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Coroner - Grin

Coroner go Groove - 5%

lvivske, September 16th, 2023
Written based on this version: 2018, CD, Noise Records (Digipak, Reissue, Remastered)

It honestly shocks me that this album maintained a higher rating after all these years, and maybe it's just rose tinted nostalgia for others, but this was always a sad ending to the Coroner discography. Gone is the "technical thrash," the progressive structures, or the blackened vocals of albums like RIP or Punishment; and gone are the early 90s thrash riffs of Color or Vortex. Instead we're left with a failed experiment in selling out like so many other bands of the 80s trying to adapt to the alternative rock, grunge, and groove metal wave of the 90s.

It's hard to call Grin experimental because it's just so bland and safe, and a departure from creativity shouldn't be seen as a bold creative choice. The album itself is a slog to get through, unironically starting off with 'Lethargic Age', which should have been the album title. Slow drums, slow, droning groove riffs, a generic lethargy sums up this album in few words. It may start off with hints of thrash but quickly slows back down and loses step at every hint of something better (a theme I'll soon discover). It's also the best (or rather, least offensive) and shortest track on the album, and track time is also an issue here because... oh brother, do they get longer. Tracks average a low end of 6 with some exceeding 8 minutes.

It quickly turns to straight groove metal with hints of what can be described as proto-nu tropes that would become saturated later in the decade. The length really irks me because it's not like they had so many epic ideas and we're getting a directors cut, but instead it's usually just droning on the same riffs endlessly and going nowhere - for nearly an hour.

Enduring this album to write this has been a test of my patience (actually, I hadn't written a review in years but felt so bored sitting here I thought I'd actually pool some thoughts). Some tracks have lead guitars and brief solos which feel like coming up for air before being quickly dragged back under by the current. And even then, they aren't worth staying around for, because if you wanted to hear sweep arpeggios then there's other songs to scratch that itch, and better albums of the era (even by this band) that don't force you to endure the boredom of these tracks.

Track 4 starts off sounding like it could be any 90s alt-rock and and quickly turns into atypical groove or nu where the only thing missing is a DJ scratching in the background. Track 5, Serpent Moves, sticks to droning bullshit that sounds like it was written by a 13 year old trying to write his first metal song on his first guitar. Since these songs just blend together I'll just highlight some of my notes: "holy shit it's boring, I can't take this," "Like if Primus was boring and 8 minutes long," "nothing of value here," "how much palm muting is enough?" "57 minutes?!" "make it stop."

I had to take my headphones off at a couple points. Track 7 is just a 2 minute interlude of droning noises where I decided the band has just given up.

Oh, another note: "this album is torture."

Do yourself a favor and avoid. There is no upside to be found on Grin. It's a good thing the band quit after this but a shame they went out on their only low point.

Mental Vortex - 76%

Hames_Jetfield, June 16th, 2023

The fading interest in thrash metal in the early 1990s also affected the Swiss masters of Coroner. And although "Mental Vortex" on the other side quite neatly fit into the growing trend of much more technical (death) metal, two years after the release of that album the trio had different idea. Marquis Marky's band on their fifth longplay, "Grin", decided to go into the experiments, loosely related to the progressive formula of the predecessor, and for the most part very crazy, but with reaching styles like groove metal or broadly understood alternative.

"Grin" is quite similar to Pestilence's "Spheres". The album, which is currently considered brilliant and extremely visionary in some groups of listeners, while at the time of its release it was described as...overcomplicated and too unrelated to the previous sounds. However, while the album of the Dutch from 1993 immediately delighted me with its unique atmosphere and unusual solutions, the Coroner's album from the same year still causes me considerable problems. I don't want to be misunderstood here, because I am absolutely not one of the opponents of "Grin", well!, there are quite a lot of very good songs, high-quality technique and unique ideas. The problem is that the fifth Coroner album, in comparison to its predecessors, is rather lifeless, i.e. it has too much slow paces and it overwhelms with monotonous looping of individual motifs - for example "Internal Conflicts", "Caveat (To The Coming)" or "Serpent Moves" that sound like they can't end.

