Coroner - Coroner (1995)

Coroner is the final 'official' release by the band of the same name, a studio compilation. Though it reeks of contract filler, and Coroner had already disbanded, the trio had the decency to actually head into the studio, pull in some session musicians when the schedules and ideas weren't in sync, and lay out some new and unreleased material. Thus, the fans who were obvious dismayed by the breakup (and I was one of them) wouldn't feel poached of their hard earned money. I would have much rather had an entire disc of new content, even if it was rehashed b-side material, but at the very least they didn't just phone in some remastered or 100% reprinted tracks and walk out on us.

That said, of the three threads running their course through this collection, two of them are almost entirely disposable. First we have the reprinted element: one track taken from each of the band's five studio albums, a miniature 'Greatest Hits'. The choices here are obvious, but not necessarily disagreeable: "Reborn Through Hate" (R.I.P.), "Masked Jackal" (Punishment for Decadence)", "Last Entertainment (T.V. Bizarre)" (No More Color), "Serpent Moves (Grin)", and "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)" (Mental Vortex). They've also included "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", the Beatles cover from Mental Vortex. Why they would choose to run with this and not "Semtex Revolution" or "Pale Sister" is baffling, but it leads to the second largely dispensable segment of this disc: The covers.

In addition to the Beatles tune, they include their ragga inflected rendition of "Purple Haze" which was included on the CD for Punishment for Decadence, and a version of D.A.F's "Der Mussolini" which is honestly quite fun, the only piece in this paragraph that contributes to the price of admission. Not that the selections are bad, mind you, but what Coroner fan did not already own them all on their original discs? Essentially, I've just rattled off 8/16ths, which is one half of this compilation, and outside of "Der Mussolini" and the warped cover image it's thus far entirely void of value...and I haven't gotten yet to the techno remix of "Grin [No Religion Remix]", which while not entirely absent of ideas, is about as effective as that Fear Factory remix album was. Bad electro mixes of songs that don't need or want them.

Now we get to the good bits, the unreleased studio material, some of which might have ended up on an album post-Grin had the band not exited stage left. In particular I'd point out the two halves of "Golden Cashmere Sleeper" as being particular strong points of the album. Sure, they maintain the Grin level of simplicity: the former half consisting of repeated, doom-like riffs and scintillating, alarm-like guitar radiance, the second sounding much like something you'd find off one of Joe Satriani's late 80s instrumental albums, especially the clean guitar tone Vetterli has adopted (though Joe would have thrown some bitching solos over the din, these are subdued and sparse). "Gliding Above While Being Below" is another worthwhile slice of tranquility, not unlike "Part 2", and sounding like something Rush might have come up during a smoke break in 1988.

There are a few brief intros and interludes: the marching, eerie ambiance of "Benway's World" and the even more abstract "Snow Crystal". The other unheard songs are "Shifter", which feels very much like a "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)" or outtake from Mental Vortex, but not all bad; and "The Favorite Game", which is fairly flush with the Grin material. Simple chugging rhythms, nice atmosphere, melodies, and a few of those whammy bar Voivod effects (all too briefly). I don't love the vocals here, but it's one of the better listens on the disc, and helps justify its existence.

If you're coming into this band with no experience behind you, trust me when I tell you to skip straight past this and acquire No More Color, Punishment for Decadence and then R.I.P. in that order. That is the meat of Coroner's career, the works that in the long run will have become the most hallowed and transcendent. But Mental Vortex and Grin would also be a better investment. The Coroner comp is a last resort, for those who are desperately in love with the band and were clinging on to any hope left us that the band would not dissolve after all. Yeah, it does have a sampling of the studio albums, but what good would it do, for example, to only have access to "Last Entertainment" and not the rest of No More Color? I'd rather off myself. As for the newer studio material, it's not bad, but I couldn't consider it a fair representation of their career, as it's more experimental, packing far more 'whimsy' than the full-lengths, and soon forgotten. While it's admirable that the Swiss were opposed to bilking their listeners with a pure Greatest Hits release, this honestly could have been better (for example, it might have included more from the self-issued unknown tracks tape they were handing out).

