Swiss thrash metal legends Coroner are undeniable stalwarts of the genre in their own right. Often passing under the radar when it comes to the discourse around thrash bands that have left a mark on metal as a whole, the band carved out the blueprint of technical thrash metal from the late 80s to the early 90s. Their intricate guitar work, razor-tight songwriting, abundant speed and groove, and complex compositions stand out greatly among the horde of thrash metal releases that didn’t push the boundaries in the technical direction. Coroner disbanded in 1996, their legacy etched in stone with five outstanding albums that have stood the test of time. After 15 years of silence, Coroner reunited to play shows, and another 15 years on, the band is releasing their first album after the reunion with ‘Dissonance Theory’.

‘Dissonance Theory’ threads together echoes of every era of Coroner’s sound. The brooding ambience and dissonant edge softly consume the pounding riffs, the grooves – ala ‘Grin’ era – flow with the mechanical precision, and the guitar solos bloom into moments of gorgeous melody. The band still walks that line between technical mastery and unrelenting aggression, a balance they have long claimed as their own. Where the new record diverges most is in its production. The sound here is cleaner, sharper than their early classics, clarity that reveals every beautiful detail of the performance, but for a genre that is often fueled by abrasion, such polish can leave the edges feeling just a little too smoothed and thin on the gritty sound of the early classics.

The album opens with force. “Oxymoron”, an atmospheric instrumental, sets the stage with a sense of unease before collapsing into the pounding guitars of “Consequence”. The energy surges, riffs cutting sharply while the midsection drifts into a liminal, dystopian haze underlining the lyrical themes around humanity’s growing addiction to technology and AI, only to snap back into faster solos and renewed aggression. “Sacrificial Lamb” slows the pace down with a brooding ambience and an introspective descent. From there, “Crisium Bound” drags the listener deeper into dissonance, a hopeless soundscape where tempos shift and electronic fragments haunt the periphery like signals from some broken future. The middle stretch falters slightly. The following tracks contain moments of brilliance with flashes of Coroner’s precision and bite, but they struggle to carve a distinct identity. Yet momentum returns with “Transparent Eye” and “Renewal”, both brimming with the energy, intricacy, and conviction that remind us why Coroner endure. The journey closes with “Prolonging”, a striking instrumental that ties the record together in one final, lingering breath.

With ‘Dissonance Theory’, Coroner returns after ages of new music, with an album that bridges their revered past and freshly marks their present. The album gathers the strands of their legacy of intricate technicality, brooding atmospheres, and the balance of melody and aggression, and binds them into something that feels both familiar and renewed. It’s cleaner production sharpens every detail, though at times it tempers the raw abrasion that once gave their sound its raw edge. Yet, the record reaffirms Coroner’s place as masters of thrash’s more intellectual frontier, a band unwilling to rest on nostalgia and is instead determined to carve once more into unexplored ground.