Metal Underground.com

Hailing from Mother Russia, Grenouer brings the fury on "Lifelong Days," an album that will pummel most listeners into submission from the first few notes. It's the rare album that actually made me wonder if there's such a thing as "too heavy" in heavy metal.

"Indecent Loyalty" starts with a bit of an industrial groove before Motor's guitars come thundering in. Call me a heretic, but the guitar sound is a little reminiscent of nu-metal in its dedication to sheer heaviness rather than technical flourish. Ind's vocals go between a throat-tearing growl and electronica-tinged clean vocals. The choruses offer a nice chance to catch your breath before the beatings begin again.

Motor shows off his guitar skills on the beginning of "Addicted To You" with a frantic high intro that reminds me of Maiden mixed with Pantera. It's a good track that gives the drummer, Grave, a chance to show off a bit.

On one hand, it's tempting to praise the band for pushing the limits of heaviness on tracks like "With No Concern," which is one of the most brutal things I've ever heard. Guitars, drums and vocals are set to kill on this one, racing through the verses with incredible speed and ferocity. The problem is that it descends into cacophony, with the listener unable to completely make sense of it — and a clean, slower chorus doesn't go a long way toward making things more comprehensible. The same is true of parts of "Finding The One" and, to a lesser extent, "Re-Active."

On the other hand, the band often manages to find the point of maximum-listenable-heaviness quite well on tracks like "Employed Begger" and "The Unexpected." And then there's the beautiful, slow, electronica-laced "Patience," which closes the album on a delightfully unexpected note.

Grenouer's "Lifelong Days" is a mostly brutal album that marries industrial sounds and electronic flourishes to sheer guitar-fueled anger. Sure, more attention to melody in some parts would be nice, but when you crank this one up to bother your annoying upstairs neighbor, you might be thankful it isn't there.