CORONER - Mental Vortex

Artist:  Coroner

Album: Mental Vortex

Year:  1991

Genre:  Thrash Metal

With their first three supremely recommended records, Coroner bombarded the world with some of the most technically performed metal to ever be laid to tape.  No matter what the genre, songwriting often flies out the window when musicians decide to parade their talent.  Not the case with Coroner as they were able to construct cohesive sonic blasts of technical mayhem that made sense to the ears.  Well, very complicated sense.  This Swiss trio sounded like a full 5-piece band when you consider the gobs and gobs of notes each member threw down.  Their instrumentation in the verse and chorus parts resembled the soloing sections of other bands and their time signatures and changes were outlandish.  The fact that they put vocals over some of these things is proof of their extensive skill and commitment to playing overtly complex music.  With bands like them, the question is “where do you go from here?” when it comes to writing another album.  Coroner could have settled on writing another record exactly like their brilliant No More Color or Punishment For Decadence. which they easily could have done and fans would have accepted readily.  Well, they decided against that theory and the results on Mental Vortex were absolutely stunning.

Now, this is going to be a strange statement, but Mental Vortex is not my favorite Coroner record.  The two aforementioned titles duke it out for that top spot depending on the mood I’m in.  With that said, I believe what Coroner did on this record is nothing short of genius, and, even though I spin their other records a bit more, I believe this album showcases what this band was truly capable of achieving. 

With Mental Vortex they were able to create a recording that was more concise and actually heavier than anything preceding it.  Coroner took their immense amount of talent and converted it into what a band would write, whereas older material sounded like it was each man for himself within the song.  Unlike other bands, that over-the-top musicianship worked for them, but, they became even more dominant when they worked toward being a cohesive and battering unit.  Each song flows with itself and has great distinction from one another.  Make zero mistake, this isn’t the same type of change Metallica or Megadeth made when releasing the “black” album or Symphony Of Destruction respectively.  Coroner still thrashed and bashed with the best of them and were just as abrasive as they ever were; they just gave the songs a bit of breathing room and that let the pure heaviness and glaring originality shine through.  With the exception of a few lucky bands in the early 90s, thrash was dying out and Mental Vortex was regrettably overlooked.  This album easily can hold its own against anything from the past or present.  Do yourself a huge favor and find this monster.

Listen to "Sirens" here.