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Coroner - Grin



8.3 | 239 votes |
Release date: 1993
Style: Technical thrash metal

Owners:

213 have it
27 want it
1 trades it


01. Dream Path
02. The Lethargic Age
03. Internal Conflicts
04. Caveat (To The Coming)
05. Serpent Moves
06. Status: Still Thinking
07. Theme For Silence
08. Paralized, Mesmerized
09. Grin (Nails Hurt)
10. Host

Guest review by
tea[m]ster
Rating:
10
In the mid 80's I was 15 years old moshing with bands like Voivod, Kreator and Exodus. I listened to Coroner's Punishment For Decadence and I remember thinking this is the "fastest" thrash I've ever heard. What a sound! I was instantly hooked and couldn't wait for their following releases. Next out were two terrific albums: No More Color and Mental Vortex. By the end of Mental Vortex I could tell Coroner was taking an alternate route other than the foundation laid by their first release, R.I.P. I was nervous because I had the feeling the next album would be notably different from their predecessors. I was correct, it was different, in an exemplary way.

Grin is a perfect combination of thrash, prog, and atmosphere. Longer songs, complex lyrics, dynamic sound structures and time changes make the album a terrific listen for any metal fan that likes the thrash and progressive genres. Each song has its own individuality. Original and remarkable, they allow the listener to discover something new with every subsequent and attentive listen. Coroner is a three-piece band but have always used dual and triple layered guitars for their recordings. On Grin this enhances the sound so much I can't even imagine what the album would sound like with one guitar, especially during the solos. The singing is a perfect counterpart to the music. Dark and violent but not in a harsh way. It's not forceful but doesn't take a back seat to the music either. Percussion and drumming is still fast in some areas but overall it is very fluid and precise. Not many heavy metal drummers stand out above the rest but every fan has used the word "underrated" and I think this applies here. Ambient noises and samples litter the background to give the album an atmospheric feel more so than any of their other releases. Splice all these ingredients together and what results is a secure sound as tight as dental floss.

Thrash and Coroner fans will say they went too experimental with this one. Prog/crossover fans who listened to Grin first will argue their earlier stuff is too fast, too raw. Grin is a technical marvel unlike any of the 700+ albums I own. It was risky and very ahead of its time. It pieces together the parts of metal I really enjoy and meld it together into a cohesive record. I strongly urge anyone who wants to see how Coroner evolved to this apex of work to start listening at the beginning of their discography first. If you can't wait that long and want to see what all the hub-bub is about, remember you will be treated to something that was never attempted before. Something so impressive and so important that I feel it is one of the greatest albums ever made.

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published 25.01.2012 | Comments (8)

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Comments

Comments: 20   Visited by: 427 users
06.12.2010 - 01:38
BloodFireDeath

Good album.
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Goodspeed on the Devils Thunder
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21.10.2011 - 17:56
Lit.
Account deleted
Not the Coroner I;m used to, but nevertheless I did find it an enjoyable and atmospheric album.
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20.11.2011 - 00:49
Rating: 9
musicalkaratekid

This album is interesting, especially because it is such a divider between devoted coroner fans(the fans that have actually listened to every album by coroner). The coroner fans who preferred the straightforward thrash side of the band, i suppose didn't get into this album as well as people like me did, who actually loves the experimentation and progression of the band's sound. it could have done without the two instrumentals, but those aren't enough to drag it down by one point. 'Grin' was proof that metal still gave as good as it got in the 1990's...
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13.11.2012 - 23:55
Rating: 10
Vasil de Shumen

This album is technical, hypnotic, maddening, brilliantly composed ... The latest genial work in the metal history
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13.01.2013 - 22:38
megadeath13
Account deleted
I love all Coroner album, but my heart says that "Grin" is their best. They changed their sound a little bit from Technical thrash to progressive metal but it sounds still heavy and fresh. One of my favourite albums of all time.
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03.04.2013 - 19:23
Metropolis_Dream
Account deleted
The previous Coroner albums dont impress me very much but Grin amazes me just from start to finish. This album is not the wild typical technical thrash metal like in the old days, its more progressive. Definitely one of the best metal albums of the 90s.
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27.08.2013 - 21:41
JÄY
Metal slave
Written by Reality03 on 27.08.2013 at 17:42

My favourite Coroner album.

What makes it different from the others?
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27.08.2013 - 22:41
Rating: 10
Vasil de Shumen

Written by JÄY on 27.08.2013 at 21:41

What makes it different from the others?


Maturity, more simple arrangements, hypnotic sound ...
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27.08.2013 - 22:50
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Meh, to me it doesn't hold a candle to any of their previous album except their debut.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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27.08.2013 - 22:56
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by X-Ray Rod on 27.08.2013 at 22:50

Meh, to me it doesn't hold a candle to any of their previous album except their debut.


totally agreed. And their best is still No More Color, then Punishment For Decadence, then Mental Vortex and only then Grin (so that comes in fourth) and last is R.I.P.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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29.08.2013 - 05:46
Lit.
Account deleted
I'm still convinced Mental Vortex and Punishment For Decadence are better than No More Color, but I'd still take Color over Grin any day. Aside from Grin (Nails Hurt) and Serpent Moves, this album's really worn down on me.
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29.08.2013 - 10:45
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Guest on 29.08.2013 at 05:46

Aside from Grin (Nails Hurt) and Serpent Moves, this album's really worn down on me.


those two tracks are the only two I go back to Grin for.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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29.08.2013 - 10:54
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
I like Internal Conflicts but mostly because that's the very first song I heard by them.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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29.08.2013 - 14:36
Rating: 10
Vasil de Shumen

'Serpent Moves' is my favorite song (by Coroner). The guitar solo here is absolutely brilliant and /maybe/ the best in metal history
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14.09.2019 - 03:11
Rating: 10
Metal Rasputin

Brilliant record once again, but a very different one compared to their previous ones, lacks the thrashing thingy completely and focuses more on hypnotic riffs and simpler yet subtler structures and such. Less is more, you know.

Not for everyone's tastes, but me gusta mucho.
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You've got a lot of guts. Let's see what they look like!
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26.01.2020 - 18:09
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
How we can label this genre its mot TT not pure
anyway its bad album, if band would continue it would be a falure IMO
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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26.01.2020 - 23:05
Rating: 6
Redel

Written by Bad English on 26.01.2020 at 18:09

How we can label this genre its mot TT not pure
anyway its bad album, if band would continue it would be a falure IMO


I wouldnt call this a bad.
But to me it is their least interesting work.
I sometimes wonder if they stopped at the right time. What would have come after this album...?
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26.01.2020 - 23:12
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Redel on 26.01.2020 at 23:05

Written by Bad English on 26.01.2020 at 18:09

How we can label this genre its mot TT not pure
anyway its bad album, if band would continue it would be a falure IMO


I wouldnt call this a bad.
But to me it is their least interesting work.
I sometimes wonder if they stopped at the right time. What would have come after this album...?

More not TT metal probably
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
23.02.2023 - 04:58
Rating: 7
sbgmetal

I liked the slow and methodical approach on this one, also tommy to me sounds a bit like joe satriani with his solo parts
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23.02.2023 - 16:22
Rating: 7
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
The vocals remind me of Acid Bath.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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