CORONER

with Special Guest HEATHEN

Coroner kicked things off in Zürich back in 1985 and quickly built a reputation as one of underground  metal’s most forward-thinking and technically ferocious bands. With Ron Broder on bass and vocals,  Tommy Vetterli on guitar, and Marky Edelmann on drums, the trio put out five critically praised  records and a semi-compilation between 1987 and 1994, each one dragging thrash metal further into innovative, more experimental territory. 

The albums they released on Noise Records didn’t just push the genre’s limits. They dismantled them  and put something sharper in their place. Even now, those albums are considered cult staples. You  could say they laid the groundwork for what progressive metal became: 

• R.I.P. (1987) 
• Punishment for Decadence (1988) 
• No More Color (1989) 
• Mental Vortex (1991) 
• Grin (1993) 
• Coroner (1994 | self-titled semi-compilation) 

Coroner’s sound has always lived at the edges. It’s a collision of speed, structure, and control. Built  on thrash, their music pulled in classical form, avant-garde twists, jazz complexity, and the cold  mechanics of industrial metal. Every piece was delivered with pinpoint precision and Ron Broder’s  unmistakable vocal grit. 

Often called “the Rush of thrash metal,” Coroner, along with bands like Voivod and Watchtower,  helped shape what would later be known as technical and progressive thrash. 

With each release, their sound pushed further. By the time No More Color, Mental Vortex, and Grin  hit, things had grown sharper. The production became tighter, the arrangements more offbeat, and  the sound had drifted far outside any genre map. 

That influence stuck around. From major players in metal to offbeat experimental types, generations  have taken something from their no-rules, no-compromise approach. For a lot of people, Coroner  weren’t just ahead of their time. They were the reason to start thinking differently about what metal  could even be. 

The band stepped away in 1996 and disappeared from the spotlight. But when they came back in  2011, it wasn’t to rehash the past. They had unfinished business. 

Marky Edelmann bowed out after the early reunion shows, and longtime live partner Diego  Rapacchietti stepped behind the kit, reigniting the band’s rhythmic core. 

Since then, they’ve played select shows and festivals across the globe — Hellfest, Maryland  Deathfest, Brutal Assault — and headed back to the U.S. in spring 2025. More European dates are  lined up for summer. Every show brings the weight of where they’ve been and the tension of where  they are now. 

In October 2025, Coroner will release their first new studio album in over thirty years, through Century  Media and Sony Music Switzerland. This one took time. It moved slow, stayed quiet, and took shape  mostly in the background. Until the moment felt right to let it surface. 

The album was produced by Tommy Vetterli and Dennis Russ, and recorded at Tommy’s renowned  New Sound Studios. Mixing and mastering came from Jens Bogren, known for his work with Opeth,  Sepultura, Kreator, Amon Amarth, and Ihsahn. 

What came out of it wasn’t a callback. It was something new. 

“We didn’t pick up where we left off. We surfaced through something else entirely.” — Tommy Vetterli 

A work born from silence, friction, and control.