On the other horizon, okay, there are also excellent tracks, where the new, groovy-psychedelic face makes sense, in particular "Status: Still Thinking", "The Lethargic Age", "Paralyzed, Mesmerized", "Grin (Nails Hurt)" and "Host", but they also generally lose to the momentum of "Mental Vortex" and previous albums. The production and form of the musicians are not necessarily worse. The production is not as sterile as on the "Mental...", although it makes up for it with more natural sounding drums and even better exposed bass. As for the aforementioned form of musicians, there are also no major objections here. The rhythm section can both put you in a trance, Tommy T. Baron's solos are - as usual - a class in themselves, and Ron's vocals, despite entering more traditional areas of singing, have not lost anything from the earlier aggressiveness. Not always this high form of musicians simply means equally good songs here.

So when thrash metal began to fall out of interest, Coroner decided to be tempted by quite radical experiments. Mostly quite good, boldly reaching really different styles and far from total crap, but in the rest (or rather, the middle of the album) a bit overcomplicated, sloppy and not to get new listeners. The latter, moreover, was quickly revealed by the relatively average reception of the album, after which, admittedly, there were problems to create another album, but finally, Coroner unfortunately fell silent for many years. It's a pity, because during these 11 years the Swiss have created a piece of great and influential music.

Originally on A bit of subjectivism...in metal

Until you lose yourself - 80%

Gas_Snake, June 27th, 2020

I'm sure that you know what the state of thrash metal was in the 90's. The style was stagnating, bloating itself not only with too many bands that failed to amount to anything great, but with a tendency towards bloated song structures and concentrated boredom under the guise of "progressive" elements. New sounds were slowly taking over both in the mainstream and the metal underground. The choice for most bands then was to submit and/or vanish into obscurity...

So leave it to our almighty overlords Coroner to ignore all of that. They were never ones to follow trends or stagnate in their creative process, so it is no wonder that they simply saw this as an opportunity to attempt yet another new sound, to evolve even further from the stylistic direction taken on "No More Color" and "Mental Vortex". The result has to be one of the best examples I've heard of progression done right, where an entirely unique style is created without any decrease in quality.

This album constitutes the most drastic shift in style that this band has ever taken. Thrash riffing is completely gone, replaced by a new groove metal foundation. Even "Internal Conflicts", the thrashiest song on here, still reminds me more of an industrial sound with its mechanical uptempo riffing. However, "Grin" does not focus on typical moshfests like the more well-known practitioners of this style (though "Status: Still Thinking" does still contain some decent Pantera-esque grooves). Minimalistic groovy riffs take their place in the background, making way for the hypnotic atmosphere, which is achieved through incredibly pronounced bass work, dissonant chords and many other different kinds of sounds, ranging from movie samples to tribal percussion to layers of synthesizers. The hypnotic feel of the album is also helped by a bigger emphasis on repetition, which is the cause for the songs being longer than on previous albums. This has a very different goal in mind: while most groove metal bands focus simply on chunky headbanging grooves and very little atmosphere, "Grin" relies on said atmosphere as it takes you on a journey into the depths of human psyche. To compliment this new sound, vocalist Ron Royce alternates his usual harsh barks with a lighter, more leisurely vocal tone, with an occasional monotone delivery not unlike Voivod's Snake.

"Caveat (To The Coming)" is one of the most laid-back songs on the album, and the riffing helps to give it a really cool oriental vibe. The title track can in some way be called another take on "Semtex Revolution", only far more doomy and sinister... and then the song simply throws everything out the window and pounds your skull for about two straight minutes, like some sort of desperate struggle for survival. "Host" is a favorite of mine due to being incredibly unsettling, from the spoken word vocals, to the constant changes in tone, to the ending, as creepy female choirs eventually make way for the sonic representation of an empty husk drained by its parasitic predators. A chilling finale to the entire experience.

A fitting swansong for one of the greatest thrash metal bands to ever walk this planet. In a sense, this album can be considered Coroner's pinnacle, as it represents the final stage of their musical evolution. I also respect this due to the fact that the band maintained their sense of individuality to the very end. They took the base style of groove metal, which I generally dislike, and imbued it with an entirely new set of ideals - one that remains unimitated to my knowledge. Out of all Coroner albums, this one rewards an open mind the most. If you simply want neckbreaking thrash, or if you're interested in blatant mosh grooves, look elsewhere. However, if you're willing to discard those expectations and you simply want to hear great music from the masters of creativity in metal, then this should be a worthwhile listening experience.

