Review by Saxy S for Genghis Tron - Signal Fire (2026)

I do not fuck with Cybergrind. That shouldn't be too much of a surprise since, prior to 2021, I had no idea what Cybergrind even was! It's the merger between industrial music and grindcore. That was the primary descriptor given to Genghis Tron's debut album, Dead Mountain Mouth in 2006. Since that time, the band has moved further away from that introductory sound and closer to dreamy post-metal. Alas the music has become more uninteresting the less heavy it became.

So hearing Signal Fire for the first time left me feeling a little bit more upright than I was expecting. You see, Genghis Tron have followed in Deafheaven's footsteps and released an album that shows an appreciation for the past and builds upon it. In short, Signal Fire is the love letter between Dead Mountain Mouth and Dream Weapon. It isn't grindcore by any account, but it does return to some of its heavier roots of their previous releases while still retaining some of that dreamy atmosphere that made up the last album.

The album starts off on a great foot with "I Am All" with its heavy bass presence and the return of harsh vocals by Tony Wolski. Then the album trips over itself with two interludes sandwiched around one of the albums weakest tracks, "Future Worship". I feel like "Tomorrow Mirage" has a great idea through the first four minutes or so, but spends the final half of the track meandering in a very uninspired dream segment. The whiplash that I felt when the interlude "Without Form" transitioned into hallowing blast beats and and more vicious screaming was intense, but even that song cannot maintain that momentum for its entire length and transitions into plainspoken vocals with a light instrumental texture that sounds closer to American Football instead of Cult of Luna.

I'd like to say that Signal Fire is a more interesting album than Dream Weapon, but it's a lot less cohesive. I think that the three interlude tracks that are dispersed throughout the album kill whatever momentum may have been building up to those points, and helped even less by songs that cannot retain momentum either. Despite all the negativity, I still think that Signal Fire is a step in the right direction for Genghis Tron. Hopefully this flame can get them back on the right direction and make the type of post-metal that sounds more like Genghis Tron and not a cheap copy of someone else.

Best Songs: Born Prey, I Am All, Nothing Blooms in the Hollow, A Love So Pure

For Fans Of: KMFDM, Neurosis, Chat Pile