The Swiss thrash trio Coroner were originally road crew for Celtic Frost. They eventually formed their own group, recording their demo Death Cult in 1986 with Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost on vocals. Their first full-length album R.I.P., released in 1987, featured bass player Ron Broder on vocals and he assumed the role for the rest of the group's existence.
The group released several albums through to 1993, ending with a greatest hits collection, Coroner, in 1995. Lack of media exposure brought this band to disbanding in 1995 — and to their farewell tour consequent to their self-titled album in January and February 1996.
In March 2005, talks of a reunion were in the works, but later retracted. The main reason was that neither Marky, Ron, nor Tommy had the time it would require to do this properly, and also that none of them liked to, quote, "reheat things, except spaghetti sauce." However, in June 2010, Coroner eventually decided to reunite and play at the Hellfest Summer Open Air 2011 edition. Asked if the band were planning to write a new album, guitarist Tommy Vetterli replied, "you know, making a new album is kind of difficult... (Pause) Well, you never know. Maybe after four or five shows we'll get into it and say, 'Hey! Let's do an album!' Nobody knows what's going to happen. We don't have a master plan".
Musically, Coroner evolved from a speed metal band with gothic and classical overtones like Celtic Frost and Bathory into a technical-based band. Coroner's first album, R.I.P., was based on neo-classical lines and was technical and classically influenced.
The second album, Punishment for Decadence, saw a progression into a more complex sound with a unison of bass and guitar. Tempo changes interspersed mid-paced sections and the odd slow passage between the faster passages started to emerge. Lyrically, Coroner began to write about themes such as politics and personal introspection.
No More Color was produced by Pete Hinton and the band. Coroner's music became more technical on No More Color as the guitar work was characterized by intricate modes and arpeggios, solo work that was chromatically colorful, as well as the de rigueur crunchy chords and speed runs; the drumming went beyond the 4/4 time of Coroner's two previous albums to incorporate odd time signatures which became their trademark. Ron Royce's bass playing is also worth a mention as having an advanced three-finger technique which enables him to double the rhythm line as well as perform more intricate riffs. Prime examples of this are the opener "Die By My Hand" with its vicious riffing and the harmonic minor inspired riff in the middle of "Mistress of Deception". There is an altogether dark mood on this album that could be classified as death metal yet spans many influences from other metal genres. The closer "Last Entertainment" is a prescient take on TV.
Mental Vortex continued the evolution over No More Color. Continuing with the previous album's technical formula, the speed metal formula was re-integrated into Coroner's sound on this album but with a tone that made it sound not at all like R.I.P. or Punishment for Decadence. There were slower songs but none of the songs on Mental Vortex stayed the same speed for very long. The songs on Mental Vortex ranged from four to eight minutes. Overall, the tone was a shift from the thrash/technical of No More Color which showed them gravitating towards their opus Grin.
Grin saw a much more industrial sound and was a natural progression from Mental Vortex but was different from most of their previous material. It involved a much more reflective guitar riff and underlying bass line. It was slower and more refined in its metal sensibility. Brooding guitar over Royce's bass produced an almost hypnotic trance-like sound on some tracks.
Their eponymous album, Coroner, was a compilation which contained unreleased material and a selection of hits from previous albums.
The band appears on Brütal Legend with the song "Skeleton On Your Shoulder".
Current line-up:
Ron Broder (as Ron Royce) – vocals, bass
Marky Edelmann (as Marquis Marky) – drums
Tommy Vetterli (as Tommy T. Baron) – guitars
Former members:
Chris Vetterli - Bass
Oliver Amberg - Guitar
Peter Haas - Drums
Guests:
Tom G. Warrior (Thomas Gabriel Fischer) - vocals (Death Cult demo)
Gary Marlowe - ambient synthesizers and keyboards (Punishment For Decadence album)
Discography:
R.I.P. (1987)
Punishment for Decadence (1988)
No More Color (1989)
Mental Vortex (1991)
Grin (1993)
Compilations
Coroner (1995)
The Unknown Unreleased Tracks 1985-95 (1996)
Singles
"Die By My Hand" (1989)
"Purple Haze" (1989)
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (1991)
Demos:
Death Cult (1986)
R.I.P. demo (1987)
Punishment for Decadence (1988)
Split Releases:
Doomsday News III - Thrashing East Live (1990, split album with Kreator, Tankard and Sabbat)
Videography
No More Color Tour '90 - Live in East Berlin (1990, VHS)
"Masked Jackal" (music video)
"Last Entertainment" (music video)
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (music video)
Coma
Coroner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Between our world and the realm of death.