Condescending Smile, not Sardonic Laughter - 76%

bayern, March 4th, 2018

No, neither; more of an artificial, forced grin if you ask me… cause Switzerland’s finest (arguably after the chocolate and the watches) had to act/play congenial and conforming for the 90’s generation if they wanted to last… not for much longer, as everyone found out too soon, but metal’s best trio did make their contribution to the scene’s still ongoing at the time metamorphosis.

Heads were falling left and right in the early-90’s, life was tough, beer was scarce, hookers suddenly became less affordable, there were even signs of inflation in Switzerland, would you believe... now seriously, the “adapt or die” dilemma became too pressing an issue for every single metal practitioner at the dawn of the new decade, the musicians having to choose between chasing the elusive perspectives of making a few thousand, may be even million in the very best case scenario, bucks by producing a more or less faithful copy of The Black Album, or staying true to their hearts and souls, and perish after a few more tributes to a lost cause into which the old school was swiftly turning.

However, with several reputable Zurich banks firmly behind the endeavours of our friends here, lack of finances has never been an issue in the Coroner camp. Kidding here, although one never knows if this hasn’t been the exact case as I’ve always had the feeling that this particular batch was out on the field from the very beginning with the exclusive intention to have as much fun as possible, with no regards to making a living and all that other jazz; otherwise how else can you explain the unparalleled creative flair and the truly visionary stance with which the guys’ repertoire has become synonymous?

Anyway, by ultimately enlightening the metal circuit with their previous material, there was only that much illumination that the latter could take, the band had to look around and see in what way they could change their formula in order to adjust to the oncoming groovy/post-thrashy/industrial vogues… everyone else was doing it, for crying out loud, so why not… just for the sake of it, mind you, no strings attached. In other words, Coroner, the kings of all things technical and progressive in metal, after a consistent string of creative peaks, decide to go with the flow… just this once.

And with the flow they go although there’s never any real danger throughout that the guys would ever drown in it. Still, there are very few, if any at all, ties to the band’s earlier repertoire; in fact, if it isn’t for Ron Royce’s mean, spiteful semi-declamatory vocals one may have serious doubts that he/she listens to the same band that was behind “Punishment for Decadence” and “No More Color”. Cause the guys never really pull themselves together settling for a relaxed leisurely, shall I also add lethargic, pace that grips “The Lethargic Age” and never lets off although that same cut is a fairly jumpy ride with the main motif quite reminiscent of the one from another Coroner overture, “Divine Step” from the monumental “Mental Vortex”. Cool thrashy energetic stuff which lets a couple of thick grooves enter the arena on “Internal Conflicts” although this proposition is pretty lively with the pounding atmospheric stopovers not ruining the façade too much.

The genuinely drastic change comes with “Caveat (To the Coming)”, a brooding minimalistic groover which crawls its way in a stealthy, serpentine manner hypnotizing the listener into believing that this is still relevant to the overall soundscape regardless of its modern, openly non-thrashy character. More perfidious snakes and serpents with “Serpent Moves” with Royce’s synthesized vocals adding to the psychedelic nature of this industrialized quasi-doomster that could have crept out of a buried Ministry of Treponem Pal recording. Status retained all over on “Status: Still Thinking“, another atmospheric anti-climactic saga, a few more twisted, vortex-like riff-patterns raising the eyebrow amongst the bouts of dark sinister vibes that stay around for “Paralyzed, Mesmerized”, a most fittingly-titled composition since if the listener hasn’t been completely mesmerized by the preceding string of pieces then he/she will by all means be here, on this ultimately creepy roller-coaster which is greatly boosted by the main melodic motif the latter winding around ephemeral leads, spacey walkabouts, and even attempts at more vigorous semi-thrashing. Paralyzing stuff for sure that the title-track tries to emulate with a moderate level of success due to the very similar patiently-woven rhythms and just the right amount of digressions from the consistent groovy stride like the sudden fast-paced crescendos towards the end; a formula also repeated on “Host”, a spacey oblivious finale without any audible ados.

Yes, a grin this is all right, but one that is more on the seductive than the sardonic side; by no means a very sincere one, but one that can still be tolerated without instigating bouts of frustration and spite within the fan. It was swallowed by the majority, including me who bought the cassette mere days before starting my first year at the university, quite sure that I was making a fitting grin… sorry, gift to myself for the big occasion. Although it didn’t leave me completely cold, it didn’t excite me in the anticipated way, either, as I don’t know why I was expecting “Mental Vortex II”, absolutely certain that if there ever was an 80’s practitioner to never surrender to the groovy/aggro vogues, that would be the three musketeers from Zurich.

