CORONER - Punishment for Decadence LP (ICEBERG BLEND) (Preorder)

NB! Preorder item, release September 18

In 1986, bassist Ron Royce (Ron Broder), guitarist Tommy T. Baron (Tommy Vetterli) and drummer Marquis Marky (Markus Edelmann) issued their first demo tape »Death Cult« with the help of Celtic Frost’s Tom Gabriel Fischer on vocals (Fischer was also responsible for the lyrics).
A short while later, in early 1987, Zürich’s avantgarde metal pioneers inked a deal with Noise Records from Berlin. By that time, bassist Ron Royce had decided to take on the role as the lead singer of Coroner himself.
Eventually, Karl-Ulrich Walterbach of Noise Records booked time at Music Lab studios in Berlin for Coroner to record their debut album under the watchful eyes of Harris Johns. »R.I.P.« was issued in June 1987, receiving very good press feedback.
In 1988, Coroner’s debut album was followed by »Punishment For Decadence« (this time produced at Sky Trak Studio in Berlin, produced by Guy Bidmead). According to guitarist Tommy Vetterli, it was a natural progression for the band: “We focused more on the depth of the music, and it was no longer just a showcase of our technical skills. The band was fairly tight, tighter than on our first album, for sure. Overall, I think it’s a bit more mature. It’s less of a showcase of ‘look how well we can play,’ and more focused on the songs.”
The standout track on the album is “Masked Jackal”, a fan favorite to the current day. Also, a music video for the song was shot, as the guitarist explains: “It’s the song that stands out on the album. MTV was extremely important for every band back then. That’s why ‘Masked Jackal’ is still a fan favorite to this day.”
»Punishment For Decadence« came with a striking cover artwork (a painting entitled “Porte de L´enfer”), an idea by drummer Marky: “He climbed up a ladder in the middle of the night and photographed the artwork by Rodin here in Zürich. However, the record label thought this cover wasn’t heavy metal enough, so for the second pressing, they released a different cover with the skeleton playing the violin. This artwork was actually only intended as a T-shirt design.”
According to Tommy, the album did okay sales wise: “Apparently, the sales must have been satisfying; otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have been able to keep going. We didn’t  earn much money, but the whole thing was a lot of fun. We could survive and were able to do what we love. Many press and other musicians loved us, but we didn’t really reach the broad masses.”

Remastered and restored by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in February 2026. Cutting by SST Germany on Neumann machines for optimal quality on all levels... The ultimate audiophile edition of this eternal classic!

Ltd 350x iceberg blend vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 6mm spine, lyric sheet, 4 page A4 booklet, 12 page 12" size booklet, A5 photo card, A4 insert, A1 double sided poster, album cover poster (580x580mm)

High Roller Records 2026