As one of the people on campus who wear the anonymously deemed “silly Genghis Tron hoodies” (Oberlin Confessional post), I had been the recipient of generally everyone’s personal outlook on their Friday, March 7th show here at the ‘Sco. Some students speculated that an electronic, experimental, metal band would be hard-pressed to put on a genuinely musical live show. Some were curious about the buzz surrounding this band on campus; probably as a result of last year’s performance, described by the band members themselves to be the second craziest show they have ever played. Some were intrigued by GT but were primarily interested in seeing Oberlin’s own metal band, Goatsucker perform. Costing only four bucks and sporting a fairly diverse lineup, the show was more than worth checking out for anyone who had ever wondered what the hell Genghis Tron was.
Boston-based rock band, Clouds, kicked off the show with a lackluster performance of a type of music difficult to put one’s finger on. Garage rock sensibilities were overwrought with a pop punk stage presence and, dare I say, “emo” backwash. The crowd was hesitant to react in any way to the music, until urged closer to the stage by both the band and the group of loyal headbangers from the Metal Exco. By the end of their set, the ‘Sco was filling up and excitement for Goatsucker was weighing heavy in the air. Senior Ian Page (vocals) cut a striking image, as breakdown after solid, brutal breakdown fueled the ever-growing mosh pit. With newly recorded material under their belt, Goatsucker sounded confident and severe, priming the audience for the highly anticipated headliner.
“Where’s your drummer?” screamed a belligerent fan, garnering sidelong glances from the three-piece band now based in
And then there came a familiar metronomic clicking, followed by the metallically synthesized three-note riff announcing the title track off of the new album. The crowd braced themselves as multicolored, vertical, flashing lights pulsated along with the music. The introduction slammed straight into heavy, technical grindcore with Singerman’s crisp screams detailing the horror story of two people trapped in a house – a fear of Singerman’s and running theme throughout the new album. The energy was undeniably intense, students mercilessly pushing and thrashing along with the relentless drive of the music. However, during the industrial, IDM, and dance-inspired interludes, the audience regrouped and followed the grooves set up by Sochynsky. A highlight of the concert came with a few moments of lyricism, in which I could see devoted fans singing together with their eyes fixed on Singerman, “Things don’t look good” before submerging themselves once again into the sonic mayhem.
As GT closed with a kick-ass performance of track off of the 2006 release, Dead Mountain Mouth, entitled “Asleep on the Forest Floor,” I looked through the bright, blinking lights and saw an assembly of people with usually variant taste in music. However, they were all immersed in this continuously escalating blend of metal and electronic music. The show ended strongly, with all of the skeptics nodding their heads at me as if to affirm Genghis Tron’s legitimacy. I have yet to run into anyone who did not have the wind knocked out of them by the sheer force and finesse of this performance…unless you count Sochynsky who grumbled that the show was “really loud. Maybe too loud.”
I'm not complaining.
Genghis Tron - "Arms" mp3
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