Yeah, cause I guess I was one of the few who couldn’t read between the lines on the previous magnum opus, totally absorbed by its otherworldly clockwork meticulousness, and couldn’t detect the ephemeral breezes that hinted at the coming transformation. Or rather I pretended to not notice them as I didn’t want to imagine such a scenario… regardless, Coroner paid their courteous tribute to the scene metamorphosis without degrading themselves, they finally exhibited this compromising side of theirs, but merely as a momentary stunt and just to show the world that they were also mere mortals and might occasionally be tempted by its follies. There was no room for any other similar unmitigated setbacks and deviations once this was out of the way, though; and there was no time, if you think of it, as the band saga came to an end shortly after… sealed with a narrow but still welcoming, benign grin.

Soooo...what to make of this one.... - 77%

Sigillum_Dei_Ameth, December 19th, 2011

Well here we are with another Thrash act's "sell-out" album. Actually this is not a "sell-out" album by any means (that title is reserved for other acts), it's just a curse that happened to just about every thrash band during the 90's; Band X releases some now well-renowned album, builds a following, enjoys success, and then comes the changing of the tide. Band X tries something different or tries to keep up with the times and then so hits the "what used to be a good band but we still love them" feel amongst their fan base which is usually divided into two camps: Camp A being the ones who fucking swear by their masterpieces and want nothing to do with anything else and simply won't acknowledge or forgive a band for changing...(which I think not every band deserves these types of conservative-minded douche bags)...and then there is Camp B which are the ones who were never around during the band's heyday and later on found out about them and somehow find that the majority of their music both their best and supposedly worst music is all good by their ears. I'm more of a Camp B type of metal head. Variety is the spice of life, that goes with food, music, sex, etc. Y'know it keeps things interesting and never stale or banal or same ol' same ol'. Truth be told only certain bands can put out the same style of music for over 30 years and get away with it, others do and they try to convince themselves that they are still relevant, and then there are those that just are doing everything in their power to stay active by whatever means possible. Coroner doesn't really fit any of those 3 options.

Coroner were one of those here today/gone tomorrow type acts who found some success and released some really technical thrash albums during when thrash was still able to reign with ease. Meaning they weren't a trendy type of mundane thrash, they were quite the opposite actually. They definitely had their own style, sense of personality, sense of originality, and sense of following their own path. Plus they also had help from fellow Swiss Celtic Frost main man Tom G. Warrior to add to their resume. This all helps Coroner in the long run. Kinda like the black sheep of the thrash metal genre. Not so much hated, but they were doing their own thing when everyone was trying to sound like the big 4 of thrash. So after 3 excellent albums of them showing how well they were able to progress by leaps and bounds, the 90's come with "Mental Vortex" and it's not as thrashy or over-fucking-technical-with-a-million -riffs such as "No More Color" which is seen as an unspoken masterpiece (my vote goes to "Punishment Of Decadence" on that topic). But it's still a legitimate thrash album. Slightly more toned-down but still thrash....a couple years later and it's 1993. Thrash is officially fucking killed off. Coroner releases "Grin" and like a lot of bands, they simply got tossed aside.

"Grin" is not a bad album by any means. No. "Grin" is one of those type of albums where the band starts saying "Well, guess we better start playing something more modern if we want to keep some sort of success"-type thing. Didn't work. I think after "Mental Vortex" they had progressed so much that they done everything within their means and limits that they just couldn't do it. Even when they do with "Grin", you can hear the band is simply not as energetic or enthusiastic as they once sounded. The sound production is nice and warm sounding. Every instrument is well-sounding. Drums? Pounding. Bass? Throbbing. Guitars? Crystal clear. Vocals? I hear'em. It's all there. It's just the style had differed. Coroner sounds even more toned-down and more mid-90's sounding. There's more groove. There's more quasi sampling. Not as technical. Not as blazing fast. Riffs? Simplistic. The lyrics? More cryptic in a way. "Grin" is just a tough nut to crack. It sounds more Prong-influenced than anything else....specifically Prong's "Beg To Differ" album/era.

