Swiss technical thrash pioneers CORONER are winding down their "Dissonance Over The West" North American tour, a 15-date run with support from Bay Area thrash veterans HEATHEN that has reignited interest in one of extreme metal's most criminally underappreciated acts. The tour launched February 4 in Las Vegas and wraps February 22 in Mesa, Arizona, having carved a path through clubs and theaters across the western United States.
The trek supports "Dissonance Theory," released via Century Media Records — CORONER's first studio album in over three decades, following 1993's legendary "Grin." The gap between records is one of the longest in metal history, making the album's arrival all the more remarkable. Critics have hailed "Dissonance Theory" as a triumphant return, praising the band's ability to recapture the angular, jazz-inflected technicality that made albums like "Mental Vortex" and "No More Color" essential listening for anyone interested in the progressive side of thrash metal.
Founded in Zurich in 1985 by guitarist Tommy T. Baron and drummer Marquis Marky, CORONER carved out a unique niche in the thrash landscape by incorporating elements of industrial, progressive rock, and avant-garde composition into their blistering speed metal attack. Their influence can be heard in countless modern technical death and progressive metal bands, from VEKTOR to OBSCURA.
Nightly setlists on the tour have drawn heavily from both the new album and the classic catalog, giving longtime fans a rare opportunity to hear deep cuts performed live for the first time in decades. HEATHEN, themselves no strangers to long hiatuses and comebacks, have proven an ideal touring partner. Reviews from early dates describe electric atmospheres with devoted fans traveling significant distances to witness CORONER's return to North American stages.