Review Summary: Disco-inspired Grindcore fun!
In the world of generic grindcore, Genghis Tron couldn’t be any further from the pack. The only band members they have are a guitarist, a vocalist, and a keyboardist, no drummer or bassist (though the drums are still here, just programmed), and their music mixes the extremes of grind with some rather weird and eccentric electronic work. They didn’t stand out in a good way with the disappointing
Dead Mountain Mouth, an album that never could get a good grasp on my interests. Coming into
Board Up The House I was expecting something more, especially because of the single “Things Don’t Look Good”, which instead of housing the grind and electronics into different sections, the band put a little more into blending the two, and having build-ups into their grindcore guitar madness. Ultimately,
Board Up The House didn’t disappoint one bit, and is a very large improvement on
Dead Mountain Mouth.
What makes
Board Up The House so much better than
Dead Mountain Mouth? Well, ultimately this album tries to blend in the electronic influences, instead of just kind of randomly changing places. While there is still some random changes, the band has become decidedly less Mr. Bungle influenced, and focus more on multiple bridges and build-ups. The music invokes more complexity and, in the case of more grindcore-oriented songs like “Things Don’t Look Good”, technicality. While the music isn’t perfect, Genghis Tron has improved a lot above
Dead Mountain Mouth, and while the band hasn’t really dug too deep with their sound, they have made something that is very enjoyable and complex, something the band has been attempting to do their entire career.
Out of the three members of the band, by far the most talented member is the keyboard player Michael Sochynsky. Even during parts of guitar riffing madness, he is probably playing along, and may even have a lead lick here or there, like in the beginning part of “City on the Hill”, where he takes a lead role in the insanity, going up and down with the energy of a six year old who has eaten way too much candy. But as quickly as the song begain, it moves in to the keyboard-led interludes, which mix a pinch of ambiance with 250 ml of cheesy disco-inspired electronica. With
Board Up The House, Michael Sochynsky shows us the reason why, again, he takes such a large part in the bands musical direction, and shows off some major musical talent in the process.
The rest of the band isn’t exactly as high and mighty as their keyboard player. Guitarist Hamilton Jordan is a good guitarist, no doubt, but his riffs aren’t too outstanding, and seem to just be filler just until the keyboard parts, making the generic grind part of Genghis Tron very average and boring. However, he does show some skill, as he taps along with the keyboard interludes. Vocalist Mookie Singerman isn’t really anything to be proud of, as his screams all seem somewhat half-hearted and weak, while his clean vocals just seem to drone on and on, just for drone's sake. However, despite these half-hearted performances, the mixture of the guitar, keyboard, and vocals together make something rather excellent.
With
Board Up The House, Electronic grindcore outfit Genghis Tron at times repeat themselves a bit too much, but all the while they make for an enjoyable listen. I would recommend any fan of Grind to at least give
Board Up the House a try, for they will not be disappoint with the keyboard looping madness. I would even recommend this album to some electronica fans, as it would give them a new prospective on their genre.
What’s good about Board Up the House:- Good Keyboard work
- Improved Structure
- More Build Ups
- Fun to Listen to.
- Band fits perfectly together
What’s bad about Board Up the House:- Mediocre vocals
- Runs together at the end
- Boring Guitar riffs
Watch live videos he is often tapping along with the keyboard parts...This Message Edited On 09.27.08