The only song that may seem Coroner-like is "Internal Conflict" with it's speed. But this speed is more Ministry-esque. There's no drum machines or any Industrial of the sort, but the song resonates a strong Ministry-tone. It's a good riff. Damn good riff. But it's extremely simplistic. Songs such as "Paralyzed, Mesmerized" and "Status: Still Thinking" are slower, more lurching and heavy on being moody where as others such as "Caveat (To The Coming)" which is simply put one of the weirdest intro melodies ever to a Coroner song, weaves in and out of a simplistic Prong groove. I would have liked to see Coroner take that intro riff and built something around it because it stands out as one of those melodies where you could have seen the band do something better with rather go into something that is not as exciting. "Serpent Moves"...mmm....oh yeah that's Prong alright. Even going past Prong to a Helmet vibe. I mean, yes it's 1993, but Nu-Metal hasn't even hit yet. Yeah it does get a bit testy in some areas. Even the instrumentals see the band struggling to put something in there to add as filler and unfortunately that's all they are. They're not memorable. The only other song that seems to stick-out is the title track which is minimal thrash.

All and all, "Grin" is just a weird album. It's a good weird album, but a weird album nonetheless. Another example of how thrash died a silent death in 1993 when Black and Death Metal were dominating the landscape with more sonic/brutal/eviler forms of metallic distortion. I wouldn't advise a person who has never heard of Coroner before to start with this album as a form of introduction. Start with their first 3 albums then progress forward only if you have an open-mind.

Just have to grin and bear it - 70%

autothrall, March 24th, 2011

About the time Coroner released their 5th album Grin, there was a noticeable pox upon thrash metal. Almost all of its better acts on both sides of the pond were suffering identity crises, compensating with often empty externalizations into new sounds. To the faithful, this was referred to as a natural evolution or progression, but in reality it seemed more like a desperate attempt to survive in the changing landscape of the 90s, when so many of the fans were bridging into grunge, rap core and other 'alternatives'. This blight fell upon most of the best in the business, including European heroes like Coroner. Mental Vortex might have sent out a few feelers into a newer, groove oriented, minimal expanse of exploration, but Grin more fully embraces the metamorphosis.

So much so, in fact, that without Ron Royce's familiar vocals, it would be difficult to identify this as the same band who produced Punishment for Decadence and No More Color. Where two years prior they were dabbling in less exciting, less showy fare focused on dark, central thrash riffs and a bluesier capacity to the leads, this is a work of simple rhythmic patterns, industrial and world music components, driven steadily by the bass rather than the guitars. I'd compare it to Sepultura's transition from the Beneath the Remains era to Chaos A.D., also in 1993. The bands really don't sound much alike, but the Brazilians also got in touch with their inner, tribal children to spout primitive, powerful hooks and offer the listener variation in themes and instrumentation. Coroner does not do a bad job of this. There's a particular, hypnotic modernism happening here that makes for an ultimately interesting, if slightly disappointing experience.

It doesn't take long to experience the shift in strategy, as the intro is a tribal percussion piece with some didgeridoo known as "Dream Path". "The Lethargic Age" follows, a simple thrash hammering that shows some promise with the opening chords and swells of bass, but then the verse seems incredibly bare, tiny polished chugs alongside the sparse, tinny rock beat. It's sort of catchy, but nowhere near the level of their 80s material, and even the lead seems more like one you'd find on any random hard rock record. The Aliens sample that inaugurates the next piece, "Internal Conflicts" helps to ramp up the excitement, and this is quite comparable to Beg to Differ era Prong, clean thrash with a mechanical vibe; a Sepultura-style groove arriving briefly around 1:15. There's a far cooler groove breakdown at 2:30 where Ron's repetitious vocal line creates a spell of hypnosis, but otherwise I've always found the track lacking.

"Caveat (To the Coming)" features a pretty swell intro with flowing clean guitars and playground samples that create a deceptive bliss before the transition into some bland groove rock guitars, but the bass bridges with the ringing guitars aren't half bad (if predictable). "Serpent Moves" is much the same, once it picks up, however the riffs here are sufficiently snakelike that it stands out as one of the more memorable tracks on the album; and the Voivod-spun "Status: Still Thinking" is likewise a favorite. "Paralyzed, Mesmerized" and "Grin (Nails Hurt)" are both solid, with 1-2 curious sequences found in each, but there is clearly some needless padding there. "Host" once again reminds me of Voivod with the great, off center melodic chords over the thrum of the bass (Nothingface era), and that breakdown at :45 is just creepy; ditto for Ron's spoken word narration (not unlike "Last Entertainment"), but once the guitars pick up it begins to null out.

