Genghis Tron — Signal Fire

Twenty years and a million miles from their 2006 debut, Genghis Tron returns to Relapse with their fourth full-length, Signal Fire. Although the band has changed direction quite a bit from their earlier works, this latest continues the style debuted on 2021's Dream Weapon, and once again featuring Nick Yacyshyn on drums. Genghis Tron's shift to post-apocalyptic synthwave/industrial infused with streaks of chaotic metal provides an engaging template for Signal Fire's dystopian view of an amoral, warfare-filled future.

Signal Fire opens with "I Am All," a fairly grooving, moderately propulsive bit of light industrial, topped with catchy vocals and quickly tremolo'd guitars, offering nice contrast to the mechanics behind the rhythm. The song's relative softness breaks about four and a half minutes in, with a cacophony of guitar riffs and screams. This shift in urgency adds a strong finish to the opener and helps give an overview to Signal Fire itself. Moving between these two moods, the album allows itself to bring forth a lot of emotion, by juxtaposing softer synths with hard guitars, or sung vocal lines with screams. The title track, "Signal Fire," is a fired up piece that revels in nostalgia, feeling like something from '99-'02, but amped up with faster fills and screams. "Future Worship" is another synth-heavy track that captures a lot of the same feeling and tone from the opener, keeping the motif going. Heading into "Like Fotocrom," the album gets a quick respite with this soft and contemplative interlude, its drawn-out vocals stretching above the softer synth arpeggios below, leaving the listener unprepared for the opening screams of "Tomorrow Mirage." Quickly giving way to a louder spoken vocal reminiscent of some works by The Garden, the song moves forth to build into a rocking peak before dropping back into the relative quiet of soft synths and circular drums. A perfect end to the first half of Signal Fire, "Tomorrow Mirage" nicely complements "I Am All" as an underture, so to speak. "Nothing Blooms in the Hollow" is arguably the most straightforward track on Signal Fire, its modulated guitar tone coupling with the drums for a really interesting little rocker. Following the lead of "Like Fotocrom" in the first half, "Without Form" gives the next batch of songs a little breathing room, its cinematic ambience adding softness to help break up the action. After that breather, Genghis Tron blasts out some aggression with "Born Prey," a fast and fiery bit of metal interspersed with the softer moments Signal Fire has been effectively utilizing. "A Love So Pure" continues with this well-woven juxtaposition and keeps the motif going, utilizing many of the same sounds and textures as previous tracks. Closing out Signal Fire, "New Gods" refocuses back into the synthy, poppy industrial from the beginning of the album. Somewhere in the NIN/Filter nebula, the ending piece is very enjoyable and shows a good handle on their industrial leanings. A solid ten tracks, the material feels to overlap itself quite a bit, which is nice for songs to mix and mingle when listening, but gives each a sort of "samey samey" feel after a while.

Genghis Tron's fourth full-length, Signal Fire, is a fun, futuristic, and sometimes frantic mix of synthwave, industrial, and metal, that plays well with tension and tone. Fans of the band that haven't checked in since their inception will be surprised by their direction, but should be pleased since the group play everything deftly and with aplomb. Signal Fire is very enjoyable and a great summer release for both the band and Relapse Records.