CORONER – Dissonance Theory (Album Review)

Contradictions instigate the downfall.

In the wild west of ’80s metal, innovation and adaptation seemed the order of the day as trailblazing upstarts on both sides of the Atlantic strived for their own unique niches and paved the way for the craft’s numerous mainline and extreme subgenres. Even the particular subset of thrash metal, born partly out of the primitivism and simplicity of the hardcore scene on both the east and west coast of the continental U.S., began a rather swift trek down the road of stylistic progression within a year or so of its birth.

Spearheaded by the mid-’80s studio strides of the likes of Watchtower and Voivod, what was originally a stripped-down and formulaic marriage of punk’s most fast-paced and angry mode of expression and the pizzazz of the NWOBHM turned into something flashy and advanced enough to rival the heyday of 70s progressive rock. A concurrent storm was brewing in central Europe via Zurich-based trio Coroner, who made a substantial splash in the late 80s and early 90s with a more elaborate and virtuosic take on things relative to their contemporaries in Germany and the U.K.

Now with more than 3 decades in the rearview since their final studio hurrah in 1993’s groove metal-tinged Grin, this power trio of forward-looking thrashers has unleashed a truly colossal expression of modern technical, riff-centered brutality in Dissonance Theory that is sure to put the Bay Area forefathers of the style on notice.

Marking his first opportunity to show his thunderous chops in the studio under the Coroner banner since being recruited in 2014 for extensive touring, Diego Rapacchietti pulls zero punches from behind the kit and also showcases a similar penchant for a jazzy, rhythmically mixed-up approach that plays perfectly to this album’s progressive tendencies. Guitarist Tommy Vetterli proves an even more stylistically kinetic player in this arrangement, draping every song in a highly elaborate tapestry of heavy-ended grooves, pummeling thrash riffs, dissonant chords, and melodic motives that are sure to keep even the most seasoned progressive metal consumer guessing, and rips out a healthy supply of tech-happy guitar solos that blur the lines between tasteful and extravagant. At the helm, bassist/vocalist Ron Royce provides a precise musical foundation and also a gravely, snarling narrative to provide a needed anchor for what would otherwise be a freewheeling endeavor.

At first glance, old school fans of Coroner’s long thought to be fully codified sound are sure to pick up parallels to the high-grade clean thrashing modernity of 1991’s Mental Vortex and the droning grooves of 1993’s Grin, but this only tells part of the story. Picking up where things left off back in the 90s can’t fully account for time appropriate blend of raging speed and dense atmospheric richness that comes with elaborate thrash entries like “Crisium Bound” and “Renewal”, both of which trade blows with the sort of quirky aesthetic that Vektor has used to bring this style into the present age and a more traditional mode of aggression that one might hear out of present day Bay Area titans like Testament and Heathen.

The drawn out succession of twists and turns with a forceful drive that kicks the album off in the riveting “Consequence” mixes a similar blend of modern thrashing fury with a spacey futuristic aesthetic, spearheaded by Royce‘s intermittently employing similar Vocoder voice effects to those heard out of Cynic and some correspondingly unconventional harmonic choices in Vetterli’s guitar layering, yet returns to a highly effective chorus hook to keep it all in the realm of coherence.

Though the complex entries that grace this album tend to dredge up the shiniest moments of metallic luster, Dissonance Theory is a finely tuned technical thrash scene that has plenty of moving parts that all hit hard. The down tempo, 90s groove/thrash crusher “Sacrificial Lamb” and the quick-paced yet straightforward aggression of “Symmetry” definitely land the closest to pure ear worm fodder on this otherwise labyrinth-like succession of complex compositions, the latter seeing Vetterli land arguably his most spellbinding guitar solo and resting comfortably in the shimmering post-thrash territory that one might compared to Machine Head’s recent studio outings.

The mid-paced stomp and melancholic contours of “The Law” showcase some rather blatant nods to the melodic death metal side of the stylistic coin as heard out of The Crown and latter-day At The Gates, with Vetterli’s riffs hitting with the force of a wrecking ball. But the entry that brings this album home and showcases the entire fold’s ability to match technical majesty with memorable songwriting is the towering opus of groove and post-thrash majesty, “Trinity”, which brings a whole new meaning to the concept of a cynical outlook set to music.

Despite the obscenely wide gap between this album and its mid-’90s predecessor, a fact born out of the band’s desire to simply tour since their 2010 reformation and leave things where they were, Dissonance Theory is a near-perfect continuation of Coroner’s practice of putting out albums that avoid rehashing prior precedents. There is an obvious stylistic commonality that goes with even the more progressive approaches, given the consistency of the artists themselves, but while this album has noticeable parallels to where things were back in the 90s, it adds to and builds upon them rather than outright rehashing things and playing to nostalgia alone.

Dissonance Theory is a collection of highly distinct and challenging series of auditory reflections and critiques that play heavily into the abstract side of things, essentially attempting to make sense of life in its present state, much as Mental Vortex and Grin sought to make sense of the chaotic and ever-fluctuating musical landscape of the early ’90s. It’s a different beast from the one that most may remember, but in essence, it’s still the same one that pushed the boundaries before and is hopefully to continue doing so in the years to come. 

Release Date: October 17th, 2025
Record Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Technical Thrash Metal

Musicians:

• Ron Royce / Bass, vocals
• Tommy Vetterli / Guitars
• Diego Rapacchietti / Drums

Dissonance Theory Track-list:

1. Oxymoron
2. Consequence
3. Sacrificial Lamb
4. Crisium Bound
5. Symmetry
6. The Law
7. Transparent Eye
8. Trinity
9. Renewal
10. Prolonging

Order the album here