Genghis Tron

Genghis Tron forged a singularly brutal hybrid of extreme metal and electronic dance music during their formative 2000s period, later refining that ferocity into a more introspective yet still potent approach throughout the 2020s. Their recordings interweave jagged guitar riffs with synthesizers and beats in a manner that heightens the visceral force of the music rather than softening it. The band first built a following among open-minded metal listeners through the raw aggression of 2006’s Dead Mountain Mouth and 2008’s Board Up the House, while 2021’s Dream Weapon presented a seasoned evolution marked by greater subtlety and an expanded range of tones.

The trio came together in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 2004 while Hamilton Jordan, Michael Sochynsky, and Mookie Singerman were students at Vassar College. Jordan handled guitar, Sochynsky managed keyboards and programming, and Singerman contributed vocals along with keyboards; their shared reference points included the Dillinger Escape Plan, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Squarepusher. After completing a demo called Laser Bitch, they issued the five-track EP Cloak of Love on Crucial Blast Records in 2005. The release and their performances drew interest from Relapse Records, which signed the group and issued their debut full-length, Dead Mountain Mouth, in 2006—a tongue-in-cheek exercise in what they termed “Nintendocore.” They supported the album with extensive touring. Their follow-up, Board Up the House, arrived in 2008, earning praise from The New York Times and named “Album of the Year” by Rock Sound.

An intensive cycle of recording and road work prompted a hiatus beginning in 2010. While Jordan and Sochynsky focused on education, family life, and employment, the pair kept exchanging song ideas. In 2018, during a visit by Jordan to Sochynsky’s home in New York City, an unplanned writing session convinced them to pursue a third album. Singerman did not participate in the new material; instead, vocalist Tony Wolski and drummer Nick Yacyshyn joined the sessions, which combined live and programmed percussion with denser, more elaborate arrangements. Released by Relapse in March 2021, Dream Weapon was characterized by the band as “more meditative, hypnotic, and maybe psychedelic” than their prior work.