Genghis Tron @ Club Europa 06.16.07

by Peter Aleksa / photo courtesy of Jason Bergman

Saturday I had the privilege of seeing three-piece electro-grind ambientcore group Genghis Tron at Club Europa in Greenpoint.

Carbomb opened, and while they had what seemed a pretty dedicated cadre of fans present, their set came off, to me at least, as pretty unimpressive. There were a few moments of ambience and some tight drumbeats that caught my attention for a few seconds at a time, but mostly it was straight-up thrash metal. My compadre, Erik, fell asleep against the wall (or had a seizure from their light show, I forget which it was).

Genghis Tron hit the stage next. I had never seen the group live before and was interested to see how they pulled off such complex numbers live with only three members. I have to say they pull it off really fucking well, with a tight live sound and great stage presence, all backed by their impeccable drummer Fruity Loops Studio. On the set list were all our (my) favorites from the first two albums, including "The Folding Road", "Asleep On the Forest Floor", "Arms", and "Laser Bitch", as well as three new songs off the upcoming album. The new joints (hot joints? bitching jams?) were extremely satisfying and despite Mookie's rather formulaic explanation of the song structure ("i'm gonna scream a little, there'll be a guitar riff, some ambience, we'll both play keys for a little, then we're gonna bring it all home") they alleviated any fears I may have had that the band might settle into their sound and become dull. They closed with a song off the upcoming album, which I always view as a risky move. However, for a song largely unknown by the audience the energy remained high. It turned out to be the perfect closer and possibly my favorite performance of the evening.

All in all it was definitely worth the $10 cover and I left slightly in awe of the trio's presence and seriously fucking pumped for their next album.

Since the Tron played second, I bounced out early and so can't really tell you anything about Total Fucking Destruction or Pig Destroyer's sets but it probably sounded alot like this: "CHUGG-CHUGG-GRAWR-MOTHRFUCKING-GRAAAAWWWR-METTTAAALLLLL". So, whatever.

The Fall of Troy

by Pete Aleksa

Hailing from Mukilteo, Washington, The Fall of Troy are a three-piece progressive-hardcore band that sound like the amphetamine-addicted bastard child of a ménage à trois between The Blood Brothers, The Mars Volta and King Crimson.
The trio of Thomas Erak on lead vocals and guitar, Tim Ward on bass and vocals, and Andrew Forsman on drums, had already released an EP, Ghostship Demos, and their full-length debut, the self-titled Fall of Troy (released when the band’s members were only 17) when they signed with the Equal Vision label last year.
The band recently released its second full-length record, Doppelganger, a genre-defying mix of screamo, math-metal, post-hardcore, pop, jazz, experimental rock, and most everything else. In the face of this seemingly chaotic blend of styles the band is able to maintain a delicate balance throughout the album. The resulting record is a collection of brutal breakdowns, melodic hooks, free-jazz spaceouts, and lo-fi ambiance that manages to flow effortlessly despite the wildly complex arrangement of the material; Erak’s frantic vocals and elaborate fretwork adorning Ward and Forsman’s complex rhythms as the songs shift at ADHD speed.
Following the unspoken rule of the semi-pretentious post-hardcore scene that mandates song titles that are bizarre amalgamations of pop-culture laden wit, Doppelganger features songs with titles such as, “We Better Learn to Hotwire A Uterus,” “Macaulay McCulkin,” “Laces Out, Dan!” and “Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man’s Bones,” demonstrating the band has style as well as substance.
Fresh off a recent stint on the Dudestorm Tour opening for label mates Bear vs. Shark and Fear Before the March of Flames, The Fall of Troy have made waves with their energetic live show, a delightful blend of wild onstage freakouts and improvisational jamming. The Fall of Troy are set to hit the road with the likes of The Jonbenet and The Number 12 Looks Like You in the coming months.