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Class 6(66)
Coroner: Mental vortex
11/11/11 || Habakuk
Introduction
When I saw staffer IG starting to re-cover the Coroner discography, this time around I had to make sure to get my reviewing share of this awesome band with an absolutely flawless legacy and secured myself “Mental Vortex”. In hindsight, it’s always tempting to draw connections between a band’s albums and make up some storyline about where the different elements of their sound surfaced and whatnot, but with Coroner it’s not just tempting, it’s impossible to disregard the almost linear progression from album to album.
So, I won’t try to go all “new angle” on this and state that “Mental Vortex” as their second to last full-length consequently shows them at a very mature stage, soundwise. In order to find out why, please refer to the following paragraphs:
Songwriting
As most will know, the band had started off as a full-on, fast thrash band of skilled musicians. They perfected this sound on “No More Color”, the immediate predecessor to this. “Mental vortex” starts in the same vein, but then shifts towards a slower, groove-heavier sound that was later perfected on “Grin”. So, as a transition record, it’s is probably a bit half-assed? Wrong.
It instead perfected transition, combining the best of both worlds. Let me get one thing straight before any harm is done – If people read groove and thrash, they’ll immediately think of Pantera and the likes. Forget about that. Again: Forget about that. It will totally mislead you about how this sounds. Coroner never use blunt chugging or any Phil Anselmo-isms, but always rely fully on razor sharp precision and a much more reserved manner.
Which leaves us with the beauty of listening to pure song-craftsmanship at work. For example, if you ever put together a book about climatic buildups (hey, who knows…), I dare you to include “Metamorphosis”. It’s the perfect way of doing it. What starts as a simple drumbeat with some animal samples (yeah, like at the zoo!), is combined with a bad-ass riff which eases up into a swirl, only to come back with more force from the drums, then morph into an even more bad-ass mid-tempo shred section, then the ante is raised and the vocals come in. THIS. IS. HOW. YOU. DO. IT. The rest of the song keeps the tension high, so really, check this one out.
The other songs are harder to explain as they don’t seem to follow such linear formulas, but let it be stated that catchiness, complexity and flow are all to be found at whatever point you fast forward this album to. Special mention should probably go out to the Beatles cover of “I want you (she’s so heavy)”. Needless to say, Coroner put their stamp on it, so I guess it’s a legit try, but I’m not especially fond of it. Don’t hate it either, but it does mark the weakest link on this album for me. 9
Production
Very well-balanced, this album’s production clearly had an agenda (huh?), namely to sound clean: It has an almost surgical sound. The guitars cut cleanly like scalpel blades, with bass taking a clear back seat in order not to interfere too much. The drums’ reverb is cut quickly and only rarely (then purposefully) allowed to fully sound, and the cymbals are very low as a whole, which makes the drums appear very snappy and tight, but they keep a very natural sound and fit well into the soundscape. Sure, it’s not super punchy, but that isn’t needed. I’d totally rate this a complete success. 8.5
Guitars
A lot of the awesomeness of “Mental vortex” lies in the guitar’s combination of swirling fretboard work which is all about what notes are played, and “simple” note-shredding which is purely about when they are hit. So, a dumb explanation to why this is great is: Tommy Vetterli plays good notes at good times. Sounds easy, is hard. The precision and timing to his riffing is above flawless and flows even throughout the weirdest of rhythm changes, and many bits of his “normal” lead work could pass as a little solo with most guitarists. As if that weren’t enough, he adds great, dissonant open-palmed playing and really good solos on top of that, too. The way these songs flow seamlessly owes a great deal to the guitar, and it is something that no-one that likes guitars (YOU!) should give a pass. 10
Vocals
Ron Royce has a nasty snarl that isn’t always easy to understand, but accompanies the music perfectly and adds a kind of cynical overtone that suits it just well. Coroner are a band where the vocals just go along instead of making the album, or worse, ruining the whole thing. 7
Bass
Unusually subdued for a three-piece, the bass is still there with a very “classic” sound that mainly adds low-end rather than crunch. The fact alone that Ron Royce follows the guitar very cleanly through most of its proceedings while singing however shows that he is in no way just a guy to fill the spot. 8
Drums
Another, if not the most important piece in the clockwork that was Coroner, Marquis Marky not only sported the shittiest stage name, but also an awe-inspiring precision that made all kinds of grooves work by the most basic means. There’s no overusing of cymbals or toms, in fact there is nothing that makes anyone used to today’s hummingbirds’ jaw drop. Most of the work is done just by bass drums, hi-hat, snare, and works like a charm. It does sometimes give the whole thing a bit of a stale feeling, but actually it suits the spotlessly clean style of the album and is something that once you’ve adjusted to it, is actually very enjoyable and a much welcome breath of fresh air among the “extreme drumming” we now get served at every corner. 9
Lyrics
Social commentary, life, death. Good, but I’d lie if I said that I normally pay a lot of attention to them. 7
Cover art
Giving their mid to late albums that “Corporate Identity” with the same black stripe on the right is one of the coolest things any metal band has done with their covers. Yep, I’m that easily impressed. Considering how their sound progressed over the course of these releases, it serves as a nice counterpart. And yeah, the blurred-out dude is alright, too. I dig their idea of always keeping humans in the picture. For this kind of album title, most other bands would probably have used an image like “From beyond” or something. 8
Logo
Hey wait, Motörhead had that one earlier! Does it matter? Nope. Curvy white-on-black Ye Olde English font logos rule. Always. 9
Booklet
I actually have it, but not here, I just moved. I’ll just hand out 6 points to myself for being an above-average dude. Again: 6
Overall and ending rant
Yeah, what else needs to be said? Coroner still are a criminally underrated band, and this album is a good starting point to get familiar with them (actually it was mine, as well) as it marks a spot in the band’s career from which both directions in their evolution can be clearly traced. And it is super-awesome, to boot! Go, buy, listen, spread!
- Information
- Released: 1991
- Label: Noise Records
- Website: Coroner MySpace
- Band
- Ron Royce: vocals, bass
- Tommy Vetterli: guitars
- Marquis Marky: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Divine step (Conspectu Mortis)
- 02. Son of Lilith
- 03. Semtex Revolution
- 04. Sirens
- 05. Metamorphosis
- 06. Pale Sister
- 07. About life
- 08. I want you (She’s so heavy)
