CORONER - Mental Vortex / CD

Formed in Zurich, Switzerland in 1983, Coroner were originally roadies for fellow Swiss avant garde thrashers, Celtic Frost. In fact, Frost frontman Tom G Warrior sang vocals on the bands demo, ‘Death Cult’. Signing to Germany’s Noise Records in 1987 the band produced five albums for the label over the next nine years – R.I.P., Punishment For Decadence, No More Colour, Mental Vortex and Grin. Starting out from the 80’s thrash scene the band’s sound soon progressed to encompass elements of classical, avant-garde, prog, jazz and industrial and their increasingly complex style pf progressive rock-infused thrash garnered them the nickname, “the Rush of thrash metal”. The cult status of the band lead them to reform in 2011 where they have toured the globe, playing major festivals in between releasing a career spanning DVD, documenting the history of the band. They are scheduled to release a new album, their first in 22 years, later this year. Coroner’s fourth album, Mental Vortex was originally released in 1991 and is considered by many as their magnum opus. As the thrash metal phenomena was cooling down, the band strived to take their metallic dynamics in a more progressive and complex direction. The tempo slowed down across the majority of the album but in came a strong sense of melody combined with their signature time changes and individuality. This is easily one of the best albums the genre has to offer.