Ted Kirkpatrick, leader and drummer of Tourniquet, dies at age 62

Published on august 21th, 2022 | by Anthony Martinez

Hard news continues, my heart is broken now with this news, legendary Tourniquet drummer, Ted Kirkpatrick has passed away at the age of 62 after a sudden illness called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis as reported by his wife through Ted's and his band's social media.

Ted started as a touring drummer for the doom metal band Trouble in 1987, and played a few shows with them. However, his legacy would begin in 1990 when he debuted his own band Tourniquet and their first album Stop the Bleeding, the Christian metal world was amazed with the new Thrash metal band, many albums followed, Tourniquet's impact transcended to many countries around the world, becoming considered as one of the top Christian thrash metal bands in history. Ted was also considered on many occasions as one of the best drummers by magazines like HM magazine or Modern Drummer Magazine.

The news of Ted's death was delivered by his wife early Saturday morning, August 20, his wife wrote:

<<. This is Cristy, Ted’s wife.  I have some very sad news to share.  My beloved husband went to be with the Lord today, August 19, 2022.  He was surrounded by his family and loved ones. It was a blessing to see first-hand Ted’s amazing passion for so many things that captivated him for life, and it was humbling to stand by and witness his genius, creativity and seemingly never-ending natural talent.  I know many of you are broken-hearted and certainly Ted’s wish would be to celebrate his memory through his music through Tourniquet.  

About 4 months ago, Ted was experiencing chest pain and unusual shortness of breath.  Up until this point, Ted had not been in a hospital in 40 years and all covid tests came up negative, to the end.  After several doctor visits to a general practitioner, Ted was referred to see a pulmonologist who conducted many tests and an accurate diagnosis was made of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a rare terminal lung disease of which there is no cure.

IPF is a serious disease that causes irreversible scarring of the lungs and progresses, or gets worse, over time.  This scarring makes it difficult to breathe and eventually the lungs can’t inhale enough oxygen for the body to function properly.  Typically, IPF causes severe shortness of breath to where the simplest activities of walking across a room seem nearly impossible.

Ted was able to share a few thoughts the night before he passed. 

“My life has been so full of adventure and wonderment and for the past 30 years all of you have been a great source of joy as you shared your love for our music, my passion for animals, and my desire to share the love of God with all of you.  I’m forever grateful for the unending loyalty so many have shown through the years and support of whatever talents the Lord gave me on this earth.  

I leave behind so many wonderful friends, my wonderful family, the greatest family anyone could ask for, my brothers, Doug & Jim, my sister Sue, and my wife Cristy, my forever soul mate, my best friend and the most beautiful person I’ve ever known. 

Thank you and I’ll see you sometime on the other side.  Love, Ted Kirkpatrick

I’ll appreciate your prayers, Cristy

If you would like to help with Ted’s expensive medical bills, a Go Fund me account has been set up.

https://gofund.me/b64becd2

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If you would like to help with Ted’s expensive medical bills, a Go Fund me account has been set up.I have loved Tourniquet's music, admired Ted's talent and his courage to keep the band going even when many abandoned him.  Ted is a legend, not just of Christian metal, but of all metal in general.

I love Ted and thank God for his life, we should rejoice that he will be in the kingdom with our Lord.

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