21-12-2009Snail trail - Coroner

Our resident metalosaurus Scott G takes a walk down memory lane

From the initial seconds of 'Die By My Hand', the dark brooding swell of Marky Mark's tribalistic drums intro leading into Tommy T Baron's furious riffing, the opening never fails to ignite my passion for Coroner.

Originally released on Germany's premier metal label of the time - Noise Records - in 1989, the label was home to the leading edge of European thrash acts of the day such as Kreator, Voivod, Sabbat, Tankard etc, Noise were responsible for unleashing a bona fide classic on the unsuspecting world in No More Colour.

Following a degree of critical acclaim from their previous full length 'Punishment For Decadence', Coroner upped the ante on 'No More Colour', breaking the boundaries of heads down, speeding thrash metal and introducing a thinking mans element to their creativity - put the CD on and let yourself get lost in the midst of 'Read My Scars' or 'Why It Hurts' and it helps open the door to the unknown in your mind. Add to that a crisper production yet still retaining no end of raw bite, the album introduced the listener to a textbook lesson in dynamics, mixing metal with elements of jazz fusion, eerily finished off with Marky Mark's deep, dark and twisted lyrics.

Fast, beautifully dexterous riffs courtesy of Tommy Vitteri (then known as Tommy T Baron) underpinned by Ron Royce's anchoring bass lines glide through each song, one minute hammering and smashing the listener, the next caressing the damage done; album closer 'Last Entertainment' illustrating the point beautifully.

The Swiss trio's peripheral positions and failure to make metals Premier League is one of life's tragedies, as by rights they should have been MASSIVE. Even with the following releases of '91s 'Mental Vortex' and the absolutely awesome 'Grin' in '93 their innovative and underrated approach proved simply too much for us mere mortals. They sadly called it a day in '95 after one last 'unsanctioned' contractual label release, 'Coroner'; a mixed bag of 'best of' material interspersed with some truly excellent new material.

If you are already aware of Coroner's work then I can sense you nodding in agreement. If you aren't aware of their work, you should be.

Scott Gabriel