Song
Renewal
Artist
Coroner
Coroner backstory
As thrash metal approached the 90s, Switzerland’s Coroner were something of an outlier. Not that albums such as Punishment for Decadence didn’t rock hard, but like Voivod, Coroner embraced a more cerebral approach than many of their contemporaries. And looking back, that came to glorious fruition on ‘89’s No More Color and ‘91’s Mental Vortex – records that should be regarded as thrash classics.
It’s been more than three decades released any new material – the band having stepped down completely between 1996 and 2010 – but now they’re back with Renewal, the first track taken from their upcoming sixth full-length, Dissonance Theory.
Stalwarts Ron Broder and Tommy Vetterli are joined for this record by Diego Rapacchietti, Coroner’s live drummer since 2014.
In guitarist Tommy Vetterli’s own words
“I thought a lot about what Coroner should sound like today, but I pretty quickly realised that looking backwards wouldn’t serve us.
“Of course, over time you develop a certain signature as a musician. So even if the material is new, it might still feel like a bridge to earlier phases – simply because it’s me writing it.
“That said, we didn’t set out to continue a legacy. We just wanted to create something honest and grounded in the present. Renewal now opens the chapter for what became the first Coroner album I’m fully satisfied with, start to finish.
“So we’ll let the music speak for itself – you’ll know if it speaks to you.”
The verdict on Renewal
It’s been 32 years since Grin, Coroner’s last album, was released. And you get the sense that Coroner aren’t in the mood to waste time.
Immediately, you’re hit with laser-guided, precision thrash, bearing Coroner’s trademark technicality.
A very 2025 production gifts the track serious muscularity.
And Ron Broder’s rasping vocals push up the aggression levels.
But Renewal is much more than it seems, as Vetterli twists up the melodies and the band build up the foreboding atmosphere, layer by subtle layer.
Could Dissonance Theory match their best work? On this evidence, don’t bet against it…
What’s next for Coroner?
Dissonance Theory will be released on October 17 via Century Media. And you might get a taste of the new album on August 29, when the band hit Running Free Festival in Sofia.
Band photo by Manuel Schütz.