"Tourniquet" is song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

. It was released as the second major-label single from their second studio album ''

Antichrist Superstar ''Antichrist Superstar'' is the second studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on October 8, 1996, by Nothing and Interscope Records. It was recorded at Nothing Studios in New Orleans and produced by the band's epo ...

''. The image this song conveys is that of the main character in a world of sorrow and self-pity, prior to his transformation into the Little Horn. It was written by frontman Marilyn Manson, co-founder

Daisy Berkowitz Scott Mitchell Putesky (April 28, 1968 – October 22, 2017), also known by the stage name Daisy Berkowitz, was an American guitarist. He was a founding member of the rock band Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids (later shortened to just Marilyn M ...

and longtime bassist and guitarist

Twiggy Ramirez Jeordie Osbourne White (born June 20, 1971), better known as Twiggy Ramirez or simply Twiggy, is an American musician, mostly known as the former bassist and guitarist of the rock band Marilyn Manson. Previously, he was the bassist for A Perfect ...

. Like many other songs from ''Antichrist Superstar'', the song's lyrics are based on a dream Manson had. The song was used as the theme music for professional wrestler

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...

during his stint with

Ring Of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

. The song is also featured as downloadable content for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as part of the "February Mega Pack." The song also can be learned on guitar with Rocksmith 2014 Remastered. The song was part of the Marilyn Manson song pack that became available on July 25, 2017.

Background

Manson told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'': "I've always had these dreams about making a girl out of all these pieces of prosthetic limbs, and then taking my own hair and teeth that I saved from when I was a kid and very ritualistically creating this companion." Those dreams were the inspiration for "Tourniquet".

Composition

"Tourniquet" is a

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

song with a length of four minutes and thirty seconds. It begins with the backwards message "This is my lowest point of vulnerability". Like many Marilyn Manson songs from the first three albums, some of the lyrics to this song were previously a poem Manson had written prior to the formation of the band. Lorraine Ali of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that while the influence of

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

is present throughout ''Antichrist Superstar'', it is "full-blown" on "Tourniquet".

Critical reception

For

MetalSucks MetalSucks is an American heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock ...

, Axl Rosenberg called "Tourniquet" and "

Lunchbox A lunch box (or lunchbox) is a hand-held container used to transport food, usually to work or to school. It is commonly made of metal or plastic, is reasonably airtight and often has a handle for carrying. In the United States In the Unit ...

" some of "Manson's best early material".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

said that "Not every arilyn Mansonsingle had a great hook -- 'Tourniquet' is a moody dirge, indicative of what awaits a listener on the album tracks". Matt Zakosek of ''

The Chicago Maroon ''The Chicago Maroon'', the independent student newspaper of the University of Chicago, is a biweekly publication founded in 1892. During the academic year, ''The Maroon'' publishes every other Wednesday. The paper consists of seven sections: ...

'' called the track "weary Goth-rock junk" and criticized its inclusion on the

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' Lest We Forget: The Best Of'' (2004).

Music video

The video for "Tourniquet" was directed by

Floria Sigismondi Floria Sigismondi (, born 1965) is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer. She is best known for writing and directing '' The Runaways'', for directing music videos for performers includ ...

, who also directed the video for " The Beautiful People". Sigismondi says that directing the video got her to gain confidence in herself and her "offbeat ideas". In order to gain inspiration for the video, she went through a period of

sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either Chronic (medicine), chronic ...

, and was elated to see her ideas for the video "manifest into physical form." Sigismondi discussed the video's impact with Claire Lobenfeld of ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'', saying "It was shocking to see that so many people responded to that ideo'simagery like they did. I'm sure there was a lot of different things at work there – the song, the lyrics, anson'simage – coupled with the video, but I do believe that in a way we all have the same rooted fears and dreams – part of that '

collective unconscious In psychology, the collective unconsciousness () is a term coined by Carl Jung, which is the belief that the unconscious mind comprises the instincts of Jungian archetypes—innate symbols understood from birth in all humans. Jung considered th ...

'."

Track listing

Australian Release #"Tourniquet" - 4:29 #"The Tourniquet Prosthetic Dance Mix" - 7:24 #"The Horrible People" - 5:12 UK (CD I) / European Release #"Tourniquet" - 4:29 #"The Tourniquet Prosthetic Dance Mix" (edit) - 4:10 #"The Tourniquet Prosthetic Dance Mix" - 7:24 UK (CD II) Release #"Tourniquet" - 4:29 #"Lunchbox" - 4:34 #"Next Motherfucker" (Lunchbox) - 4:48

Promo

U.S. Release #"Tourniquet" - 4:29 UK 7" *A-Side: "Tourniquet" - 4:29 *B-Side: "

The Perfect Drug "The Perfect Drug" is a song by Nine Inch Nails written for the David Lynch film ''Lost Highway (film), Lost Highway''. It was released in 1997 on the Lost Highway (soundtrack), ''Lost Highway'' soundtrack as well as a single from the score. Rem ...

" - 5:15 UK 12" *A & B Side #"The Tourniquet Prosthetic Dance Mix" - 7:24 #"The Tourniquet Prosthetic Dance Mix" (Edit) - 4:10

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals, lyrics *

– guitar, music *

– bass guitar, music *

Madonna Wayne Gacy Stephen Bier, formerly known by his stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy and by the nickname Pogo, is an American musician who was the keyboard player for Marilyn Manson from 1989 to 2007. His stage name came from the names of the singer Madonna and t ...

– keyboards *

Ginger Fish Kenneth Robert Wilson, better known by his stage name Ginger Fish, is an American musician best known for playing drums for Marilyn Manson (band), Marilyn Manson from 1995 to 2011. Like Marilyn Manson, which combines the names of an iconic bea ...

– drums

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...

– producer *

Dave "Rave" Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician based in Vancouver. Ogilvie started his recording career as a mixing engineer at Mushroom Studios. He frequently collaborated with industrial band Skinny Puppy a ...

– producer * Marilyn Manson – co-producer *

Sean Beavan Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated ...

– mixing *

Chris Vrenna Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1988 until 1996, and was ...

– editing and programming

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 singles Marilyn Manson (band) songs Music videos directed by Floria Sigismondi Song recordings produced by Trent Reznor 1996 songs Songs written by Marilyn Manson Songs written by Jeordie White Interscope Records singles Gothic rock songs Songs based on poems