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

Coroner - Grin (1993)

About the time Coroner released their 5th album Grin, there was a noticeable pox upon thrash metal. Almost all of its better acts on both sides of the pond were suffering identity crises, compensating with often empty externalizations into new sounds. To the faithful, this was referred to as a natural evolution or progression, but in reality it seemed more like a desperate attempt to survive in the changing landscape of the 90s, when so many of the fans were bridging into grunge, rap core and other 'alternatives'. This blight fell upon most of the best in the business, including European heroes like Coroner. Mental Vortex might have sent out a few feelers into a newer, groove oriented, minimal expanse of exploration, but Grin more fully embraces the metamorphosis.

So much so, in fact, that without Ron Royce's familiar vocals, it would be difficult to identify this as the same band who produced Punishment for Decadence and No More Color. Where two years prior they were dabbling in less exciting, less showy fare focused on dark, central thrash riffs and a bluesier capacity to the leads, this is a work of simple rhythmic patterns, industrial and world music components, driven steadily by the bass rather than the guitars. I'd compare it to Sepultura's transition from the Beneath the Remains era to Chaos A.D., also in 1993. The bands really don't sound much alike, but the Brazilians also got in touch with their inner, tribal children to spout primitive, powerful hooks and offer the listener variation in themes and instrumentation. Coroner does not do a bad job of this. There's a particular, hypnotic modernism happening here that makes for an ultimately interesting, if slightly disappointing experience.

It doesn't take long to experience the shift in strategy, as the intro is a tribal percussion piece with some didgeridoo known as "Dream Path". "The Lethargic Age" follows, a simple thrash hammering that shows some promise with the opening chords and swells of bass, but then the verse seems incredibly bare, tiny polished chugs alongside the sparse, tinny rock beat. It's sort of catchy, but nowhere near the level of their 80s material, and even the lead seems more like one you'd find on any random hard rock record. The Aliens sample that inaugurates the next piece, "Internal Conflicts" helps to ramp up the excitement, and this is quite comparable to Beg to Differ era Prong, clean thrash with a mechanical vibe; a Sepultura-style groove arriving briefly around 1:15. There's a far cooler groove breakdown at 2:30 where Ron's repetitious vocal line creates a spell of hypnosis, but otherwise I've always found the track lacking.

"Caveat (To the Coming)" features a pretty swell intro with flowing clean guitars and playground samples that create a deceptive bliss before the transition into some bland groove rock guitars, but the bass bridges with the ringing guitars aren't half bad (if predictable). "Serpent Moves" is much the same, once it picks up, however the riffs here are sufficiently snakelike that it stands out as one of the more memorable tracks on the album; and the Voivod-spun "Status: Still Thinking" is likewise a favorite. "Paralyzed, Mesmerized" and "Grin (Nails Hurt)" are both solid, with 1-2 curious sequences found in each, but there is clearly some needless padding there. "Host" once again reminds me of Voivod with the great, off center melodic chords over the thrum of the bass (Nothingface era), and that breakdown at :45 is just creepy; ditto for Ron's spoken word narration (not unlike "Last Entertainment"), but once the guitars pick up it begins to null out.

When you compare Grin to what other noted thrashers like Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Destruction were inevitably going to shit forth over the course of the 90s, then it really doesn't seem all that much of a letdown. It's intelligent and well paced for the most part, just stylistically barren when you consider how explosive the band's earlier compositions had been. Unique enough that it should be listened to at least once, but there is definitely a 'running out of steam' sensation at work here, reinforced in hindsight by the fact that the band would call it quits the following year. To that effect, it seems a bit dull for a swansong. The trio would assemble a few unreleased tracks for the later Coroner compilation, but as far as any future prospects, the fat lady had already begun her incantations.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (erased myself)

Coroner - Mental Vortex (1991)

