I’ve been hitting the gym frequently as of late. I guess you could say I’m one of those guys who’s made pumping iron his entire personality overnight, so sue me. Of course, such dedication to better oneself physically must come with an equally muscular soundtrack. To see three bands who have helped make up such a soundtrack in one night at my favorite venue on earth? Let’s just say my temptation to bench press one of the scrawnier thrashers in attendance was strong, but alas, yours truly behaved himself, sticking to his journalistic duties on this Friday night, in which two 40th anniversaries were celebrated! That’s right, it was 40 years of Swiss tech thrash and death metal from the grave at Reggies, and we experienced both firsthand. Here’s how it all went down!
Morta Skuld
Considering I was late for local thrashers Misfire, who properly commenced the proceedings, my evening began with an absolutely brutal set from Morta Skuld, or as I like to call them, Obituary of the Midwest. I last saw Wisconsin’s finest purveyors of death at the 2023 reboot edition edition of Milwaukee Metal Fest, at which they laid down a respectable thirty-something minute set on *insert side stage here*. And while I was probably hungover at that point, they still hit like a 10 ton hammer. Sober and sharp-minded on a Friday night? I found myself in dire need of a revisit of their 1993 opus, Dying Remains. Seriously, this band laid down riffs and grooves that were as nasty as their Floridian contemporaries, and they were on full display during this all killer, no filler opening set. My face hurt from cringing in approval before Deceased even came on!
Deceased
Fitting 40 years of death metal history into 40 minutes is no easy task. Yet that’s exactly what King Fowley and the gang achieved with Deceased’s direct support slot. The band’s set played out like the death metal equivalent of a Gary Puckett-led hit parade circa 1968…only with sicker riffs, ghastlier lyrics, and in 2025. God, I should have my journalist license revoked for that comparison, but I know at least two of you will appreciate it, one being King Fowley himself. The band’s lineup has changed a plenty over the years (They can’t all be ZZ Top), but their uncompromising vision of death metal at its absolute purest and truest has not.
From the opening onslaught of “Night of the Deceased”, a cut I’d argue to be the greatest in death metal history, it was total nonstop action (WOOOOO!). “Haunted Cerebellum” and “Fading Survival” threw things back to those murky Luck of the Corpse days, while newer cuts like “The Triangle” and “Children of the Morgue”, the latter serving as the title track for their latest effort, prove there’s plenty of gas left in this death metal tank. A devastating of cover of Whiplash’s classic “Spit on Your Grave” followed, before an epic run through of “Fearless Undead Machines” finished things off with a bang. To King and company, congratulations on 40 years of death metal from the grave! Here’s to another 40! SPEEEEEEEEDDDD!!!
Setlist
- “Night of the Deceased”
- “Haunted Cerebellum”
- “Fading Survival”
- “The Triangle”
- “Children of the Morgue”
- “Spit on Your Grave” (Whiplash cover)
- “Fearless Undead Machines”
Coroner
As I stood in the now jam-packed quarters of Reggies, watching an extremely rare set from Switzerland’s premiere tech-thrash power trio (albeit a quartet for their live sets, but more on that later), I contemplated where Coroner lie in the classic prog rock to tech-thrash comparison pantheon. Surely, Watchtower is the Rush of the niche, and Voivod are the King Crimson. Coroner? With their penchant for hypnotic, deep-grooving rhythms and lengthy galaxy-splitting jams amidst outbursts of old school thrashing violence, would they be the Nektar of tech-thrash? Or perhaps I should abandon these comparisons altogether and just accept Coroner for who they are: Coroner.
Being the headliner, they had more time to celebrate their 40 year history: 90 minutes to be exact, and they used every last minute. Interestingly enough, of their five albums (soon to be six this Fall, per bassist/singer Ron Royce), Coroner’s set drew heaviest from their last album, 1993’s Grin. I say “interestingly enough”, because for whatever reason or another, Grin never clicked with me. By no means is it as deplorable as what some of their ’80s thrash peers were releasing at the time. I just never “got it”, so to speak. I can only assume I’m in the minority, as the sold-out crowd were bouncing and slamming in unison to cuts like “Serpent Moves”, “Internal Conflicts”, and “Grin (Nails Hurt)”.
As for the rest of their set, to say it was a masterclass in tech-thrash supremacy would be an understatement. Watching Royce, guitarist Tommy T. Baron, and “newcomer” drummer Diego Rapacchietti (He’s been holding down the beat since 2014) play off of each other on tech-thrash epics like “Semtex Revolution”, “Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)”, and “Tunnel of Pain” was true poetry in motion. Add longtime sidekick/keyboardist/sampler/backing vocalist Daniel Stössel to the mix, and you’ve got a whole other level of thrashing weirdness. What can I say? Coroner has never been a band to adhere to convention.
As the old saying goes, Coroner saved the best for last. Or at least they did in the eyes and ears of this old school thrasher, whose favorite release from them will forever be 1987’s R.I.P. I personally wish they had drawn more from this euro thrashterpiece, but I can’t complain that the one song they picked off of it also happens to be my all time favorite, “Reborn Through Hate”, which sounds as sadistic and harsh today as it did nearly 40 years ago. Throw in the iconic “Die by My Hand” as the death blow, and you’ve got one top notch thrash show. By the end of the night, maniacs of all ages were stumbling out of Reggies sore, dazed, dehydrated, and most importantly, THRASHED! Would we want it any other way? Hellno! Job well done Coroner! Congratulations on 40 years of Swiss tech thrash, and feel free to return to the Windy City whenever you please!
Setlist
- “Golden Cashmere Sleeper, Part 1”
- “Internal Conflicts”
- “Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)”
- “Serpent Moves”
- “Sacrificial Lamb”
- “Semtex Revolution”
- “Tunnel of Pain”
- “Status: Still Thinking”
- “Metamorphosis”
- “Masked Jackal”
- “Grin (Nails Hurt)”
Encore
- “Purple Haze” (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
- “Reborn Through Hate”
- “Die by My Hand”
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