Oh hell, what the fuck did hit me? A bullet? No, this hurts much more... A drop press? About a 1000 times, yeah! No, actually it was Russian tech metal band Grenouer.

I've read that Grenouer used to play death metal. 'Try' is definitely something else. Tech metal? Well, it's precise as a machine even though with some weird than rock 1-2-3-4 tempos, heavy as a drop press, disharmonic and filled with machinery noises. There's no melodies here, but heavy ramming all the way through. Well, almost, as there's some breather parts on hellishly catchy 'Wanting to Be Alone'. But just like Fear Factory on their best album 'Demanufacture' (1995), Grenouer have released a bunch of catchy extreme metal. 'Open up Entrails' harks towards Meshuggah and generally every now and then I get similar sensations as from listening to Morgoth's 'Odium' (1993). Fuck the "nu", this crushes that shite with one bloody stroke! Still, the biggest influence could have well been Sadist's 1997 album, 'Crust'

Sound is absolutely heavy, and also clean. Bass is billowing in the low frequencies. Disharmonic guitar gives a good contrast over the bass. Vocals are pretty varying, with all kinds of growls, clean ones and "computerized" voice. Drums sound very machinery, but it fits well with the overall atmosphere.

It is not a tough task to pick up some clear influences in Grenouer's tech metal, but they have managed to create extremity that sounds pretty unique after all. One thing Grenouer should work on is the variety, which isn't very extensive on 'Try'. But a good EP anyway.

Rating: 6½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/21/2006 18:33