Coroner ~ Switzerland

Dissonance Theory (2025)

Next up in my coverage of new albums comes Coroner's latest. I closed off Dark Angel's Time Does Not Heal review with: "Their new album has been met with serious derision. The opposite of another 80s / early 90s legend that recently reformed and I will be talking about (excitedly I hope) within the next month." And here we are.

Coroner is arguably my all-time favorite metal band. If not number #1, they are certainly in the discussion. They were part of the second wave of thrash bands that came around in 1987, post Master Of Puppets. Coroner were peers of Celtic Frost, and they were inspired by that group's unique style of thrash metal and God-knows-what from Tom Gabriel's cabeza. I haven't documented any of their five original albums on UMR, but suffice to say, they got better as they went. I know I'm in the minority here, but Grin was the apex of their career, and probably was the perfect time to call it quits, before the 90s metal scene devolved into an uninspired mess later in the decade. I'll defend my position when I get back to their discography, whenever that may be.

The build up for Dissonance Theory has been nothing but super exciting. It brought me back to the mid to late 80s, pouring over every word in Metal Forces, looking for that one metal album that would take me to the stratosphere. And that happened many times, some have already been documented here. I haven't done this type of reading in eons. The wait has been very long, going back almost a decade to 2016, when Coroner said they were working on a new album. Years passed, and only a few hints kept that flame alive. Until 2025. The way the group talked about the upcoming release was exactly how bands would describe their music in 1989. Except these guys are my age, in their early 60s. They are clearly young at heart, and still sharp as ever. But with 30+ years more wisdom at their disposal, and they talk smarter, which is refreshing (many of these metal guys purposely sound like they're still in grade school). They have a new drummer, but the key members of Tommy Vetterli (guitar) and Ron Broder (bass / vocals) are onboard. Also of interest to me is that the album has been exceptionally well received. You almost never see this from legendary thrash metal bands of the past. Witness what's happening to Dark Angel's latest. It currently sports a sub 2 rating on RYM (that's really bad). Coroner is rated number #23 overall for 2025, with a similar rating to their classics, and is likely to continue to go up with more ratings from users. For a tech thrash band on a 32 year hiatus, that's nothing short of incredible.

OK, I wrote the above before hearing one note of Dissonance Theory. This also represents the first album for me to hear that was released in 2025. Perhaps one last build up before lift off. Here we go. Let's see where this takes us.

Wow. Just wow. I listened to the whole thing without typing one letter. That's what Coroner does. They entrance you into their world, and don't let you out until it's over. What's impressive about Dissonance Theory is that it sounds 100% like Coroner, without repeating the past. The opening is very much like Grin, atmospheric then followed by fast and heavy riffing. Soon, Ron Broder begins singing in his unique snarling manner. He sounds exactly like he did in his prime. Whether that's through the aid of technology or he's ageless, I cannot say. New drummer Diego seems more active than his predecessor which is only a plus. Dissonance Theory doesn't follow the same path as Grin, which continued to get slower, moodier, and more pissed as it went on. 

The new album varies the tempo throughout, but never gets hyper technical as it did on Mental Vortex. From a flow perspective, it probably ties closest to No More Color. The production is brilliant. You can hear every nuance, from the gritty guitars to the atmospheric electronics. On that topic, I noticed that "guest" keyboardist Dennis Russ happens to also cowrite every song with Vetterli. He's an American who also contributed to the production and lyrics. As the album progresses you begin to hear just how off kilter the rhythms can be. That's the disorienting magic of Coroner. Repeated listens will only increase the rating for Dissonance Theory. This I know from experience. I'm sure I won't hear it as much as I once did for Grin, but as I talked about with Iron Maiden, we have so many options today that's it's difficult to focus on one album for so long. Despite saying this, I'm on my second straight listen as I type this out.

Highlights are tough to spot, though the opening sequence is exciting just due to the newness of it all. And that Coroner are back. Real thrash is back perhaps to say. I enjoyed 'Crisium Bound' as a great example of how Coroner operates on their own time signatures.'Transparent Eye' is another example of this phenomena. 'Renewal', the last proper song on the album, happens to also be its most thrashy, heavy, and complex. And not to forget the legacy of 'Host', 'Prolonging' closes the album with metal combined with a wild Hammond Organ solo from Russ. More of that would be insanely welcome.

I sure hope Coroner doesn't wait another 32 years to get back in the studio. Because if they do, they'll need a real coroner. I'll be 93, and so will they. So let's get a move on fellas.

Ownership: 2025 Century Media (CD). Booklet with lyrics, photos, and recording details. Nice artwork that honors their heritage well.

11/24/25 (acquired / review)

Also own and need to review: R.I.P.; Punishment for Decadence; No More Color; Mental Vortex; Grin

11/24/25 (new entry)