When you compare Grin to what other noted thrashers like Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Destruction were inevitably going to shit forth over the course of the 90s, then it really doesn't seem all that much of a letdown. It's intelligent and well paced for the most part, just stylistically barren when you consider how explosive the band's earlier compositions had been. Unique enough that it should be listened to at least once, but there is definitely a 'running out of steam' sensation at work here, reinforced in hindsight by the fact that the band would call it quits the following year. To that effect, it seems a bit dull for a swansong. The trio would assemble a few unreleased tracks for the later Coroner compilation, but as far as any future prospects, the fat lady had already begun her incantations.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Rictus of Madness - 88%

televiper11, November 18th, 2010

By 1993, Coroner's evolution from a flat-out technical thrash band into something more refined and contemplative was complete. The seminal album-in-transition was "Mental Vortex," a record that brilliantly bridged the gap between that earlier era and this one, Coroner's final chapter, "Grin."

"Grin" is almost completely loosened from the moorings of thrash and invests itself more deeply in a form of hypnotically entrancing pseudo-industrial. Songs are often mid-tempo, repetitive, and experimental in the context of structure, soloing, and accentuation. A reliance on ambience and dissonance, previously only hinted at, rise to the fore. Striding that careful balance of post-thrash triangulated with industrial, melodic, and progressive elements, Coroner wrote a near-masterpiece that has only revealed its true qualities in retrospect. Willfully ahead of its time, "Grin" has matured into a statement as strong as anything in the band's back catalog.

'The Dream Path,' an esoteric opening segue of tribal drums and ambient noodlings, leads us into 'The Lethargic Age' with its corrosive cascades of dissonant chords, rumbling bass, and chop-chop drum beats. The ramped-up atmosphere and moodiness of this song sets a strong tone for the rest of the album. Coroner's records have always been drenched in atmosphere. This one takes a particular place in the farthest flung reaches of the cosmic metal universe. It sounds like a demented carnival ride through outer space.

Following hot on the heels of 'The Lethargic Age' is 'Internal Conflicts,' one of the best Coroner songs ever recorded. Those who argue they'd left trash far behind need to readjust their mindset. 'Internal Conflicts' launches a hot dose of double-time thrash, galloping double bass, and wicked soloing, perhaps Vetterli's best solo ever. This song is truly incredible. When the breakdown hits and double bass kicks back in, well, it's bliss. A perfectly structured song. 'Caveat (To The Coming)' is startling. The clean melodic guitar tones, samples of laughing children, and off-time drumming are almost painterly in their composition. When the song itself kicks in, it is streamlined, effective, mid-tempo rock with a haunting bridge -- the riff of which becoming an enduring motif for the rest of the song.

Another truly powerful track is the ethereal, mind bending 'Host,' wherein Coroner gets the most out of their progressive mindedness -- the song is both the album's most evil and most beautiful, coupling Ron Broder's demonic shouts with a moodily angelic female backing vocalist, and gorgeous soloing. The song feels almost post-apocalyptic, approaching the level of industrial gloom ruled over by bands like Godflesh and Ministry without aping them on any level. A truly sublime piece.

The weaknesses on this album are minimal. Songs like 'Serpent Moves,' 'Status: Still Thinking' and 'Grin (Nails Hurt)' are generally very good, though they all start to meander towards the finish. A little tightening in general would diminish the drag that starts to set in during full listens. The production is strong, favoring the guitar and bass over the drums, which sound thin and almost pre-programmed. Given the lack of fills and overall sheer precision of his drum patterns, it wouldn't be hard to assume that Marky had been replaced by a drum machine.

Though divisive in its time, "Grin" has withstood age remarkably well and sounds almost as forward thinking now as it did then. Many other bands ripped liberally from this album's template in the 90's but none of them created an album as cohesive and exciting as this one.

A ritual journey - 93%

MacMoney, September 21st, 2010

Always have Coroner been a bit adventurous and Grin finds the band moving beyond the trappings of thrash to the oft-travelled, but rarely mastered, post-thrash road. When writing the album, Vetterli has clearly taken a step back, looked at his old albums and thought: "These are good, but the next one, it should be clearly different." And it is, quite vastly. You can hear that is it the same band that made Mental Vortex, but without that album inbetween, there is no line to be drawn from the earlier albums to Grin. The material found on the 1993 album is just that distinctly different from the technical thrash that they purveyed before. Gone are the intricate, technical thrash riffs and fast changes in tempo and time signature. Vetterli has decided to go with a much more streamlined approach.

