Reviews list for Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth (2006)

Experimentation In Moderation

Modern extreme metal continues to get more and more extreme as different bands and even genres themselves try to outdo their predecessors in pure, unadulterated anger and aggression. And when it comes to anger and aggression, genres like Brutal Death or Slam Metal as well as Grindcore are pretty much uncontested in their ability to produce disgustingly heavy and chaotic music that exists only to push the boundaries of those two qualities. I've found that I look for more than pure aggression in Metal music, so the brutal grinds or slams of these more extreme metal genres have never really sat well with me, but Genghis Tron and the new-to-me Cybergrind genre attempt to change that with a much more melodic and intelligible album than I was expecting. 

Dead Mountain Death sounds daunting at first, with the intimidating Cybergrind genre looming over it, but after giving the album a serious chance I'm really glad that this is where my introduction to the genre began. It's easy to assume the worst and think that what would await you is a Grindcore album with electronics thrown in all over the place, but this album legitimately takes its time to create a very unique affair that isn't all about aggression. The Grindcore parts are definitely there, but the electronic elements that are sprinkled into the mix as well as the actually intelligible and slightly cleaner guitar riffs help to give songs real structure and a sense of motion rather than being two minute, one dimensional blast beat fests. The short and sweet Grindcore song length is still intact, but the constant and substantial switches in tone makes each song feel longer and more fleshed out than they actually are. If anything, less than half of this album is aggressive Grindcore sections, with most of the album being made up of slower atmospheric sections like in "From The Aisle" or electronic sections like in the beginning of "Badlands".

The fact that the brutal Grindcore took a backseat for a good portion of the album was a godsend for me personally, and I think it shows how much room there is for experimentation in extreme metal genres like this. The insanely incoherent vocals are the most consistently brutal thing in this album, but everything else is varied, intricate, and never completely overbearing. So many extreme metal bands seem to go for 24/7 aggression, but Genghis Tron are able to dial it back to fantastic effect on tracks like "Greek Beds" and "Warm Woods". There are legitimately great grooves in this album, which help to accentuate the heavier parts of the album whenever they come back around. The electronics are noticeable, but aren't overused and are mostly there to provide contrast to the rest of the music. There are some parts where the drums and synths go for the full Venetian Snares Breakcore experience, but it's only once or twice, meaning the gimmick is never really worn out. 

Death Mountain Mouth is a fantastic balancing act of things that I didn't expect to work and I definitely didn't expect to enjoy. I generally dislike extreme genres of metal, so the fact that I'm calling this a well thought out and balanced experience is saying something massive about this album. If anything, this album is beautiful in a lot of ways, with soaring chords on top of hellish riffs and aggressive drumming in tracks like the closing "Lake Of Virgins". The off putting Grindcore aspects are still there, like the incessant vocals and the sometimes chaotic and pointless riffing that comes and goes as it pleases, but this album does a fantastic job of transitioning into something meaningful whenever it decides to switch to something different. The album may feel chaotic and random, but it never feels aimless, transitioning somewhat smoothly in and out of electronic grooves, slower atmospheric sections, brutal breakdowns, and back to electronic interludes. All of the elements are present, but they aren't used all at once, which makes Death Mountain Mouth a fantastic example of moderation and smart songwriting which I think should be used much, much more in certain extreme metal genres. Even though I still dislike the core parts of many extreme metal genres, Genghis Tron stray away from those core ideas and experiment successfully in a way that is very interesting to me. This album is extremely unique to this day and I'm glad that certain extreme metal bands are choosing to push boundaries in different avenues rather than just anger and aggression. 

Cybergrind, eh? Yep… “What the fuck is that?” I hear you ask. Well to be honest, I couldn’t have answered that question up until the last couple of days. In fact, the only reason I can now is because I made a conscious effort to hunt down a well-regarded & pure cybergrind record for the sole purpose of finding out just what the fuck that term is referring to. I mean it sounds so absurd when you think about it. Grindcore is such a raw & organic subgenre that’s built on a complete lack of pretense & even less subtlety so mixing it with electronic music sounds on paper like it might tarnish the integrity of what the musicians are trying to achieve. But what the fuck would I know?! I’ve been proven to be wrong before so just maybe I’d be found to be wrong again. Time would tell.  

