Grenouer
"Lifelong Days"
(Locomotive Records)

Despite having a French name and being heavily influenced by the likes of Gojira, Grenouer are in fact Russian! However, they are thankfully less structurally less complex than their French counterparts, having incorporated a fair amount of lighter material to their mix of heavy industrial metal. This gives them a modern metal feel which despite their freneticity are also accessible and catchy. 'Lifelong Days' grew on me as I got more into the album and by the time I'd finished all 11 tracks I'd come to respect these guys, if not for their strange name choice, but for their creativity, song arrangements and musicianship especially on the aggro core 'Off the Back Of Others' to the emo industrial 'Employed Beggar' to the dark electro rock closer of 'Patience' - an apt title for those willing to do so for Grenouer's ample rewards.

-Shan Siva