Genghis Tron occupies a very precarious place in the world of music. Unlike most "polarizing" bands like The Locust or Blut Aus Nord, Genghis Tron does not have a "demographic" to appeal to. And let me explain.
Genghis Tron is a three-piece synth-riding experimental metal band. Or, on the other hand, you could just as easily call them a blast-beat loving electronic/noise band, though their songwriting conventions probably have them fall closer to Pig Destroyer than to Battles. They're trying to bring two disparate places in music together, both of which are somewhat inaccessible. And while they're definitely not mutually exclusive, most people who own a myriad of Relapse releases aren't the same people who are ordering from Warp. I say "most," because there are definitely some - but that's a tough audience to target.
And Genghis Tron aren't really doing themselves any favors with Board Up the House. While Dead Mountain Mouth had enough crazy metal parts with Agoraphobic Nosebleed-esque drum parts to sate most metal heads, their newest release is almost un-metallic. Almost. They post their fair share of 300bpm parts in their songs, they are interspersed with a lot of synth-lines and ambient noise, which for someone looking for the visceral assault of their previous releases is going to have them disappointed - and I think that's a lot of the problem with the reception of this record. People are willing to accept maturation of bands into more cohesive units; they don't want carbon copies of the old stuff merely spliced with new "annoying" parts.
And then there are those who might be turned on by the processed synth aspects of the records, but I think the violent, strained screams and technical metal aspects more easily dissuade them.
However - I think this album is great. I clearly cannot prognosticate the quality of the releases throughout the rest of the year, but I could definitely see Board Up the House being in my top ten of the year, or at the very least, my favorite experimental release.
