A short time ago the antiMusic.com writers stumbled rather blindly onto an obscure trio from Poughkeepsie, New York, known as Genghis Tron. The world as we know it has never been the same. Such is the effect Genghis Tron has on listeners. Perhaps their name is more fitting than they realize; like a combination of computer age innovation and old-fashioned slaying ala the Great Khan himself, I firmly believe these guys could alter a large chunk of musical history forever. Drawing on comparisons and influences are but nigh impossible; in the roughly 31 and a half minutes that Dead Mountain Mouth runs, you'll be bombarded by frenzied grind, neon-bright spazzcore, crushing sludge doom, jarring industrial, and even traces of retro-pop/folk hymns. Oh, and did I mention such combinations generally attack you in the span of one-to-three minutes all in one song? If Dillinger Escape Plan invented math metal and forever changed the underground that way, Genghis Tron may very well have added rocket science metal to the world. The results is an album so immensely odd yet familiar, fresh yet traditional, you won't know what to do with yourself. The end result is the feeling that everything and everyone around you is being painfully converted to binary code over a high-speed DSL cable. "The Folding Road" is instantly recognizable to people fortunate enough to have heard the band's sole prior recording, the Cloak of Love EP. It slowly builds into a mud-pot of bubbling synths before erupting in an explosion of grind so manic, technical, and blasting you'll scarce believe it. Little tinges of moog soundscapes wrestle with all of this, and the song leaves you severely out of element.
"Chapels" is short-but-sweet spazz-core ditty writhing with such intensity it feels six times longer than what it really is (just short of two minutes). I'm sure I wouldn't have been so confused had it not been for the ambient techno breakdown mid-song.
"From the Aisle" is the first song to truly tap into the Tron's massive potential; it starts off with rambling, clean chords that vaguely recalls 1960's pop. I could even see the Beatles doing this if they were a tad angrier and darker on some songs! As if this isn't abnormal enough on its own, the song slowly builds into pounding, primal doom so ferocious you'd think those pop portions a second before had been utterly eviscerated by raging dinosaurs.
The title track, "Dead Mountain Mouth," sways with drunken grind fury and reckless abandon as synths awkwardly keep the peace. The swelling instrumental orchestra leads into the equally slick "White Walls," in which cavernous beats are constructed and destroyed by technical hyper-grind of mind-blowing levels. It sounds like some sick noise contest between Fantomas, Psyopus, and Nine Inch Nails all at once.
The pensive "Badlands" is a relaxing instrumental beat interlude that slows the pace a bit, or at least until the band flexes its muscle with some random chords. It is perfectly placed, as the personal favorite of mine, "Greek Beds," stutters and starts with spastic grind, full-on riffs, and soft swells that erupt into violently dying bursts of EBM. "Asleep on the Forest Floor" moseys in on patient industrial which soon turns into ominous factory beats, only to be entirely murdered by full-on metal bombast. This is in turn crushed under the hooves of massive, plodding doom riffs worthy of bands like Indian or YOB. The amazing "Warm Woods" is organic, serene strolls through pastures of ambient mugged and killed by bursts of technical metal.
Closing track "Lake of Virgins" shifts tones, hues, and aesthetics so often it is nearly impossible to give an accurate description of. Genghis Tron will be a force to be reckoned with come a little bit of time and publicity. Already, heads are turning in this act's general direction as people catch on the fact that something very original is going on here. I'd highly recommend this album, and my one complaint is that it could have been just a little longer. All-in-all, there is nothing else like this on Earth. Get it now!
Track Listing
1. The Folding Road
2. Chapels
3. From the Aisle
4. Dead Mountain Mouth
5. White Walls
6. Badlands
7. Greek Beds
8. Asleep on the Forest Floor
9. Warm Woods
10. Lake of Virgins
Be sure check out Hobo's review of this CD @ Thrashpit
