PUNISHMENT FOR DECADENCE

"Punishment for Decadence" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swiss thrash metal act Coroner. The album was released through Noise Records in August 1988. Coroner was formed in 1985 and released their debut full-length studio album "R.I.P." in 1987. They are widely considered one of the seminal thrash metal acts on the Swiss thrash metal scene along with artists like Celtic Frost, Poltergeist, and Messiah. The three-piece lineup from the debut album is intact on "Punishment for Decadence". Tommy T. Baron (Tommy Vetterli) on guitar, Ron Royce (Ron Broder) on bass and vocals, and Marquis Marky (Markus Edelmann) on drums.

Stylistically the music on "Punishment for Decadence" continues the technically well played thrash metal style of "R.I.P. (1987)". Ron Royce delivers another snarling vocal performance, with his oddly "laid back" vocal style. Sometimes it almost sounds like he talks instead of sings. His vocal style suits the music perfectly though, and the above description is definitely not meant as a critique, just an attempt at describing a relatively unique sounding vocal style. The instrumental part of the music is also quite spectacular for the time. Royce bass playing is unfortunately lost in the mix, but Marquis Marky´s slightly fusion influenced drumming is a great asset, and even more so Tommy T. Baron´s guitar playing. His skills are considerable and in addition to his powerful riffs, his solos are incredibly well played.

The material on the 10 track, 38:54 minutes long album is also relatively well written. I say "relatively", because when the album has ended, it´s not all tracks I´m able to remember. "Masked Jackal", which the band also made a promotional video for, is one of the most catchy and memorable tracks on the album, but the instrumental "Arc-Lite" also stands out. Coroner´s cover of "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix stands out too, but not in a particularly positive way. So it´s a bit up and down with the quality of the material. "Punishment for Decadence" is still overall a solid release though.

Featuring a sound production which is decent but still leaves a bit to be desired, my overall impression of "Punishment for Decadence" is a bit mixed. To my ears it´s not the giant step forward from "R.I.P. (1987)" one could have hoped for, but it´s not a step down either. I´d put it pretty much on par with the predecessor in regards to the overall quality of the release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved. The signs of greatness are here in abundance, but the final product just lacks that last thing to make it reach the excellent level.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)