After an album like No More Color, Coroner might have just pulled up their tent posts, packed in their supplies and left the rest of us stunned and wandering through the ashes of astonishment, unable to escape the grim new reality they had opened through a window of precision craftsmanship. But this was a touring band, a power trio trying to make their stamp on the world beyond the cult following they had developed. To this extent, they have gone all out with the 4th full-length, Mental Vortex, so far as to record it down in Florida at Morrisound with Tom Morris. One can certainly ascertain the difference here; it's far more controlled and 'zen'. Not to say that the band have lost their touch for a climactic escalation through Tommy Vetterli's performance, but in all this feels like a stripping down of the spiraling wonders of their previous albums.

Unfortunately, this dive in complexity is relative to a descent in overall quality, a trend that would continue into their even more minimal follow-up, Grin. Mental Vortex is still a great album, with five near legendary Coroner tracks in its eaves, but this is the first case in which I felt any of my attentions slipping. Part of this is the cover of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" included as a core element of the album. They perform it effortlessly, and even manage to extract its sullen, bluesy darkness to a new height, but it simply does not concur with the band's sharper, original material. I'm also not an enormous fan of the opener, "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)". It creates a steady, frantic step through the punch of its discordant verses, so it's a decent enough start to the proceedings, but it's about 7 minutes without that one riff I always expect from a Coroner track to blow my mind clean out of my temple. I enjoy its mellow, spacious bridge segment for the contrast against the band's typical busiwork, but that metallic, misanthropic orgasm of guitar is nowhere to be found.

"Son of Lilith" is likewise not a favorite of mine, but there are a few pretty killer riffs hovering there that do well to build appropriate tension. As for the rest of the content, it's superb, if somewhat drier than Punishment for Decadence or No More Color due to the polish of the mix. "Semtex Revolution" alternates a flowing if simplistic speed lick with a swaggering, arching melody and some nice vocal finesse, all to a steady rock beat. "Sirens" follows at largely the same gate, with some more amazing verse vocals, and a killer breakout groove that they steadily lift the thrashing towards just before 2 minutes. "Metamorphosis" is inaugurated with some whale like squeals and smooth bass, before the choppy melodic guitars lead to a glorious, marching riff so incredibly bare boned that you have to wonder how no one had come up with it before; and "About Life" is perhaps the closest track on the album to the material of No More Color, with a superb charging note pattern in the verse. Best of all, though, is "Pale Sister" with its frenzied Vetterli cycles, some of the fastest on the album, another sweet groove in the chorus, great leads, and an unexpected but catchy breakdown after the final chorus.

Perhaps it's a symptom that the band were so busy the previous few years penning labyrinthine exercises in genius, or perhaps a conscious decision to boil the writing down to what they felt were the important, underlying musical themes. Coroner was not the only band doing so in 1991, there was a far more visible example (Metallica), but the Swiss clearly weren't deviating that far from their origins in R.I.P. That said, Mental Vortex does not have nearly so much to offer as its elder siblings. The material is sufficiently dark, riff-strewn and superior to the lion's share of thrash in the early 90s which was grinding the genre to a halt, but it half turns its back on the frenetic displays of passion that brought the band to the foreground of Europe's most promising bands. Creative. Curious. Not all that exhilarating. Sadly, there would be no turning back, as the following, more groove turned, mechanical album would prove to be the straw that broke this camel's back.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (she lives on your planet, but not in your world)

Coroner - No More Color (1989)

How does one improve upon perfection? What does one offer a king who lacks for no worldly possession? Coroner have your answer, but you'll have to traverse the cold and mechanical depths of their third album No More Color to understand why. Having already embarked on a remarkable musical journey into the tortured, glorious back waters of human sanity through their stunning debut R.I.P. and its colossal, flawless followup Punishment for Decadence, the Swiss set upon themselves to broach modernity. Thus the cleaner, clinical production found here, the more biting eaves of progressive thrash and lyrics honed even more focally onto depression, social unrest, pathology and media mindwashing. Yet, there is no sign shown here of abandoning the spurious fits of technical brilliance that first manifest through R.I.P.

