What can be said about Switzerland’s Coroner at this point, right?! A few things to point out before getting into Dissonance Theory, their 6^th album. Their last album, the disjointed Grin, released in 1993, polarized fans, and this new one, quite honestly, is the comeback album Dark Angel should have written. That is how great the new Coroner is.

I saw the band live, opening for Kreator in the late 80’s in NY. Coroner received such an amazing response that they returned to headline, on their own, on the Mental Vortex tour and were outstanding. I spoke to all three members, back then – all super cool. Grin went in a different direction, clipping their speed, going for a more progressive-groove approach and it was not a well-received album by the fans.

Coroner was still a pretty small band when they broke up in 1996. In 2010, they reformed with the original three members: Marquis Marky – drums, Vocals (backing), Ron Royce – bass, Vocals, and Tommy T. Baron – Guitars, Vocals (backing). In 2014, Marky was replaced by Diego Rapacchietti. Coroner’s name had gained huge popularity while they were broken up, and with their back catalog starting to get reissued/remastered in 2013, the band’s reformation has been a huge success.

The band has been writing this album for years, in between their family lives, playing festivals globally, and doing some touring. Since their reformation, I have seen them at MDF as well as several months ago on tour. The one thing about the lackluster Grin is that those songs translate much better in a live setting; therefore, I appreciate it more, however, it pales in comparison to the glorious first 4 albums.

Dissonance Theory has 10 new songs, some of which they played live on the tour I just saw them on, and the album is 47 minutes in length. As a bonus, the special edition review contains a second disc. The bonus CD contains the full 1986 Death Cult demo. Some may be unaware, but at this point Ron was still developing his vocal style but was not ready to record. Their close friend Tom G. Warrior, legend from Celtic Frost, swooped in to help his friends. Tom is the singer on the demo. And the band were originally Celtic Frost roadies. This classic demo is what landed them a record deal, with Noise Records, Celtic Frost’s label.

A year later, the Coroner’s amazing debut album R.I.P. was released, and the rest is history. My [Lmd Ed] 2 CDs of this album are delayed from Amazon, since it was an import, unfortunately, due to the tariffs in our country right now. Sucks. Amazon did not even give me an ETA on the new delivery.

After a brief intro titled “Oxymoron”, “Consequence”, the longest song on the album, opens things up. Progressive and mid-paced, and the sound is excellent. The song quickly gets into a speedy gallop with terrific double bass drums. The band is on fire, until a soft atmospheric moment comes in, showcasing some soft jazz playing, then right into an epic buildup. Eventually, the killer gallop erupts with Tommy shredding with his solo, then back into the mid-paced moment. Lots of tempo shifts on this opener, as well as some vocal sound effects, robotic in nature, if you will. Absolute killer opening song that sounds like Coroner and not some half-baked attempt at a reunion album.

One of the things noticeable on this new album is the urgency in creating speed. The classic Coroner progressive sound is evident. However, check out the song “Symmetry”. Starting with a fast gallop. A song that could have been on Grin, with its progressive nature; however, this is hard-hitting with Tommy’s fast guitar picking, and Royce continues to sound like his vocals have not aged one bit. Powerful. Gruff and understandable. The drumming is top-notch with speedy double bass. The 2-minute marker brings forth a classic Coroner guitar solo, as the song gets into a slow, dissonant, atmospheric moment, with cool vocal phaser effects. Monster drum roll,s then the speed returns. Aggressive, progressive, and a banger of a tune.

“The Law” begins slowly and softly, then the light guitar riff comes in, and this song gets rolling as a slow tune. Originally, I was like, please, don’t be a ballad. Some neat poly-rhythmic drumming and creative use of the double bass drums. The slow meandering, dreamlike moments continue until the 2.55 isolated guitar riff. One would think this would be leading into more of their slower stuff, on this song. But alas, no. What transpires is maybe the most brutal thrash moment the band has ever done. The fast speed comes in, and then Diego kicks things up a notch with the velocity becoming even more brutal. Ron is singing super aggressively with his vocals, even dropping to a lower tone before unleashing a killer scream. Wow!!! Then the song slows back down, and I’m seriously catching my breath.

“Renewal” was a single released and immediately starts fast. Classic Coroner fast, technical, speedy thrash metal. The Coroner way. Very aggressive. I love it when bands put out killer singles. Super heavy song and one of the heaviest songs the band has released, as there is no sign of letting up on the gas pedal for this one. Oh, by the way, the production and mix are spot on. Perfect and not overproduced. This sounds like Coroner, in the modern digital age folks. About mid-way into the song, we get a little Meshuggah like part, then a kick ass gallop erupts with terrific guitar solos. Then more atmospherics than BOOM, right into the fast part. Relentless and technical in its approach, this is one of the very best songs Coroner has ever written.

The elements of Grin still remain and do come out in songs such as “Trinity”, “Transparent Eye”, and “Crisium Bound”. Honestly, these moments are not my favorite on the album…surprise! However, they contain elements, such as the instrument tone, more on that below, that lessen the blow a bit for listeners who are not big Grin fans.

If Grin had never been released, Dissonance Theory, would have been the natural successor to 1991’s Mental Vortex. This album has the biting power and tone of the first four classic Coroner albums. The production is outstanding, and I will not compare it to album productions from decades ago – that is unfair. This is Coroner updated with modern-day production values and captures the band perfectly. This is all new and fresh. Dennis Russ, who does keyboards for the band, simulates organ effects, and we get an organ solo too! Most of all, the quality of the musicianship is tremendous, and plenty of thought went into crafting and developing these songs. Yes, for us long-time fans, there is enough familiarity with things such as the album cover design, the Coroner sound, and the tie-in to their prior albums, but I was not expecting nearly as great a reformation album as this is.

On the plus side there are so many younger fans and musicians and bands who will gravitate towards this release and get the chance to see them live. Great to see Coroner bring back their speedy thrash elements, as well as adding ferocity to their overall sound. Amazingly played album and a killer return to form. The best comeback album for 2025, without a shadow of a doubt!

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