"Metal Maniacs" Sept. 1990

CORONER

No Compromise

by Borivoj Krgin

Despite the fact that the concept of a three-piece line-up in a thrash outfit appeared to be a popular and practical idea in the early 80's when this form of music really began to take its shape (i.e. Motorhead, Venom, Kreator, Destruction, Exciter, etc.), it seems to have become an almost extinct and virtually non-existant phenomenon in recent years.

However, there are exceptions. Take the Swiss trio Coroner, for example. Ever since first issuing their debut LP, R.I.P., in early 1987, these thrashers have refused to give in to those critics who claim that two guitarists and a lead vocalist are absolutely necessary for a techno-thrash outfit such as Coroner to realize their full musical potential. Doing just fine as they are, Coroner have so far released three commercially- and critically-successful LPs, and have seemingly overcome the initial desire to expand their line-up as a means of alleviating pressure from the musicians currently in the group.

"The only time that our being a trio proves to be a problem," states drummer Marquis Marky, "is in a live situation. Because we're a three- piece and we have a bass player that sings as well, our visual presentation is not always the best that it could be. Having said this, that is the type of thing that will only improve with experience, so it's not something that we're losing sleep over right now."

Even though Coroner (completed by bassist/vocalist Ron Royce and guitarist Tommy Baron) has been a trio throughout their career as Noise recording artists, their first demo tape (1986's 4-tracker Death Cult) was actually recorded with Celtic Frost's Tom G. Warrior handling the vocal duties. "At the time of the tape's recording," recalls Marquis, "we were still looking for a singer to complete the line-up. As the recording date was approaching and we didn't find anyone we really liked, we asked Tom, who we're very good friends with, to help us out. Back then, this was the best thing that could have happened to the group as it got us a lot of attention from all over the world; in the long run, however, I think it may have harmed us a little bit as well, mainly because we were always being compared to and asked about Celtic Frost and the press had difficulties accepting us as a separate entity."

Noise Records, however, did take them seriously, and by mid '86, a multi-album contract was signed. "The only thing that kept us from getting an offer earlier was the singer situation," explains Marquis. "We had tried unsuccessfully for many months to find a vocalist in Switzerland or nearby who would fit in with us on a personal as well as musical level, until we finally decided to have Ron give it a shot. At the time, his voice was a lot rawer than it is now, but it was apparently good enough to get us the Noise deal."

Although Marquis is feeling quite content with the group's present line- up, he would not rule out the possibility of adding a fourth or even a fifth member in the future. "We're not completely closed to the idea of expanding," he insists, "but it has to feel absolutely right for us to want to take on another person; he has to be perfect for this group. If somebody comes along and has all the right qualities we're looking for, we will by all means consider taking him on as a member."

With Coroner's music so complex and multifaceted, it would seem strange that the band would want to have a vocalist as one-dimensional as Ron Royce fronting the band. But this, too, is not without reason, as Marquis explains: "We all feel that having a vocalist such as Ron makes a technical, progressive--whatever you wanna call it--metal band like us sound more unique. Plus, we really hate the typical way of heavy metal singing with all the high pitched screaming and stuff--it's just not us."

As is to be expected, whenever a band tries to play music that is original and a change from what everyone else is doing, there's bound to be negative feedback from some people. Coroner's case is no different. "There's a lot of kids out there who go to thrash concerts only to hear bands that sound like Slayer or Metallica and are not interested in anything else," says Marquis with an air of disappointment. "They think that, just because we're not as fast as Slayer or something like that, we can't be good, and that's really sad. We're always really happy when we see that people like us for what we are, and those are the fans that we have the most respect for."

As you read this [September of 1990], Coroner should be in the midst of their first US tour as a headlining act. This follows their recent support slot on Kreator's American dates, during which they got their first taste of this country. "I had been in the States before," states Marquis matter- of-factly, "but not in a touring situation. Just seeing the whole country over that month or so that we spent there was really a different experience for us, especially since we're so used to countless borders and endless customs inspections getting in the way of our touring Europe smoothly. Plus, the people in the States are much more open-minded, or at least I felt like that, than the people in Europe. In Europe, most of the thrash crowds are of the same type--male, and your typical headbanger style-- whereas in the States, there's all kinds of different people that come to see the gigs, not just the hardcore thrashers."

Coroner's current [1990] tour is in support of their third LP for the Noise label, the Pete Hinton-produced No More Color. Despite it being a full year since the recording of the album, the band is still looking back on it with a strong sense of accomplishment. "It's unquestionably the best-produced record we've been involved with thus far," says Marquis confidently. "For the first time in our recording career, you could actually hear all the individual instruments instead of just guitars or drums. If we get the same kind of sound on our next record as we did with this one, we'll be happy."

Unlike most bands who prefer to work on their own schedule and do things at their own pace, Coroner actually need deadlines in order to psyche themselves up for songwriting. "When we have no set recording date to go on," laughs Marquis, "we end up basically sitting around and not accomplishing a whole lot. Once we're given a date, it gives us a nice kick to get our stuff together and get to work."

Even with all the songwriting the band has done for their first three records, Marquis insists that composing comes harder to them now than it did in the early days: "There's just so many bands out there who are basically playing the same kind of material with the same riffs and lyrics that we want to separate ourselves a little bit and take things in a slightly different direction from the norm. This tends to be a lengthy process at times, but it's worth it when you consider the end results."

As is evident from their records, Coroner's musical influences are very atypical for a thrash metal group. Just where exactly do they draw their ideas from?

"Nowadays, we find ourselves listening mostly to jazz material," states Marquis. "We are still obviously influenced by thrash metal music, but it's actually not a big part of our listening repertoire. We prefer to draw influences from other kinds of music and incorporate them into our own style than sound just like another Slayer or Metallica clone. Unfortunately, this is the mistake many new bands make."

Like an increasing number of other underground acts on major independent labels, Coroner are also not new to the video world. Their promotional video for the track "Masked Jackal" from 1988's Punishment For Decadence received an unusually great amount of play on the normally commercially conscious MTV, leading Noise Records to invest in yet another filming venture. Says Marquis: "We've just completed a video spot for the last track 'Last Entertainment' off No More Color. It's mostly live footage, and it should turn out to be quite a bit better than the last one we'd done. I don't know if we'll be so lucky to receive the same amount of airplay this time as we did before because I hear that MTV is not really playing the really heavy stuff anymore, but I'm sure that it will help us in getting our name out even further."

Following the completion of Coroner's headlining tour of America, the band are due to go back home to rest and begin work on their forth full- length effort [the excellent Mental Vortex], to be released in January 1991.

Reprinted without permission from MOVIE MIRROR "METAL MANIACS"
Vol. 34, No. 10 Sept. 1990 © 1990 Sterling's Magazines Inc.
Pages 12-14.

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