This album is unbelievable. Now I love Punishment for Decadence like any man would love a skilled handjob, but No More Color is somehow even more important. In all honesty, if some theoretical situation were to arrive in which I was to be incarcerated and allowed only about ten albums to take with me, I could not pass on this.. Each of the eight compositions is highly potent, polished and writhing with ideas. It doesn't fly off the hook quite so much as Punishment, but here the effect of the band's proficiency is more one of drugged, surgical envelopment from which there is no escape from the ensuing paranoia. A labyrinthine lobotomy, each node of the human brain then being jolted with electrodes of pleasure and pain. It's a little less airy than the first two albums, the band having cycled towards its third producer/engineer in three albums. Pete Hinton's mix is a more confrontational and direct than Harris Johns or Gary Bidmead, with the riffing more central and swaggering and loud.

Most importantly, this is a burst of fresh, carnal creativity. Punishment was a heightening and polishing of the R.I.P. aesthetic benchmark, but No More Color takes Vetterli's incessant riffing genius into new corridors of clarity. "Die By My Hand" is one of the best metal songs I've ever heard, opening with Edelmann's escalating kit warfare into a harrowing, complex groove and a triumphant chorus break over which Tommy's punctual squealing marries Royce's predictable, dark poetry to give the impression that some insane choir of killers is howling it at both the witness and the empty sky. "No Need to Be Human" conjures a razor-like, numbing guitar rhythm with dense, compact fills and a Brave New World dystopian lyrical slant. 'Why do you do this...stop it now/'cos in fact you're innocent, like a newborn child' might not seem like such a clever chorus, but when placed in the beautiful rhythmic pattern here it's emotionally wrenching, and both of the bridges are effortlessly executed: the first a fast, cyclic thrashing and the latter evoking some bluesy slides before the well balanced cavorting of the lead.

"Read My Scars" starts and stops with warlike pallor, then emits another excellent verse riff with incredible fills, especially the mix of bass and guitar melody around :40, and the speed metal outbreak over which Vetterli scales off in the bridge. "D.O.A." is fucking surgery incarnate, with one of the most creepy, unnerving thrusts of guitar in the verse that make you feel as if you were literally on the table, under the damned knives, praying to escape malpractice as the local chirurgeon's eyes glare at you, curious and bloodshot. I don't know if I could pick a favorite on No More Color, but "Mistress of Deception" (along with "Die By My Hand") threatens such status with a frenetic fill at 1:00 that threatens to make the listener's eyes melt out of his/her already impacted cranium. Other points to note are the rhythm guitar below the middle of the lead at around 1:40, and the popping flux of the bridge beginning around 2:30. Yeah. Go change your shorts, I've already done the same.

Yet, Coroner has even more strategies at work. "Tunnel of Pain" hammers out a kinetic, rapid bass intro before it spirals out into the rafters like a love child of Escher and Beethoven. Totally love the bridge here, a moment of shining near-tranquility below which Royce's bass throbs before the incredible, minimal breakdown at around 2:20, soon joined by arching leads. "Why It Hurts" maintains the steady thrust of the previous song, a stolid and acrobatic thrashing with a break that screams out at you (1:15) before Tommy T Baron once again begins an exercise in making the listener jealous of his craftsmanship. "Last Entertainment", the suitable end to this bout of maddened audio mirth, is the most experimental. Steve Rispin's guest synthesizers ramble off behind a choppy mid-paced escalation, joined by a spoken word narrative, made strangely poignant by the strong accent of Royce. However, there are some beautiful leads here and its truly atmospheric, sucking the observer straight into a new reality of light and shadow.

