Genghis Tron : Signal Fire
Genghis Tron epitomizes change as an essential component of the creative process. The metallic elements of their past only haunt the neon-lit shadows of Signal Fire. The fourth album of their 20-year career—with a decade-long break in the middle of it—still contains enough of the caustic elements to connect them to their first album, Dead Mountain Mouth. They continue to blend hints of metalcore sounds with electronics, though the overall evolution finds them now closer to the hybrid approach of HEALTH, though a bit less industrial in their intentions. The balance of atmosphere and edge is more enthralling here, which they bolster with subtle hooks. Where their last album, 2021’s Dream Weapon, stepped away from harsher vocals, they’re reintroduced here courtesy of new addition Tony Wolski, also of The Armed, though only with a passing dynamic vocal color.
While post-industrial synth sounds comprise a large part of the album’s sound, Genghis Tron aren’t exclusively committed to them, echoing ’90s alternative rock a la Smashing Pumpkins on highlights like the title track. The song locks into a grungy groove here, fleshed out with drums from Nick Yacyshyn from Sumac, while Kenny Szymanski from the Armed steps in to handle bass duties. On the initial groove of “Future Worship,” these organic instruments don’t have as strong a presence in the mix, emulating the kinds of effects and plug-ins a synthwave band might wield, until the guitar kicks in midway through the song, bringing back a rock intensity.
“Like Fotochrom” offers a lush melodic atmosphere that drifts the listener out into the dusk, with a tension that builds but never releases. It feels almost like the intro to “Tomorrow Mirage,” a song that provides the needed shift in vocal color with screaming trading off with clean, lower-sung vocals, but not in a predictable MySpace metal manner. The album’s most impressive drumming flows beneath to maintain the momentum. The band’s wandering exploration of sounds could reasonably be called prog rock without having to bend that definition much, as on a song like “Nothing Blooms in the Hollow,” which launches into an almost Dillinger Escape Plan-like chaos before finding its groove.
“Born Prey” Finds the band reaching a balance of hardcore snarling with the dreamy throb of the other sounds assembled here, reaching an even more effective sonic balance. “A Love So Pure” finds their screamo past coming face to face with their progressive present. “New Gods” closes the album with a more electronic ambiance, guiding the hypnotic electronic pulse that serves as a summary of what they have been doing throughout the album, and likewise the most Nine Inch Nails-leaning moment so far. Which demonstrates one of Genghis Tron’s strengths on Signal Fire—their ability to take familiar sounds and rework them into their own unique sound, putting them at the forefront of modern bands riding the line between metal and prog.
Label: Relapse
Year: 2026
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