suffering" begins with a fast and aggressive, full-on thrash metal intro that lasts 6 seconds, featuring minimalist thrash riffing and d-beat
drumming. The music stops for a few seconds, followed by an interlude of just the lead guitar playing, and at 0:19 the drums step in again. The song pauses for a second while the aggressive shouting vocals of Gary Lenaire comes in accompanied by a vocal effect, and the song keeps going with the whole band playing. Lenaire sings: "You think it's alright to destroy God's creation..." At 0:45 the tempo becomes slower, and the melodic baritone vocals of Guy Ritter take place, singing: "Do you think dominate means to kill just for sport..." At 1:14, the tempo becomes faster accompanied by double bass drumming, and Lenaire's shouting vocals replace Ritter again: "Don't you see in their eyes how they trust us..." At 1:36 Ritter's vocals come in for the slower part. At 1:52, Mark Lewis plays a guitar solo, from 2:15 to 2:35 the band plays an aggressive, rhythmic and instrumental interlude, followed by a second virtuoisic guitar solo by Mark Lewis, with Lenaire playing the third solo from 2:55. A calmer interlude starts at 3:14, playing a complex riff till 3:30, when Ritter whispers: "Before they die..." Then with a deep baritone voice: "Who will hear their cry." — with "cry" sang with Ritter's high-pitched and twisted falsetto
voice. The guitars play 2 atonal riffs around 3:50, creating an oppressive atmosphere, a shredding lead at 4:00, and the songs ends at 4:14.
s, raising them to only to be made for fur and leather coats, circus training, taking animals as pets and abandoning them once they are no longer young, laboratory tests, locking in cages in meat houses, and cutting them for educational purposes. According to the liner notes of the album, Ted Kirkpatrick felt strongly about the subject, and has written:
The video Received airplay on MTV
for a while before it was banned by for being too graphic. The video won the Christian News Forum Contemporary Christian Music Award for "Rock Video of the Year" and it was voted by the Heaven's Metal magazine's readers as their "Favorite Video of the Year". The video is also included on the Ocular Digital
DVD.
Ritter has said about the song airplay:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Tourniquet
Tourniquet (band)
Tourniquet is a Christian thrash / heavy metal band that was formed in 1989 by Ted Kirkpatrick, Guy Ritter and Gary Lenaire in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are known for incorporating elements of thrash, neo-classical and progressive metal into their music...
. One of the band's best known songs from their early years, "Ark of Suffering" is the third track from Tourniquet's 1990 debut album Stop the Bleeding
Stop the Bleeding
Stop the Bleeding was the debut album by the Christian metal band Tourniquet, originally released in 1990 on Intense Records. It was remastered and independently rereleased in 2001 on Pathogenic Records...
. It is widely known for its stance on animal abuse and the music video which contained graphic material on the subject. "Ark of Suffering" is still an almost constant part of the band's live set list, frequently as the opening or closing song.
Overview
Written by the band's co-founder and drummer Ted KirkpatrickTed Kirkpatrick
Ted Kirkpatrick is an American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with the American Christian metal band Tourniquet.-Biography:...
, "Ark of Suffering" has a more serious and darker atmosphere compared to rest of the album's songs. It is the only song on the album to feature the guitarist Gary Lenaire
Gary Lenaire
Gary Lenaire is a guitarist and composer. He is most known for his work with Tourniquet and the band Echo Hollow. He has released 12 records and was nominated for six GMA Dove Awards. He received HM Magazine's "Guitarist of the Year" award from 1994-1996. He has published over 90 songs world wide...
sharing his shouting vocals with the melodic ones of Guy Ritter.
"Ark of Suffering" begins with a fast and aggressive, full-on thrash metal intro that lasts 6 seconds, featuring minimalist thrash riffing and d-beat
D-beat
D-beat is a style of hardcore punk developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, for whom the genre is named. Discharge may have themselves inherited the beat from Motörhead. The first such group was The Varukers.The vocal content of D-beat tends towards shouted slogans...
drumming. The music stops for a few seconds, followed by an interlude of just the lead guitar playing, and at 0:19 the drums step in again. The song pauses for a second while the aggressive shouting vocals of Gary Lenaire comes in accompanied by a vocal effect, and the song keeps going with the whole band playing. Lenaire sings: "You think it's alright to destroy God's creation..." At 0:45 the tempo becomes slower, and the melodic baritone vocals of Guy Ritter take place, singing: "Do you think dominate means to kill just for sport..." At 1:14, the tempo becomes faster accompanied by double bass drumming, and Lenaire's shouting vocals replace Ritter again: "Don't you see in their eyes how they trust us..." At 1:36 Ritter's vocals come in for the slower part. At 1:52, Mark Lewis plays a guitar solo, from 2:15 to 2:35 the band plays an aggressive, rhythmic and instrumental interlude, followed by a second virtuoisic guitar solo by Mark Lewis, with Lenaire playing the third solo from 2:55. A calmer interlude starts at 3:14, playing a complex riff till 3:30, when Ritter whispers: "Before they die..." Then with a deep baritone voice: "Who will hear their cry." — with "cry" sang with Ritter's high-pitched and twisted falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
voice. The guitars play 2 atonal riffs around 3:50, creating an oppressive atmosphere, a shredding lead at 4:00, and the songs ends at 4:14.
Theme
"Ark of Suffering" is about man's responsibility for taking care of animals. The song takes a Biblical point of view on the subject, implying how God has given man the right to dominate the creatures in the world, but has to answer for his wrongings for God. The lyrics point out several examples of animal abuse such as canned huntCanned hunt
A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill...
s, raising them to only to be made for fur and leather coats, circus training, taking animals as pets and abandoning them once they are no longer young, laboratory tests, locking in cages in meat houses, and cutting them for educational purposes. According to the liner notes of the album, Ted Kirkpatrick felt strongly about the subject, and has written:
Music video
A music video was shot for the song. The video included the guitarist Erik Mendez and bassist Victor Macias, and Mendez is shown playing the leads of the session musician Mark Lewis. On the video, the band performs at a studio environment, and the looks of Guy Ritter and Gary Lenaire have a slight glam metal touch with their eye mascaras. The additional video material include violent footage of hunting, laboratory tests, meat houses and other situations portraying animal abuse. On the video, a visual performance art is done by Devino, portraying the agony of the abused animals.The video Received airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
for a while before it was banned by for being too graphic. The video won the Christian News Forum Contemporary Christian Music Award for "Rock Video of the Year" and it was voted by the Heaven's Metal magazine's readers as their "Favorite Video of the Year". The video is also included on the Ocular Digital
Ocular Digital
Ocular Digital is a live concert DVD released by the American Christian metal band Tourniquet in 2003. The "Flevo 2001" tracks were recorded live at the Flevo Festival in Liempde, The Netherlands on August 17, 2001....
DVD.
Ritter has said about the song airplay: