Genghis Tron, with Converge, the Red Chord and Coliseum

In addition to having possibly the coolest moniker ever conceived, Genghis Tron is blessed with a genuinely idiosyncratic electro-metal sound. Fusing the synth-driven sensibilities of electro with metal's brutal crunch has led most acts toward the late, largely unlamented genre of industrial, but that's not the case here. Starting with a foundation of the prog- and ­hardcore-inflected thrash of bands such as Mastodon, Genghis Tron injects electronic beats, textures and effects to craft a powerful, intense sound that never devolves into the cheesefest histrionics that plague most industrial acts (Nine Inch Nails, I'm looking at you). With so much technology easily available to musicians, it was just a matter of time before someone managed to effectively integrate the otherworldly sounds and mechanistic thrust of electronic music with the primal power of thrash. Now that Genghis Tron has paved the way, prepare for the future onslaught of robo-thrash.