Droning notes emitting from the mouth of a didgeridoo start off the album and are soon joined by tribal percussions. Together these two weave a ritualistic atmosphere, the beginning of a journey on a path to Dreamtime. This sets the tone of the album; it is a journey through the unknown, to the unknown. The traveler is beset by the conjurings of his imagination, the atmosphere of impending dread is omni-present, but it never comes to realization, which just makes it that much more tense. There's no real climax for it all, the dread just builds up and up, but since it is all in the imagination it is never released in the form of an actual materialization of these imagined, unknown horrors. It just slowly fades away at the end of every song, leaving the listener with a distinct sense of unease. This is all achieved with surprisingly little. The verse of "The Lethargic Path" is a good example; one-note riff with a simple one-two drumbeat in the background and the finishing piece; Broder's gruff, monotonic, even robotic vocal delivery. This is how the album works with very simple backgrounds and with either Broder's vocals, a melodic riff or Vetterli's solo in the foreground. Sometimes the first two show up at the same time, but it is comparatively rare.

The single-minded backgrounds are boiled down in the drums. The beats are unchanging for the duration of their parts and there are hardly no fills at all. This serves to provide a ritualistic atmosphere to the album with the slower parts especially feeling a lot like ceremonies to ward off the dangers lurking in the darkness beyond the traveler's field of vision. Usually at the slower parts, Marky's beats are a bit off the beaten path with him hitting the bass and snare at weird times, even if the time signature usually stays at the normal 4/4, adding much to that uneasy atmosphere the album exudes. On songs like Serpent Moves, Status: Still Thinking and Paralized, Mesmerized the beats are leisurely, sort of like they are just sort of jamming around, once again forming a perturbing juxtaposition with Broder's gruff and jarring vocals as well as the images they create. Edelmann was always the least technical member of the band, but the seeming lack of effort at creating unnervingly smooth and relaxed beats to go with the sharp riffs and aforementioned vocals is impressive.

Due to the ritualistic nature of the album, the riffs are always quite simplistic and contained. There's no frantic thrash riffing as on the early albums and also gone is the burgeoning, ever-developing riffs of Mental Vortex. On Grin Vetterli has written riffs that are sharp and effective wholes that are created for only one purpose and exactly that, nothing else. The guitar tone itself is dry and sharp as well, working well together with Vetterli's chosen style. There's not much low-end on it, but that part is brought up well by Broder's bass which is given quite a lot of room in the production. His solos aren't as showy as they used to be either. They're still very melodic and some of the best ever laid down, but they aren't the "cram as many notes into it as I can" solos that he used to play on the first two albums.

As is customary, the best has been saved for last: the last four tracks offer the most masterful writing of the album. Theme for Silence is an interlude of sorts where the didgeridoo of the intro once again makes an appearance, continuing the Dreamtime ritual-theme though this time it echoes as if from a distance and is joined by the sounds of wilderness: The quest is on the way already. This is only a brief waking moment until you fall asleep again. Paralized, Mesmerized is the ultimate of the more loungey feeling songs since Marky's beat never strays from that leisurely beat and feel except for the long tom-fill that leads to the three choruses of the song as well as the more intense last solo spot which also features a thrash riff for a brief moment. The verses feature a simple riff that fades away to give room for Royce's slightly effectized vocals to come in - just like he was singing for a lounge band - and do their creepy work. The tense atmosphere is held up mostly by the melodic riffs Vetterli comes up with combined with the simplistic riffs of the verse. The melody in the first part and the arpeggio in the latter part of the chorus manage this most effectively. Most reminiscent of their earlier work is mayhaps the next song, the title track. It moves at a fast pace and has more of an industrial feel to it in comparison to the rest. The song relies much on this said influence: Gruff direct vocals, grinding, relentless riffs and drums that keep hitting and pounding whether there is or isn't something to hit and pound.