You'll have to forgive my excess gushing over this one. No More Color is an album that changed me, changed my perception of what was possible within the metal genre. Like several others that had come before it: Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets, Powerslave, Killing Technology or Abigail to name only a few, it helped test the boundaries of what was possible in this medium, a staunch and serious evolution that dispensed with the trends and stereotypes. This isn't exactly Twisted Sister or Quiet Riot. It's artistry is far more daring. There is not a second on this album I would change if I was even given a time machine and complete license to do so. It is perfection from fore to aft, and though it's not the first such summit reached by this Swiss legend, it's the first to which I'd direct any intrepid explorer who wishes to shoulder its brilliant burden. Own it. Or continue to suck as a human being.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (lost between machines)

Coroner - R.I.P. (1987)

While they would easily prove one of the most proficient, memorable and talented European thrash acts to hatch in the 80s, Switzerland's Coroner arrived through humble beginnings. They started out as a more traditional metal outfit until their 1986 demo Death Cult, and they had strong connections to that 'other' legendary Swiss band, Celtic Frost. Tommy 'T Baron' Vetterli and Markus 'Marquis Marky' Edelmann served as roadies for the Tragic Serenades tour. Oliver Amberg (who would later join Frost for their unpopular Cold Lake years) was an early part of the lineup. Most notably, Tom G. Warrior himself performed the vocals on the Death Cult demo, when the style of the band shifted closer to the entity that the once unstoppable Noise records would snap up in a heartbeat.

For the most part, though, that is where the similarities between the two bands end. Coroner could not have been any more different from the demonic, experimental black doom thrashers. They were writing highly technical, neo-classically charged infusions of thrash with the world had not yet encountered. Hell, with the exception of bands like Germany's Mekong Delta (or Deathrow on the Deception Ignored album), we haven't really encountered since. About the one trait that could be comparable would be the vocals of Ron Roye (aka Ron Broyer), which are not dissimilar to Tom Warrior, a dark and throaty concoction that conjures a barbaric, brute juxtaposition with the manic, exhilarating guitar work. Truly, we had bands out there playing with crass intensity that could twist skulls straight off their vertebrae (Slayer, Dark Angel, Tankard just to name a few); but none of these had Tommy T Baron, a shred-born anomaly who would tirelessly execute Baroque and other hyperventilated scales with fluid precision in the core riffs of the compositions (disregarding the actual leads).

Even more impressive is that the rhythm section was not intimidated in the slightest by this raving lunatic. Royce is highly capable himself, traversing the same grounds on the bass where needed; and Edelmann, though rooted in the traditional metal and rock drumming, provided a tight formation over which the pair could spiral off into madness. R.I.P. is a mind warping beast of a debut, potent and graceful in its controlled chaos, imbued with an unwavering morbidity that easily justified their chosen handle. Granted, a lot of the ideas here would be further exploited and perfected through the band's next pair of albums, Punishment for Decadence and No More Color, two of the greatest works I've ever had the privilege to own, but for its day, the debut is quite close to perfect itself, with an airy and wonderful Harris Johns mix. Seriously, this guy had a radar attractor to talent, and Coroner is yet another act he helped unveil to the world through his studio wizardry.

I am not exaggerating when I claim that this Swiss band, at least from 1987 through 1991, represented one of the high water marks of thrash metal, helping set such a standard for this genre that I have been forever spoiled for so many of the pathetic throwbacks and neanderthals who have tried to redefine it to a more primate state since. Coroner do more than just make you never want to pick up an instrument again out of envy: they write damned good songs. They pace their albums extremely well. Here, the beautiful pianos and resonant flutes of the intro are broached with windy samples, as if a trace of sunlight were dawning upon a sepulcher, its still denizens about to awaken, pick up instruments and channel the brilliant composers of years past. Then those very same undead minstrels flog the living fuck out of thee with "Reborn Through Hate", one of the best songs on this album and one of the highlights of the band's career, its snakelike, menacing rhythms colliding into the gymnastics of the bass and drums, and Royce giving his 'official' introduction with barked, almost constipated force.

