Recording
Psycho Surgery was recorded at Mixing Lab A & B studios, Garden Grove, California, and was produced by Bill Metoyer. For this album the band was joined by the guitarist Erik Mendez and the bassist Victor Macias, forming the quintet that is known as Tourniquet's classic line up. After Stop the Bleeding, the band caught the attention of Metal Blade Records, which released this album to secular market. Intense Records released it to Christian market.
Psycho Surgery represents the band's more modern and experimental, technical thrash metal style. Vocalist Guy Ritter left his high-pitched falsetto vocals off, singing mostly in his melodic baritone voice, and the elements of 1980s speed metal are nonexistent on this album. Psycho Surgery is characterized by the incorporation of classical music into the guitar riffs: a reviewer described the album as "Slayer plays Beethoven in a slightly rearranged way." The title song begins with a sample of an orchestra warming up for its performance. Psycho Surgery contains technical playing techniques, plenty of different guitar riffs and tempo changes and virtuoisic solos. The album's production is clear, creating a somewhat cold and steril atmosphere that supports the album's medical concept. Drummer Ted Kirkpatrick has a background in pharmacy, and took advantage of this experience by infusing the lyrics with medical terminology as metaphors for social issues. The lyrics take a stance on topics such as discrimination of the developmentally delayed ("Broken Chromosomes"), heretical sects ("A Dog's Breakfast") and parental carelessness ("Dysfunctional Domicile"). The song "Stereotaxic Atrocities" is a sequel to the song on the previous album, "Ark of Suffering", as it also criticizes animal abuse, specifically animal laboratory testing. The same guitar riff appears on the song for a few seconds.
A special feature about Psycho Surgery is the song "Spineless": hip-hop group P.I.D. performs at the beginning of the song for two minutes. Kirkpatrick had originally written the lyrics for the band, but eventually P.I.D.'s Lynch and Hogan made up their own lyrics on spot. The vocals were performed by Barry "G" and Fred "Doug Tray", and K-Mack did the sampling. Rap metal was a fresh style of music at the time, and that is why "Spineless" became a popular song at Tourniquet's concerts. The song "Viento Borrascoso (Devastating Wind)" is a fast instrumental which begins with a sample of a news presenter informing about a tornado, followed by a sound of its forthcoming. The instrumental represents Kirkpatrick's virtuoisic drumming skills. The final song, "Officium Defunctorum," is a doom metal piece written by guitarist and vocalist Gary Lenaire, and tells about the Crucifixion of Christ.
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