Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Genghis Tron. Board Up the House. 2008. 5 stars.

This is easily one of the most innovative and satisfying albums I’ve come across this year, in any genre. If Jesu, Battles, and Between the Buried and Me had all collaborated, they might have produced something as technically brilliant and stylistically unique as this. Genghis Tron mix blistering electronic touches with grinding metal riffs, establishing an awe-inspiring “cybergrind” sound of their own. Interwoven between their tight mathcore assaults are sublime ambient passages, melodic vocals and crisp IDM breaks. The sonic diversity within these complex compositions is wondrous to listen to, as the many shifting moods and textures draw you into explosive psychedelia.

While many metal bands have become increasingly eclectic in their song writing, only a select few can mesh their influences together as beautifully as Genghis Tron. Where some progressive metal albums end up sounding cluttered and incoherent, Board Up the House is as fluid as a shimmering lava lamp and just as trippy. Whether its keyboards or the guitars at the forefront of the mix, the pace and energy of this record stays consistent, flowing from one fiery song to the next.

Like Battles’ Mirrors, Genghis Tron’s Board Up the House has the power of clairvoyance, masterfully integrating a myriad of traditions to give us a clear view of rock’s postmodern future. This album seems to have it all: a strong structural basis, crushing intensity, effective soft/loud dynamics and passionate performances. So in an effort to not give too much away, I’ll just say that Board Up the House is nothing short of compelling, a testament to the progressive attitudes of the metal underground.

“Things Don’t Look Good”

“Board Up the House” Live

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