The band in question are known as Genghis Tron & they’re a three-piece outfit that began life in New York in 2004. They initially put out a few EPs before releasing their debut full-length “Dead Mountain Mouth” through Crucial Blast Records in 2006. The unusual cover art doesn’t really give anything away & it’s hard not to notice how atypical it is for an album that’s loosely associated with the grindcore movement. Perhaps I should have taken that as a sign? I dunno but this record doesn’t look, feel or sound anything like any grind record I’ve heard before or since. 

Genghis Tron’s musical concept is based on the cross-pollination of intense & blasting grindcore, the complexity of mathcore, abrasive & chaotic electronica & elements of a more laidback IDM sound. Kinda like Discordance Axis meets a nice cross-section of Aphex Twin’s discography. Now I know that might seem like a lot to swallow but surprisingly… it works! It certainly takes a listen or two to get used to but the production of Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou is good which perhaps helps to make it a more cohesive result than it might have otherwise been & it ends up playing like a challenging & interesting piece of art. Not everything works mind you but that’s the price you pay when taking on a hybrid of such differing extremes & the positives easily outweigh the negatives. 

Will grindcore fans enjoy this record? Well…. I don’t know about that. In fact, if I’m honest, I’m not sure that the cybergrind term is entirely well suited to Genghis Tron’s music. I mean it really does go against the very basic ethos of the grindcore movement. This is clinically put together. It’s very clean. And I’m not actually sure I hear a lot of hardcore about many of the riffs either. Sure there are a lot of light-speed blast beats on offer but those are just as common in technical death metal & I hear a fair bit of that particular subgenre here with some of the more technical sections being splendidly executed & showcasing the undoubted chops that guitarist Hamilton Jordon possesses. He really does fit himself very tightly inside these programmed drum beats & it makes for a highly focused assault at times. The mathcore reference is certainly relevant though as there’s an ADD-fueled chaos about most of these tracks with sudden tempo changes & hectic arrangements being the order of the day & a reasonable amount of dissonance & abrasion being employed as a part of Genghis Tron’s standard kit bag. There are elements here that aren’t too dissimilar to bands like Converge or The Dillinger Escape Plan. Not to mention the fact that front man Mookie Singerman screams his fucking head off in a similar way to your average metalcore vocalist. You shouldn’t expect any deep death metal style grunting like is commonly employed in a lot of grindcore these days as there are none to be found here. It’s a total scream-fest. 

The first half of “Dead Mountain Mouth” is where you’ll find the more blasting & hectic material & I don’t think it’s any surprise that I enjoy it significantly more than the back end of the album. In fact, the record does tend to taper off over the last four songs but thankfully the damage had already been done. The electronic component isn’t always to my taste but this is mainly due to my preferences in electronic music in general. Don’t let anyone tell you that Genghis Tron are influenced by “techno” because that’s just blatantly untrue. I was a techno DJ during the 2000’s & this material has nothing to do with the more repetitive, mechanical & spacey sound of techno. Instead, I often find Genghis Tron utilizing fast-paced electronica which is not a style I’ve ever had much time for so it’s not surprising that I struggle with some of the parts which see them jumping around & never settling into a groove for too long. There’s a little bit of quirkiness about these parts too which is not something I’m too comfortable with either but on the other side of the coin, the more restrained IDM influenced sections are some of the highlights of the record as I really enjoy the more chilled & downtempo beats that occasionally pop up.  

Overall, I find “Dead Mountain Mouth” to be a challenging & engaging piece of work that doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard before. It’s very ambitious but has been surprisingly successful in its quest to find a middle ground between some vastly differing influences. I think it should be praised from a purely artistic & creative point of view because, despite the obvious challenges Genghis Tron have taken on, they’ve managed to produce a highly professional & enjoyable result that will definitely surprise a few metal fans out there. The short 31 minute duration is probably a good thing too as it doesn’t allow enough time for the novelty to wear off. The question has to be asked though… is this style of music worthy of its own subgenre? Well yes, I think it probably is but not one that sits underneath the grindcore banner. It’s much more in line with the ideals & concepts employed within the industrial metal space in my opinion & I subsequently feel that it might be a better fit for The Sphere than The Horde. Still… don’t overthink it. The rewards will be plentiful for those that are will to be patient & keep an open mind. 

For fans of: Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Gigantic Brain, Bologna Violenta.