Apart from being able to tell you that the singer and songwriter for the band is called Coroner, they were formed in 2007 in Sweden, and this is their first release since their third album, ‘The Author’s Curse’ was released in 2019, I know virtually nothing about these guys. I have tracked down the label site, been on the band’s FB and Bandcamp pages, and still have no idea who was involved with this. What I can tell you is these guys are heavily into goth, and there are times when the swathes of keyboards overpower the guitars, so they are almost non-existent. Coroner has a very gruff, guttural style, and they have cleverly brought in a female singer to provide harmonies against him, with the odd lead line here and there, and the contrast between the two is compelling and interesting.

Coroner says, “With this release, we wanted to bring the band and its essence into the contemporary. The sort of space-themed EP makes a lot more sense now than we initially thought it would. The infinite dimensions of space and its vast darkness that has always been there and always will be. It’s not so much a science fiction theme as a modern take on this insane cosmic thing we’re all part of. One late night, I saw a film called ‘A Journey to the End of Time’ by Melodysheep on YouTube. The ending quote, leaves you in a lingering state of mind: ‘At the end of the universe, nothing happens, and it keeps not happening, forever.’ Out of that mental state, the new material started taking shape.”

There are times when they definitely want to be Rammstein, but just when one feels the Teutonic beat taking shape, they move into a much poppier area. Coroner appears to imply the band is currently in transition, so I am not sure what we are hearing is the final version of where the band is headed. This four-track 17-minute-long set is a sampler for those interested in the genre, and is highly polished, but probably too much for my tastes.

Rating: 6/10

Links:
https://www.thedeadandliving.com/
https://www.rexiusrecords.com/