"When Angels Die" offers a few plush, atmospheric chords before it spins off into a frenzied foreshadowing of the guitar lines that would later manifest on "Mistress of Deception" (No More Color), and then a dour, acoustic intro with war samples and shredding transforms into the song "Nosferatu", which is naught more than beautiful, climactic shredding with some atmospheric glaze and keyboard strikes, but ambitious nonetheless. This is not an album short on highlights. "Suicide Command" will dizzy you with its high strung intro before the fast paced razor speed of the verse erupts. "R.I.P." has a lush, attractive intro, an echoed vocal narrative over thick bass lines and clean, reverbed guitars before a thundering mid gait. "Coma" and "Totentanz" are likewise legendary extractions, and I love the atmospheric charge of the 'outro' with its angelic choir synthesizers. Perhaps the only songs I don't blow my lid and load over immediately are "Fried Alive" and "Spiral Dreams", the latter hailing from the Death Cult demo and included only on the CD version of the debut, but both are competent and do nothing to break the momentum.

The amount of effort placed in a debut like this is earthshaking. From a composition standpoint, there was more going on in particular tracks than some thrashers create for an entire album. Yet, Coroner never feels like they are wanking off, or overindulging themselves. Certainly there is some degree of flash and flair due to Vetterli's exorbitant performance, but it all fits into the puzzle so beautifully that it just never occurs that he might be showing off. In a period already saturated with so many great or even brilliant albums (Reign in Blood, Finished With the Dogs, Master of Puppets, Zombie Attack, Terrible Certainty, Darkness Descends all just a few examples), the Swiss band still managed to stand out as one to watch with a frightening anticipation, and a superb setup to its spotless successors.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (they've been waiting for years)

Coroner - Punishment for Decadence (1988)

Though the debut R.I.P. was the record to set the stage for this Swiss trio's brand of dark, classically inspired thrash metal, it was Punishment for Decadence which would solidify Coroner as one of the most frighteningly talented and unparalleled thrash acts of the 80s and beyond.

Pushing the limits of technical proficiency, songwriting skill and mesmerizing atmosphere, behold the birth of a legend. The album opens with the complex "Absorbed", a bewildering array of thrashing, dark, melodic riffing beneath Ron Royce's proto death metal vocals (mildly reminiscent of Tom G. Warrior). Even the breakdowns in this song are puzzling and proficient. "Masked Jackal" follows, perhaps the most famous track from this album, due to both its infectious thrashing, shredding and it had also had a video.

Worshipped... by the masses
Leader... with ulterior motives

We haven't even arrived at the meat of the matter yet. "Arc-Light" is an awe-inspiring instrumental piece, loaded in atmosphere and Tommy T. Baron's heavily classical guitar wizardry. With it's sad intro and descending chords, exploding into sheer triumph, "Skeleton On Your Shoulder" is one of the most memorable thrash metal songs I've ever heard. "Sudden Fall" and "Shadow of a Lost Dream" are entirely killer, in particular the latter with its wild bridge after the verses. "The New Breed" is another extremely complex track with its anesthetic riffing and samples. "Voyage to Eternity" closes the album with some amazing leads and atmosphere. There is a cover of Jimmy Hendrix's "Purple Haze" on the CD version, I usually never count it, since it's decent but not much like the originals.

The frightening thing about Coroner isn't just Tommy T. Baron's masterful guitar work, but the bass playing can match it almost note for note...and yes, I've seen him do it live. It's not a joke. The production here may seem average for the 80s, but really allows the music to breath. Lots of reverb, tinny drums, and a lot of atmosphere to the vile vocals. Alongside its follow-up No More Color, this is truly the high point of this amazing band's career. It's a sad thing they are no longer with us and have no real plans to re-unite, unlike every dime and nickel thrash/speed metal band these days. But what they leave us with is a legacy. A legend. A fucking masterpiece. Bands are not made like this anymore. Dark, inspirational, and indisputably one of the most adventurous and complex pieces of thrash metal ever produced on Earth.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (I'm in here...nowhere, inside looking for a key)

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