CORONER

Hard Force Magazine

June 1993

by Alain Lavanne

When it comes to music, and despite the genre and time, rare are the artists who've been able to create a real identity for themselves. CORONER is part of those musicians who make envious millions of bands working in the high risk world of heavy metal with an always surprising mediocrity. Panoramic History of a career, with a look at their last album Grin.

Coroner sure is one of those outstanding bands that gave credibility to thrash and, why not plain say it, an artistic and esthetic dimension which was becoming rare in the hordes of little bands trying to do the same as the pioneers in the genre. Album after album, tour after tour, Coroner had the courage to do what very few bands did: evolve, try something new without ever betray what they started. Despite an enormous potential, the helvetic trio has never become a major band and earned lots of money though. Misunderstanding? "Too much and too early" syndrome? Blindness of the public? Whatever, Coroner is now what we call a cult-band, which means that the lack of commercial output is compensated by the total devotion, always renewed, of a bunch of true and faithful fans, especially in France.

In 1985, probably bored with the tradidional tranquility of their birth country, Switzerland, three young people from Zurich decide to start a band. It seems like, from the start, the goal of the trio named Coroner has been very clear: have the same agressivity as the thrash pioneers (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth...) and put it to work with their personal ideas and taste. Not to forget about building an extra-musical identity to get to be known faster. It is undeniable that the image of Coroner is the one of a dark, morbid band, although always very neat and polished in their gloomy style.

Waiting for an opportunity to sign a contract for an album, the band composes music and allows itself a few extras: that's how they started to work as roadies for their Swiss compatriots of Celtic Frost during one of their US tours. In 1986, they decide to get in a studio and record a demo of four titles: Spectators Of Sin, Spiral Dream, Aerial Combat and The Invincible. Named Death Cult and with only 250 copies made, that demo isn't long to become very wanted and is a nice collector today!

Besides the very personal character of that technical and powerful thrash, we have to say that the presence of Tom Gabriel Warrior, singer-guitarist-master of Celtic Frost, made a lot for the band's reputation. We have to remember that, at the time, Celtic Frost was a very big band in the newborn thrash underground. Besides numerous laudatory articles, Deat Cult helped them to get in the independant label Noise, which had previously discovered Helloween, Tankard, Running Wild and Celtic Frost.

In March 1987, the three Swiss get in the Music Lab studio in Berlin, with the producer Harris Johns, to record a first album. Take note that, in the meanwhile, Ron Royce has finally started to sing in the band, for lack of a good and reliable singer. As soon as it was released R.I.P. had the effect of a bomb and Coroner instantly became THE band at the head of the (too) small group of musicians that made thrash metal go ahead. The fury of the rhythm, the well-controlled roughness of the singing, the hardness of the riffs, all that along with the speed of execution made a superb contrast with absolutely beautiful melodic parts (i.e. the piano intro of the amazing Reborn Through Hate or the intro of the epileptic Totentanz borrowed from the classical composer Robert De Visee). R.I.P. is undoubtedly one of the very best thrash albums ever made, no less. The 1989 CD release also includes the title Spiral Dream, which comes from the Death Cult demo. The true Coroner fan shouldn't fail to get the Noise compilation called Doomsday News, released as a picture-disc in 1988: it contains a masterly inedit piece named Arrogance In Uniform.

It's obvious that to do better than the R.I.P. masterpiece was almost an impossible mission. Without being discreditable or even mediocre, their second album, Punishment For Decadence, released in 1988, seems to only polish up the sublime mixture of R.I.P.. Titles like Sudden Fall, Absorbed or yet Skeleton On Your Shoulder sure are worthy successors to Totentanz, Reborn Through Hate and When Angels Die. One thing to be sorry about though is the poor sound quality, mixed by Guy Bidmead, chosen by the band for his work with Motorhead. The big surprise in that album remains without a doubt the incredible cover of Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix! For the story, French fans had to bear with an album cover that was modified from what Coroner had initially chosen. Instead of a picture of a part of the huge sculpture by Rodin, "Hell's Gates" ("Les Portes de L'Enfer"), we had a ridiculous skeleton playing with a bow and a tibia... But let's forget about the stupidity of the record company for now...

After the release of Punishment For Decadence, Coroner give a try to performing live for the first time. Completely able to technically reproduce the complexity of their compositions they, however, have some trouble to establish the contact with the public and to have a real stage presence. Since then, and luckily, they have now become an excellent band on stage for having toured numerous times.

All that brings us to June 1989, which was when they recorded their third album in Berlin, produced by Pete Hinton (Saxon, Onslaught...). No More Color is a marvellous album of transition which shows the actual evolution in Coroner's fast and technical thrash style. With a very rough sound (mixed by Dan Johnson and Scott Burns at the Tampa Morrisound Studio), compositions in that album globally appear simpler, more bare, and more centered on direct agressivity. With the title Last Entertainment, which ends No More Color, Coroner even escape from thrash to make a creepy, distressing and insistent piece. After that artistic success and the almost unanimous recognition of the critics, Coroner goes on tour again with, this time, more self confidence than in the past. That is how, on March 4, 1990, Coroner is part of the Thrashing East Festival in Berlin, along with Kreator, Sabbat and Tankard. We can have a sample of that performance on the compilation album Doomsday News 3 which features 3 titles: D.O.A., Absorbed and Read My Scars. Noise have even released a video of the entire show ("No More Color Tour '90 - Live in East Berlin). Released without the band's authorization, that video is not very well made but at least gives us an interesting view (although not clear enough) of what Coroner is worth on stage.

Produced and mixed by the incredible Tom Morris (Morbid Angel, Savatage, No Return, Nasty Savage...), Mental Vortex (1991) is a magnificent masterpiece where the evolution started in their previous album is at its peak. From then on, Coroner focus on the power and forget about excessive complexity, classical influences and systematic speed. Having now the advantage of a top production, Coroner hit with all their strength and with a conjugated rage and savoir-faire. All the titles on that album are pure jewels, particularly Semtex Revolution and Pale Sister. Now it's the turn of The Beatles to submit to the assault of the three furious Swiss who transcend I Want You (She's So Heavy) into a metallic and lyrical ride of over 7 minutes: orgasmic! Mental Vortex proves like 1+1=2 that thrash can evolve to the point of perfection and raises Coroner to the level of an artistically major band.

The last album, Grin, has been produced by Voco Fauxpas (The Young Gods, Treponem Pal...). At the time we're printing this magazine, Coroner only is in the ultimate phase of mixing. Keep an eye open because that album will be the one that will definitely make Coroner a well-known band at last, or that will leave them at the frustrating status of "cult-band".

Translated from French and reprinted without permission from "HARD FORCE MAGAZINE"
June 1993.

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