Customer Reviews

Cloak of Love

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard about this record through the proverbial grapevine. While driving two hours to see Converge, I asked my friend if he had this on his iPod (which was hooked up to the car stereo), since he has a lot of good indie/metal/hardcore stuff on his computer and iPod. He put it on, and for about the time taken to cover 20 miles of I-71, I experienced sonic euphoria. OK, enough hyperbole. With their juxtaposition of electronic music and brutal grindcore, Genghis Tron have created something that eclipses the chaos one expects from behemoths like the Dillinger Escape Plan, the Locust, Pig Destroyer. I read an interview with one bandmember where he pnpointed the vastly different tastes of each member: he likes metal (Botch, Burzum, Brutal Truth, Converge, Cryptopsy, Immortal), another was an electronica DJ (Autechre, Spahex Twin) while the third liked his indie rock (Drive Like Jehu etc.). It is hard to believe that people with such varied tastes could find something in common to come together and record music, but like in this case, when they do, the product is amazing. Go buy this EP, and wait for the full length (which, at the time of writing this review, the band have begun work on).

Sounds like a bit of a joke doesn't it? A bit of a gimmick. I wondor who's idea in the band it was to mix melodic electro/space-rock with extreme metal and melodic shredding but whoever it was I applaud them. Not only is this a hybrid of different styles, its also a hybrid of two different approaches to songwriting - making serious and melodic music and making fun, catchy and quirky music. Cloak Of Love really is a great little EP. Its only 12 minutes long, but those 12 minutes are so good you'll find yourself listening to it two or three times in a row. If you want something a little different that doesn't sound like its trying too hard to be different, I suggest picking it up.

Ghengis Tron lay down a serious groove that quickly changes from 80's style alternative to gut wrenching grindcore. There are bits of heavy metal and electronica and even something that sounds like thematic horror movie music. The only complaint that I could possibly think of is that the disc isn't nearly long enough.

man. this album blew my mind like nothing else. it's not my favorite band, not my favorite album, not even my favorite type of music. but it is about as much hammer-fun you can have with hardcore music. i stumbled on them from rwake's myspace page and had to get cloak of love immediately. i lived with it in my earphones for days...blasting my brains out like i'd never live again. it's like crack...or candy...it ends and you are desperate for more, or at least to repeat it.

they're nuts, and it's all over the place, and pretty crazy--but it makes at least some musical sense, change-ups and all. and all the parts are super catchy and fun. they go from the hardest-hitting heavy blast beats to the smoothest dance core synths you've ever heard, and it works. plus they incorporate good, old fashioned heavy riffs interspersed with crazy, jazzy techy guitar-wonderment.

subsequently, they've spawned a sub-genre basically on their own, and the follower bands SUCK. even genghis can't seem to emulate what what they have on this ep on any of their full lengths...so they do the natural thing and progress. but so far nothing's been as brain-blastingly fun as cloak of love...it's the best place to start. it'll get you by the brainstem...

As you've probably heard, Genghis Tron combine 80's pop with slightly technical grindcore -- tons of programming (some of it absolutely awesome), screams, and pop keyboards. To actually listen to it, though, is to seemingly listen to a remix of two completely different bands' songs that someone cut parts out of to make one song for this band. In other words, the pop going into the grindcore often feels awkward and forced, though I doubt that was Genghis Tron's intention; rather, I think -- as this is a debut -- they just hadn't completely found the balance between their influences until about the end of the album, when their promise really shines through.

They have a full length coming soon, and all rumors suggest that it will be about a hundred times better than this, but I still must reccomend this with saying there are no bad songs on it, and fans of music that is a bit more eccentric should probably pick this up right away.

With their extended techno wankery, Genghis Tron does show to be a bit more than your average spazzcore band, though that aspect seems to be their downfall. 'Cloak of Love's' major flaw is the irritating electronic breaks punctuating what is in all honesty some of the best electrogrind since 'Plauge Soundscapes'. Nixing the boring disco parts, the music is speedy and full of groove, actually paying attention to riff stylings and ingoring the cliched buzzsaw riffs that seem to be abundant in the better part of boring grindcore nowadays (see the wholly overrated Assuck). All of the songs are abound with cool vocal work, above average for the genre (Polysics anyone?). Nevertheless, without the pointless enlongated disco electro passages 'Cloak of Love' really could have been a winner, though I seriously look forward to their successive albums, hopefully putting the techno tomfoolery to a minimum.

6 / 10