Album Review: Coroner – Dissonance Theory (Century Media Records)

After more than three decades, Swiss pioneering technical metallers Coroner return with a new studio album. Dissonance Theory will be released on October 17th, 2025, worldwide via Century Media Records.

What does a new Coroner album look like in 2025, three decades (plus) after the release of the last one? It’s a question that every listener will contemplate and it’s a question that the band have clearly thought long and hard about too. Refusing to dredge the rivers of the past only and instead take a deep plunge into the dark unknown in an attempt to find relevancy. A challenge, and Coroner treat it more like a swinging pendulum, going back and forth, effortlessly combining modern technical flourishes with old-school thrashy intensity, and so much more. It’s not about the past, but it’s not quite about the future either.

So… what does a new Coroner album look like in 2025, three decades (plus) after the release of the last one? The answer is pretty damn simple. It looks and sounds mighty fine.

A minute-long intro of dark and dangerous sounding atmosphere called Oxymoron gives way to a raucous showcase of vibrant heaviness called Consequence. The explosivity of the guitars and drums, the snarl of the vocals, the trippy melodies that are layered within, it’s a blazing start. The first of many listens that are extensive, but addictive.

Mixing up the tempo but keeping a strong sense of anarchy at the forefront, Sacrificial Lamb is all the proof anyone needs that Coroner have evolved and picked up many new skills along the way. Brilliantly focused heaviness, with daring story-telling aspects, cleverly changing tone at the right time, and dropping a potent guitar solo for extra brownie points.

It’s a damn good album, and that feeling only grows stronger and stronger with the likes of Crisium Bound and Symmetry, a pair of riffy and thrashy beasts that showcase the speeding energy that Coroner has. You certainly can’t accuse them of holding back here, yet it all feels so effortless too. The sign of a quality band.

Do you know what else is a sign of quality? When the band varies things up, gets a little experimental, and pushes their own technical abilities that little bit further. What am I talking about? Only the likes of The Law, Transparent Eye, Trinity, and Renewal, a series of exhilarating, inspiring, and commanding head bangers. Except, as heavy and hardy as each of these tracks can be, it’s the detail within that ends making the biggest difference. The sound of creativity running wild, the sound of a band more comfortable then ever with how they express themselves, and the sound of damn fine heavy metal being played with conviction.

How about ending the record with some real weirdness though!? That’s what we get with Prolonging, a chance for Coroner to go a bit abstract, instrumentally. Before dissipating into the ether with a final showcase of darkened atmosphere. It’s a very cool way to wrap things up.

So, there it is. The first new Coroner record in over 30 years, and happily, it is a resounding success. Not only does it see the band turn the clock back, but it shows a band confident enough to try some new things too. A trio locked in, creating exciting music together, and through that, finding a whole new audience to enjoy what they’re doing.

Coroner – Dissonance Theory Track Listing:

1. Oxymoron
2. Consequence
3. Sacrificial Lamb
4. Crisium Bound
5. Symmetry
6. The Law
7. Transparent Eye
8. Trinity
9. Renewal
10. Prolonging

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