Kill in Time

I usually don't bother checking out lesser known projects of specific musicians, but Tommy Vetterli (or as he's also commonly known, Tommy T. Baron) is a special exception for me. During his time in Coroner, he had a flawless track record when it came to consistently blending technique, songwriting skill, uniqueness and accessibility. These qualities always shined through in Coroner's music to create memorable songs that always resonated with me regardless of their stylistic direction. Even during their most minimalistic and laid-back moments (specifically on "Grin"), they still compensated by focusing more on atmosphere and practically hypnotizing you, taking you on a journey into the unknown...

So it brought me intense disappointment to discover that Vetterli brought none of those musical qualities into this band and album. Shortly before Coroner broke up, he formed Clockwork, who released this one album before also breaking up soon after. This was originally recorded in 1995, and the band decided to fully succumb to the groove metal trends that were at the forefront of heavy music during that time. The brilliance that Tommy T. Baron exhibited in his previous band is nowhere to be found here: this is just as hollow and pedestrian as the most common examples of the groove metal style, and only slightly less insipid thanks to the occasional progressive influences. Said influences only amount to the occasional use of uncommon time, as well as clean breaks and dissonant chords in an attempt to copy Voivod or Coroner's own "Mental Vortex" and "Grin". The latter albums made those same elements work thanks to their dense, hypnotic atmosphere; this has nothing of the sort.

This fulfills just about every checkmark of a typical Pantera/Machine Head expy: namely, primitive chugathon grooves, insipid edgy lyrical messages, pointless guitar effects, and a total lack of atmosphere. The vocals and lyrics are no better: while Coroner's Ron Royce had a strange sort of thrash bark married with interesting lyrical content, Lui Cubello here relegates himself to brick-headed tough guy shouts and profanities without any attempt to deviate from the norm. Even "Stronzo", while sung entirely in Italian, fails to feel any different from the rest. The few solos which Tommy plays sound pointless and half-assed, crushing any hopes I had for this being good.

Most of the songs here fail to offer anything interesting, and even the outliers only constitute occasional deviations from the formula. "Perfect Victim" attempts to ape Voivod with some guitar effects during the chorus, yet fails to accomplish anything by doing so. In fact, it even copies one of Voivod's riffs almost note-for-note - the intro to "Tribal Convictions". "Many-Faced" actually has something resembling a good riff in the verses, but it quickly deteriates into more Pantera worship. "Peacemaker" actually has a somewhat cool funk vibe, but it's completely ruined by the usual confines of groove metal. The one decent track here is the closer "The Fog", which I can almost imagine belonging on "Grin". It is decently structured, intelligently written and it actually makes an attempt to establish an atmosphere with its foreboding Voivod-like chord progressions in the chorus.

In conclusion, this album is a failure. It does not put any original spin on the groove metal sound, nor does it have any sense of sophistication that you'd expect from a "progressive" tag. It is even more infuriating because Tommy T. Baron already accomplished those same things with his previous band on "Grin". Do not treat this as a "lost Coroner album", for while it does show some similar quirks in its sound, it has none of the songwriting mastery that makes them so great. Avoid this, so as to not shatter your hopes and dreams.