The city is a dismal place when it rains. Been almost four months since attending the last Philly metal show. A drab Wednesday and the threat of the first monsoon style rain, since last summer, made it all the bleaker. Timing is everything!
But Coroner are in town, launching a two week string of North American dates, culminating in an appearance at the Hell’s Heroes festival, in Houston, TX (then on to a short stint in central & South America). Billed as “40 Years of Coroner,” but the guys were here, with Violence, back in ’22. Still waiting for a (three decades) overdue new album, but Team BraveWords has seen them in the interim, at Wacken, in town and on the 70000 Tons cruise, but can never get enough: calling in the Coroner!
The band performed as a four-piece, shoehorned onto the Johnny Brenda’s stage: original members Tommy T. Baron (aka Vetterli, on guitar) and Ron Royce (aka Broder) on bass/vocals, with a keyboardist nestled discretely out-of-sight, back near the drums. The music was always “challenging”, but tonight, was struck how much better known bands, like Gojira, owe to Coroner’s jagged, staccato technical (some say “oddball”) constructs.
To that unconventional streak that has long been part of their DNA, Coroner opened with a bludgeoning “Golden Cashmere Sleeper, Part 1”, off the ’95 eponymous compilation. Talk about deep cuts! It segues, seamlessly into the oblique guitar dominated “Internal Conflicts”. Neither of the guys move much, Ron somewhat tethered to the mic, but the bearded Vetterli coaxes the “strange” noises from his instrument by contorting his body into some inhuman forms.
Under purple lights, the bassist lets fans know they’ll hear tracks from all their albums (as if the opening salvo was not a solid enough clue), and they plow into “Serpent Moves” (off Grin), complete with pre-recorded voiceover. Speaking of which, emergency room dialogue (trying to revive a patient) introduces the twisted rhythms of “Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)”, as the stage goes dark, apart from some copper lighting.
They unveiled a new song, “Sacrificial Lamb”, a slower, lumbering, heavy footed tune that features something of a jam session, midway through and Tommy going sick on the fretboard, as it nears its conclusion. Adopting an almost hardcore vocal delivery, Ron announced “Semtex Revolution” was about terrorists. A short respite, to towel off, as vintage radio reporting of the Kennedy assassination was heard through the speakers, leading to “Tunnel Of Pain”.
White strobes overhead greet a blue lit “Metamorphosis”. Again, Vetterli shows off his string bending prowess, as well as some electronic gadgetry that produced otherworldly sounds on slide guitar. “Masked Jackal” is probably the best known cut. A cover of “Purple Haze” might seem out of place, but Coroner have always embraced the unconventional.
It’s followed by an aggressive run-through of the guitar driven “Reborn Through Hate”, during which Ron had a brief technical issue, but they soldiered on to the concluding “Die By My Hand” (fan chanting the titular chorus), with one more dexterous flourish from the guitar. Impressive!
The post CORONER – Burned To Ash, Wednesday: Tour Kickoff In Philly appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
But Coroner are in town, launching a two week string of North American dates, culminating in an appearance at the Hell’s Heroes festival, in Houston, TX (then on to a short stint in central & South America). Billed as “40 Years of Coroner,” but the guys were here, with Violence, back in ’22. Still waiting for a (three decades) overdue new album, but Team BraveWords has seen them in the interim, at Wacken, in town and on the 70000 Tons cruise, but can never get enough: calling in the Coroner!
The band performed as a four-piece, shoehorned onto the Johnny Brenda’s stage: original members Tommy T. Baron (aka Vetterli, on guitar) and Ron Royce (aka Broder) on bass/vocals, with a keyboardist nestled discretely out-of-sight, back near the drums. The music was always “challenging”, but tonight, was struck how much better known bands, like Gojira, owe to Coroner’s jagged, staccato technical (some say “oddball”) constructs.
To that unconventional streak that has long been part of their DNA, Coroner opened with a bludgeoning “Golden Cashmere Sleeper, Part 1”, off the ’95 eponymous compilation. Talk about deep cuts! It segues, seamlessly into the oblique guitar dominated “Internal Conflicts”. Neither of the guys move much, Ron somewhat tethered to the mic, but the bearded Vetterli coaxes the “strange” noises from his instrument by contorting his body into some inhuman forms.
Under purple lights, the bassist lets fans know they’ll hear tracks from all their albums (as if the opening salvo was not a solid enough clue), and they plow into “Serpent Moves” (off Grin), complete with pre-recorded voiceover. Speaking of which, emergency room dialogue (trying to revive a patient) introduces the twisted rhythms of “Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)”, as the stage goes dark, apart from some copper lighting.
They unveiled a new song, “Sacrificial Lamb”, a slower, lumbering, heavy footed tune that features something of a jam session, midway through and Tommy going sick on the fretboard, as it nears its conclusion. Adopting an almost hardcore vocal delivery, Ron announced “Semtex Revolution” was about terrorists. A short respite, to towel off, as vintage radio reporting of the Kennedy assassination was heard through the speakers, leading to “Tunnel Of Pain”.
White strobes overhead greet a blue lit “Metamorphosis”. Again, Vetterli shows off his string bending prowess, as well as some electronic gadgetry that produced otherworldly sounds on slide guitar. “Masked Jackal” is probably the best known cut. A cover of “Purple Haze” might seem out of place, but Coroner have always embraced the unconventional.
It’s followed by an aggressive run-through of the guitar driven “Reborn Through Hate”, during which Ron had a brief technical issue, but they soldiered on to the concluding “Die By My Hand” (fan chanting the titular chorus), with one more dexterous flourish from the guitar. Impressive!
2CoronerBaron
3CoronerRon
4CoronerTommy
6CoronerTommyT
7TommyTBaron
The post CORONER – Burned To Ash, Wednesday: Tour Kickoff In Philly appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
