Known for pushing the limits of the already extreme directive of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 80’s Zürich, Switzerland-based progressive groove metal trio CORONER now appear three decades beyond their initial split with a sixth full-length album, carrying a full decade of expectations built beyond reunion. Whereas they were once an ideal crossing of rugged aggression and thinking man’s technical metal ‘Dissonance Theory‘ is surprisingly mundane, a decent if not dated prog-tinged half-thrash record which lacks ye olde fire behind the eyes enough to stoke the nostalgic among us. It is yet a fine example of nuance applied to a sub-genre which typically carries none, just don’t head in expecting a reprisal of their late 80’s set standard for the riff.

In a time and place where heavy metal meant protest and defiance Coroner formed as a quintet circa 1983 where their Mark I formation notably included original drummer Markus Edelmann (Tar Pond). They’d soon released a Venom and Metallica inspired demo tape, ‘Depth of Hell‘, that same year but split during a brief hiatus for the drummer’s mandatory army service. The trio formation responsible for the sound which we recognize today would feature guitarist Tommy Vetterli and bassist Ron Broder in addition to Edelmann who’d acted as key curator for most of their original run. The band would eventually become known for pushing the limits of speed and technicality in thrash metal as they’d gravitated toward the extremes of the day, music inspired by Mercyful Fate, Exodus and the usual suspects available to that ’83-’85 era. An infamous collaboration with Tom G. Warrior for their ‘Death Cult‘ (1986) demo tape would put all ears on their work before Broder took on vocal duties and a different, increasingly technical and shred-heavy style would develop beyond their signage to Berlin-based label Noise Records.

As a fan I generally don’t agree with most folks’ assessment of Coroner‘s debut LP (‘R.I.P.‘, 1987) as a sort of rough draft, a flippant or haphazard deal as I’ve always found it important as germinal blueprint for death metal guitar standards heading toward the 90’s, something in league with ‘Seven Churches‘ or earlier Kreator at the very least. Otherwise the frayed neoclassical metal inspired guitar work found on that album was unique to that space, it wasn’t Cacophony or whatever but it was fuel for tech-thrash ideation going forward and generally presented a fast and fastidious voice they’d continue to develop over the course of two infamous LPs. Rather than fully write a novel on the band’s early years I would recommend the Rewind documentary from 2016 as the most up-to-date telling of the band’s key years (1983-1995) for the details, though I would say the lasting appeal of the band’s first three records has more to do with those being both squarely “heavy metal” focused in structure yet an extreme take on thrash compared to their surroundings. For myself and many others ‘Punishment for Decadence‘ (1988) was the breakthrough, the undeniable classic from the band in their original incarnation but the follow up was no less essential.

Stepping into the early 90’s with Coroner is most relevant to what they’ve accomplished with ‘Dissonance Theory‘ today as their groove focused take on progressive metal under the pretense of thrash-toned production values was steadier handed and played better to crowds compared to similar actions from perceived contemporaries Sadus and Anacrusis nearby. With this in mind I’d like to steer your mind back to ‘Grin‘ in 1993 where psychedelic rock guitar swells and crookedly stabbed groove metal riffs somehow generated a loosened, surreal feeling despite the angst applied to their movement. After basically splintering apart during the recording of that fifth album the band’s farewell tour occurred in 1996, Vetterli played on a few very unpopular records with Kreator in the late 90’s, there’d been a revival of the band in ~2010 until Edelmann left in 2014 and started Tar Pond with Martin Ain (R.I.P.) as the band took the drummer’s blessing to continue. We are now ten full years beyond that pivot point where the call for new material first appeared serious… long past anyone’s expectations of a new album actually happening.

As suggested ‘Grin‘ should be on your mind as both a divisive terminal point for Coroner as well as a node faced with expansion via ‘Dissonance Theory‘ where some manner of alt-metal and industrial rock toned groove metal renders all flesh in new-next alignment. At face value it nearly reads as a do-over of their vision back in the early 90’s rather than a direct continuation but at this point I’m sure neither is squarely correct. This should be a mildly uncomfortable realization if you are old, or, just thorough enough to recall some of the ideas collaboratively writ via Vetterli on Kreator‘s ‘Endorama‘, movements and techniques which are quasi-reprised here via muscle memory nearby some Grip Inc. worthy interruptions and chunking post-thrash riffs. That is to say that if you did not follow the band and their associated projects beyond ‘Mental Vortex‘ (1991) per your reaction to their changing style there is next to nothing here for you on album number six. While I am not fully doomsaying here I will be as honest as possible: This choice of style, pacing and embrace of the “cold” face of the band won’t squarely align with what longtime Coroner fans want beyond another world tour which includes the 80’s stuff.

With that said I haven’t suggested that ‘Dissonance Theory‘ is a bad album in any sense, only that it over-values their contributions to the 90’s and reprises their least popular mode. In most every way Coroner‘ve recreated the alchemical blend that’d made ‘Mental Vortex‘ its own sort of timely gem (see also: ‘Angel Rat‘) while eliminating some of the tension inherent to said album via a big, spacious and frankly a bit over-produced container. If your golden standard for thrash metal sound design is nearby recent Megadeth or Machine Head and you’re looking for arena-sized grooves, I’m guessing your interpretation of these production values will be markedly different. Step beyond the proggy synth gnarl of opener “Consequence” and steep within its intermittent robo-ethereal refrains and the soul of the band’s signature is fully there yet the ratta-tat-tat of the main verse riff and its variations already begin to shape expectations toward something progressive metal related, tuneful in a “modern melodic metal” adjacent sense.

Drummer Diego Rapacchietti is certainly not a weak link here as a skilled, precision skinsman proven via a variety of genre and he seems to be a great fit here as a prominent force within the crystal clear bombast of ‘Dissonance Theory‘ and its recording. All is clear, too clear even, as the level of polish applied is obnoxiously loud on all fronts as the thunder of it all threatens to overtake the impact of the songs themselves. Most of Coroner‘s efforts here are built around statements which offer the illusion of simplicity within technically charged machinery where many moving parts speak tonal ambiguity through ranting, sometimes bidirectional grooves. The best example of this is Side A‘s “Cirsium Bound” for my own taste, a shotgunned post-thrash exaggeration which carves a tunnel and then recedes in equitant statement. Though these snappier jigs are dramatically stated, loud and heavy as they resolve they quickly threaten a formulaic stance wherein quiet refrains set at the mid-point of each song and some manner of shredding bridge-like motion arrives at the three-quarter mark.

Side B is where I’d felt this continuous series of ~5-6 minute bonk-riffed, rock-shaped pieces begin to fully collapse into more mediocre trundling, particularly the dry chunking Meshuggah-esque verve of “Transparent Eye” and the superficial bluster of “Trinity” after it. Each song has its own subtle idea and sound course yet it all melds together into a fairly bland, repetitious clobber seemingly built for distant arena-sized performance. — While there are numerous inspired moments tucked in between the binary slugging of their key rhythms I’d found by the end of the first (and tenth just to be sure) full listen of ‘Dissonance Theory‘ I was thoroughly convinced that despite being a Coroner fan since the early 90’s this album was somehow simultaneously not aiming for me, at all, and bucking the idea of anything “forward-thinking” at the same time. I don’t know if it is entirely fair to suggest that the prior balance created by Edelmann‘s taste, curation and contributions has disrupted the impact of the band’s work irreparably via his absence but what we get here lacks any sort of disordered fire, the erratic congestion and exuberance which is their legacy within “underground” metal… and instead we get a sweetly nuanced, “safe” groove metal album. A moderately high recommendation.

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