I'm a drifter through unknown lands.
Search for an exit out of this place.
The gift of life, so fragile it was.
Squeezed between and machines.
And plastic tubes.
Want to move but I'm nailed to the ground.
Child of the moon, coma of light.
See myself from above, await for a final decision.
Child of the moon, coma of light.
See myself from above, await for a final decision.
Falling down, entering no-where,
Between our world and the realm of death.
I'm a drifter through unknown lands.
Search for an exit out of this place.
So I lay here, going insane.
What was in the past?
No one knows how to get me out.
They just stand around my bed.
Fill me up with all kinds of drugs
But I know there is a way.
Switch off the machine to let me go.
Let me sleep this time for real.
Child of the moon, coma of light.
See myself from above, await for a final decision.
The lyrics to the song "Coma" by Coroner describe the experience of being in a coma from the perspective of the comatose individual. The singer of the song feels as though they are 'falling down' into a space between life and death and are searching for a way out. They are aware of their surroundings and want to talk and move around but cannot due to being hooked up to machines and plastic tubes. The fragility of life is illustrated in the lyrics, as well as the frustration and confusion of being trapped in a coma with no clear way out.
The chorus of the song is particularly poignant in describing the singer's experience. They refer to themselves as the "child of the moon" which can be interpreted as a metaphor for the fragility and transitory nature of life. The phrase "coma of light" implies that the comatose state is a sort of purgatory or limbo, where the singer is suspended between life and death, able to see themselves from above and awaiting a final decision about their fate.
Line by Line Meaning
Falling down, entering no-where,
I am losing consciousness and entering an unknown space, neither here nor there.
Between our world and the realm of death.
My existence has transcended the boundaries of the living world and is bordering on death.
I'm a drifter through unknown lands.
I am moving through this unknown, in-between realm with no control over where I am going.
Search for an exit out of this place.
I desperately seek a way out of this state of limbo and back into the world of the living.
The gift of life, so fragile it was.
Life is a precious thing that can be easily lost.
Squeezed between and machines.
My life is being sustained by machines and medical technology.
And plastic tubes.
My body is connected to artificial tubes, a symbol of how far removed I am from a natural, healthy state.
Want to talk but I can't.
Though my mind is active, I am unable to communicate with the physical world.
Want to move but I'm nailed to the ground.
I am mentally willing myself to move, but my body is unresponsive and feels like it is rooted to the spot.
Child of the moon, coma of light.
I am a helpless child of the universe, caught in the bright light of limbo and not knowing which way to go.
See myself from above, await for a final decision.
In this suspended state between life and death, I am both observing myself from afar and waiting for the decision on my fate.
So I lay here, going insane.
Trapped in this void, I feel like I am losing my mind.
What was in the past?
As I hover between worlds, I am questioning my life choices and wondering what led me to this state.
No one knows how to get me out.
The people around me are powerless and grasping at straws, unable to find a solution to release me from this limbo.
They just stand around my bed.
The only thing they can do is watch and wait, a helpless audience to my plight.
Fill me up with all kinds of drugs
The doctors are administering various medications in a desperate attempt to keep me alive.
But I know there is a way.
Despite the despair of my condition, I still hold on to a glimmer of hope that there is a way out of this limbo.
Switch off the machine to let me go.
I feel like the only way to release myself from this in-between state is to turn off the machines keeping me alive and finally let go.
Let me sleep this time for real.
All I want now is to finally rest and find the peace that has been eluding me for so long.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CH BRODER ROLAND, MARKUS EDELMANN, ROLAND CH BRODER, THOMAS VETTERLI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind