Philly's Genghis Tron rocks the brutal blasts. - Oh My Rockness

Band We Like

Philly's Genghis Tron rocks the brutal blasts.

October 2, 2007
Genghis got game! You can't stop LeTron, you can only hope to contain them! I don't know why this band makes me want to throw out sports cliches, but apparently that's just the way it is. I seriously could talk about this noisy, spazzy, scary, brutal, melodic, beautiful band all day. Luckily for you, dear reader, I will only take a minute of your time to sing (or scream) Genghis Tron's praises.

What makes me want to play Genghis Tron's (a.k.a. The Philly Spazznatics) debut full-length album, Dead Mountain Mouth, every single day? Why do I feel the need to put myself through these brutal guitar/drum machine/synth blasts even before I've had my second cup of stale coffee? Maybe I'm just a particularly aggressive person and this band represents a legal release from my daily stresses of, say, stumbling behind a slow walker or my $11 movie experience being invaded by a loud cell phone talker. But I don't think my aggression (which I'm working on) is necessarily the only reason I've been pulling out the daily Tron listen. After all, I'm not mad THAT much.

I think what drives me to play such hardcore brutality is that, in fact, it makes me feel happy to hear these songs. You see, if you dig deep through their noise, you may find that Genghis Tron aren't just about decibel destruction and scary screams (although there is indeed a lot of that). Rather, they are also about lots of really pretty melodies. Yes, pretty. Ok, not pretty like a lone cherry blossom slightly bowing to a light Brooklyn breeze at the Botanical Garden or anything like that. But more pretty like, who knew there was such rich melody to be found in huge hardcore riffs and blood-curdling screams, especially when they "synth-out." Listen for it, the melodies are there. They may be buried a bit under soul-sucking "RAHHHHHHS!" and "YAAAHHHHHHS" but they are indeed there.

Let's get to the basics in case you're not familiar. Genghis Tron are a trio from Philly that create loud metalcore using laptops (for the insane beats), guitars (for the thunderous licks) synthesizers (for the wave of the future). They also use screams. Lots and lots of screams. And let's be honest here, they may be pretty, but they're also a little scary too. We're not talking Ben Gibbard here.

If you go to Genghis Tron's show, my guess is that there will probably be a space near the front of the stage that becomes a circle. In this circle, youths will attemp to touch shoulders and chests with other youths at high velocity. This is what's known as a "mosh pit." I was in one once, but I was wearing knee pads and protective eye wear, so it's kind of an asterisk experience.

Genghis Tron play Subterranean, on Saturday, October 6th.

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