Finally there's just one door, one door unlocked and to be opened and that is Host. All the tension and atmosphere of the album finally culminates on this last song. As is often the case on Grin - the album, everything gets off to a laid back start, Royce's bass taking the lead. It plays a much larger part on this song than others. As things wind down with the bass still in lead, Royce's calm, spoken voice comes in to murmur a few nerve-wracking lines. A guitar - slightly more distorted than before - joins in with the bass and a tom-fill slowly cascades to the surface and as it reaches its zenith, everything is burst loose. The bass and guitar hit the riff full on, drums fully join in and Broder's rough, distorted vocals kick in with a snarl. "It breeds! It lives!" The second half of the song, with the nightmare done and dreamquest completed, the lounge band finally gets its real lounge moment. Broder whips out a fretless bass and really slides up and down those strings while Vetterli stays away, only briefly joining with a vibratoed riff in the background. There is also some lyricless female singing in the background giving the sense of still being in a dream. But at least the nightmare is over. Or is it? As the song nears its end, background keyboards become evident and turn dark with their dissonant riff and as the band fades away, only the dissonance remains and is joined by the sounds of the Host as you realize entering this was all a mistake.

The final creative output of Coroner - 80%

SocietalSpit, February 6th, 2009

Now if you are a thrash fan and are expecting the final release to be stylistically similar to prior efforts, don't even bother checking this album out. The Swiss outfit never released the same album twice, each album progressing into its own unique sound filled with chaotic rhythms with varied time signatures. However, this album is heavily toned down rhythmically. It is a much easier listen in comparison to RIP, Punishment or No More Color.

The thrash influence is minimal. A better description for the sound on this album would be Progressive/Industrial tinged groove/thrash. There are occasional thrash riffs here and there such as the main 'Internal Conflicts' riff and the chorus during 'Grin Nails Hurt', but don't expect anything like say Sudden Fall or Masked Jackal off Punishment... which is still my personal favorite release by this band followed by no more color, mental vortex, and rip.

But set personal preference aside, I also heavily enjoy the early 90's output of bands such as Anacrusis, Prong and Voivod whose sound went in a similar direction to this final release by Coroner. There are many spoken vocal parts and intros reminding me of the late 80's industrial sound Ministry had. There are still bizarre and technical riffs throughout the record, just not in vast quantities.

Many of the riffs are simplistic and repeated throughout the song, but if you are into atmosphere and can set aside the fact that the chaotic Coroner sound is no where to be found, this album is for you. The album is definitely ahead of its time being released in 1993. Stylistically, this album is a natural progression from Mental Vortex. If you like the sound on Mental Vortex, this album is worth checking out for you. The song 'son of lilith' off that album is the best example of the sound Coroner progressed to on Grin. Rather than constantly changing technical rhythms n previous efforts, the band began to focus on atmosphere over riffs.

It is definitely understandable why this album would be discarded by Coroner fans. Their trademark sound disappeared with Mental Vortex more so actually on No More Color. If you were to set aside the fact that this is a Coroner album and appreciate the music for what it is, you may enjoy it. Once again if you like more atmospheric progressive metal such as 'Screams and Whispers' by Anacrusis or 'The Outer Limits' by Voivod and some early industrial, and if you like the mid paced groove/thrash style of 'King of the Hill' by Annihilator give this album a listen.

If you enjoy the trademark Coroner sound, or raw and technical thrash, do not bother with this album. If you hate the progressive sound in any of the comparable bands that I mentioned, this album is not for you. When listening to this album, I appreciate the songs for their atmosphere and composition and despite the immense stylistic change, the album is easily recognizable as Coroner. The distinct shouts of Royce, and the solo style of Tom Baron especially in the Serpent Moves or Internal Conflicts solos are undeniably Coroner.

Despite being my least favorite album by Coroner, I think this album is truly good for the style it belongs to. Maybe Coroner should have ended it with Mental Vortex because that album was their last thrash effort, but even when diverging to a new genre, Coroner did it well. With every release, they have a unique original sound and without a doubt, Grin has it's own unique sound. Originality can be bad in the fact that it alienates the fans of the music, but Coroner still retained bits of their trademark style. I applaud Coroner for their ability to create a unique sound for every effort they released even if the later albums are not stylistically appealing to fans of the earlier albums.

If you are a die hard thrash fan completely disgusted by atmospheric and progressive music, but are heavily into Coroner, there may be something on this album that appeals to you, but without a doubt, it is not worth hearing if you dislike the direction the band went in after No More Color.