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Personally, I consider Coroner the most underrated progressive thrash metal band of their time. The group, composed of Tommy T. Baron (guitar - future Kreator), Ronald 'Ron' Broder (bass, vocals) and Markus 'Marky' Edelmann (drums), was formed in 1985 in Zurich and disbanded ten years later in '95.
Of the hundreds of bands I have listened to over the years, I believe that Coroner was one of the few capable of creating and shaping an identity that transcended the limitations of thrash metal, opening the doors to many of today's more progressive and dark metal events. Their ability to compose music far exceeded many of their supposed peers, yet success worldwide always continued to elude them: a real shame for all the metal fans who couldn't get to know them.
I consider "Mental Vortex" their masterpiece, an album that manages to demonstrate Coroner's insane ability to craft songs that are simultaneously complex, sharp, and visionary yet always accessible. The lyrics are poetic but always aggressive and manage to challenge the listener's perspectives on concepts ranging from life and the afterlife ("Divine Step") to the wistful life of sirens ("Sirens"), from the feeling of powerlessness in the face of the unknown ("Metamorphosis") to the absolute necessity of freeing the mind from the shackles of the system ("Semtex Revolution").
Technically very prepared, the three group members develop fast but always very precise drum-bass-guitar patterns, clean solos executed with impeccable touch: I recommend listening (endlessly) to the opening riff of "Semtex Revolution" to realize how taste, speed, and cleanliness can be combined with the violence and rage of top-level prog-thrash.
Musically, Coroner mixes elements of thrash, neoclassical, jazz-fusion, and even ambient structures to generate a dense soundscape that surrounds the listener with its heavy yet always rich presence: every song is a monolith that lives its own life and the inclusion of the cover of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" by The Beatles seems to be simply the only way to conclude the CD.
I absolutely recommend "Mental Vortex" to anyone interested in the genesis of progressive thrash metal: a milestone.
"See me become a snake
Wrapped around your neck...
See me become a spike
Pushed deep in your flesh..."
(Mental Vortex)
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis) (07:05)
This is the last hit
Your heart will beat
Into this world
This is the first step
Your soul will take
Up to the sky
No time to pray 'cos you
Can't stay where words
Like that would count
Face the moment
That you feared and
Glide outside your brain
Golden wings
Drawn in blood
What is sin?
And who is God?
This time it's real
And not a game
Now cross the edge of time
The circle's closed
So enter now
The land of unborn life
Golden wings
Drawn in blood
What is sin?
And who is God?
You will find out
If your heaven is colored black
And you will find out
If your suffering will find an end
This is the last hit
Your heart will beat
Into this world
This is the first step
Your soul will take
Up to the sky
No time to pray 'cos you
Can't stay where words
Like that would count
Face the moment
That you feared and
Glide outside your brain
Golden wings
Drawn in blood
What is sin?
And who is God?
You will find out
If your heaven is colored black
And you will find out
If your suffering will find an end
03 Semtex Revolution (05:30)
They tore me down
They threw me out
They shot my mouth
They enslaved my mind
They blocked my way
Holding me back with
Their stupid game
Hand on trigger
Phantom face
Don't trust no one
Always on the run
Eyes all over
Never safe
Virus like
Merciless
I left the row
Erased myself
Designed my plan
Now I revolt
I just say no
I do reject
And don't let it go
I serve the revolution
In a different way
My thoughts are radical
And I don't hesitate to slay
Hand on trigger
Phantom face
Don't trust no one
Always on the run
Eyes all over
Never safe
Virus like
Merciless
My way is fast
I hit and run
Won't leave no trace
I'm a sniper
The signs I set
Are painted
In deepest red
I serve the revolution
In a different way
My thoughts are radical
And I don't hesitate to slay
04 Sirens (04:56)
Oh how I lived the game
When we were dancin' on bridges
High above rivers of tears and
The lightness of innocence gave us wings
We were sleepin' covered
By darkness' black velvet
So far from coldness
So far from light
Where is the place
I used to hide
Where are the hearts
Once given to me
And I can feel it now
The white cold hand
For the first time I'm getting hurt
By the thorns of the roses in my hand
Time is returning to its realm
And it's slowly melting away
Like deep red wax
Leaving pools of blood
Where is the place
I used to hide
Where are the hearts
Once given to me
And sweet voices...
Turn into sirens
Foretelling...
The presence of death!
Oh how I lived the game
When we were dancin' on bridges
High above rivers of tears and
The lightness of innocence gave us wings
We were sleepin' covered
By darkness' black velvet
So far from coldness
So far from light
Where is the place
I used to hide
Where are the hearts
Once given to me
And sweet voices...
Turn into sirens
Foretelling...
The presence of death!
07 About Life (05:18)
In a world
Where we think
That we've seen
Everything
In a world
Where we think
That we rise above
All things
In a time
That is so fast
You have to run
So you won't get lost
In a time
That is so loud
You have to scream
To get recognised
In a land
Where you must fight
For a little Fragement
Of human right
In a system
That uses war
To spread its spirit
Around the globe
A religion
That uses hate
To plug its message
Into your brain
A revolution
That turns back time
Forgets what we have
Learned to be
I'd like to say
I have to say
You...don't know nothin'
You...don't know nothin' about
You...don't know nothin'
You...don't know nothin' at all!
A public
Where shoes do shine
And money beats
Respect for life
In a world
That is cleaned
Of all secrets
That nature kept
A public
Where death's reduced
To be excitement
In late night news
In a time
Where children learn
To ignore the world
Around them
I'd like to say
I have to say
You...don't know nothin'
You...don't know nothin' about
You...don't know nothin'
You...don't know nothin' at all!
I'd like to say
I have to say
You...don't know nothin'
You...don't know nothin' about
You...don't know nothin'
You...don't know nothin' at all!
08 I Want You (She's So Heavy) (07:14)
I want you
I want you so bad
I want you
I want you so bad it's drivin' me mad
She's so heavy
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Other reviews
By Melibeo
Mental Vortex is the masterpiece, the definitive realization of the meticulous work that began to take shape with Punishment For Decadence.
The key of the album is the precise fusion of three elements: the dry, cadenced rhythms of the drums, aggressive guitar riffing, and extremely dynamic and harmonic bass lines.
