Genghis Tron: Board Up The House Album Review
Three Guys and a Drum Machine Blend Grinding Metal with Electronica
Feb 28, 2009
It is difficult to describe the band's sound to those that have not heard it before. Their metal has the metallic tone so common in the albums produced by Kurt Ballou (of Converge).
All the grindcore drum standards are featured here, such as polyrhythms and blastbeats. What sets them apart are the keyboards and synths, and not in the classic metal sense, but more in the realm of glitchy electronica acts such as Aphex Twin.
Board Up The House’s Songs
There are three types of songs on this album: instrumentals, long songs, and short songs. The long songs are the best example of how the band’s two styles interact. They’re long enough that the metal can meld into electronica without sounding too sudden or forced. “I Won’t Come Back Alive” is the perfect example.
The 6.5 minute long song features a slow electronic dirge punctuated by doom metal parts until guitar and synth meld together in one epic melody. This success is repeated in the album’s opener and closer. “Board Up The House” starts off with an electronic build up to an explosive introduction of singer Mookie’s violent screams, and “Relief” provides just that, with its sluggish metallic melody reminiscent of Converge’s slower material.
The shorter songs provide a more urgent and grindcore sound. “Endless Teeth” mingles the grind and synth so well that eventually guitar and synth are indistinguishable from each other. “The Feast” is a primarily metal song with a nifty “chugga chugga” hardcore breakdown at the beginning. It features guest vocals from Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato. Both songs are under 2 minutes long, but they’re pure rage.
Album standout “Things Don’t Look Good,” with its buzzsaw intro and spacey melodies seems like a logical choice for a single, as it blends every aspect of the band perfectly: screaming, singing, shredding, chilling out and raging again. When an off-kilter guitar line heralds the end of its electronic interlude and return to the chorus, it’s incredible. It’s like a grindcore Radiohead, and really, who doesn’t want to hear that?
Additional standout “Colony Collapse” is a late-album treat for anyone who thought the last half of the record was too synth-heavy. It charges out of the gate with blastbeats and furious riffing, giving way to a solo-ish part that oddly enough sounds like a Muse song, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
The instrumentals are all short and electronic. “Recursion” sounds remarkably like a techno version of the underwater theme from Mario Bros. games. “The Whips Blow Back” is full of glitchy sound effects, and “Ergot” is a short bagpipe intro to the album’s final song. Every instrumental serves a purpose, and none feel out of place.
Board Up The House’s Dynamics
While mixing up electronica and metal has always been their thing, Genghis Tron really experiments with atmosphere on this record. The longer songs have very spaced out parts that work very well when juxtaposed with the metal. The technique doesn’t always work, like on the singular disappointment “City On A Hill,” whose dance-y synths and grindcore freakouts sound too pasted together.
The album is also very good with pacing. The first, middle, and final songs are all long tracks. Sprinkled in between are shorter, harder songs and soothing instrumentals. As soon as a certain style becomes dull, it changes. Genghis Tron truly outdid themselves on only their second release. If they keep improving their formula, they could have a masterpiece on their hands, but until then, Board Up The House will do.
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