Coroner - Mental Vortex

Now a finely honed machine, Mental Vortex is definitely Coroner at the top of their game. The major difference here is that MV contains 8 songs, while previous releases seem to be a combination of riffs strung together. Now, whether or not this is a positive thing is all up to personal opinion, but for me, Mental Vortex is the easiest, and yet most difficult Coroner release to listen to. The surface layer shows the band trimming the fat so to speak, most tracks are mid-tempo with less noodling on all fronts. Yet this material is easily the band's most complicated to date, many odd-time signatures and 3 against 3 rhythms utilized. Add in the best production so far and you've got a complete winner. A certain coldness also permeates this release as well, odd, since the last disc was the one entitles No More Color, but this reminds me of Nothingface or Manic Impressions in it's digital isolation. Perfect though for the scientific/futuristic skin that covers this release though, the lyrical content reflecting this lack of emotion. Their finest moment? Maybe, but I'd chalk up No More Color as being a tie, both albums depicting Coroner's ideas to a "T". Even the choice of covering The Beatles works here, as the band can almost do no wrong at this point.