When Grengus, the fourth full-length album of Horn of the Rhino was first pitched to me, it was pointed out that the band members themselves cite, among others, Bolt Thrower as one of their major influences. Since Bolt Thrower happens to be my all-time favourite band, I was immediately intrigued.
The band does indeed offer a lot of heavy, down-paced riffs and drums, albeit not with the same heavy sound produced by their influences. Not to mention that the vocals are delivered in a tortured pitch, instead of growls. Putting this disappointment aside, however, it is still clear that Horn of the Rhino is not without merit.

Unlike a lot of Sludge and Doom Metal bands out there, these guys strive to incorporate heavy Metal rhythms and vocal styles into their own unique sound. And while they were arguably successful, the resulting songs are all vastly different, albeit obviously played by the same band – almost like an entire album made of cover songs.
The songs are very interesting and versatile, some are slow and borderline melancholic, others are slightly more upbeat and more aggressive; this, in turn gives the band the opportunity to reach out to fans outside of the traditional Sludge/Doom scene. Sadly, it is a double-edged sword, seeing as how the resulting music has little in common with Sludge and Doom, which might alienate some of the more hardcore fans.

Overall the album is interesting, although nothing special. I have never heard anything quite like this before, and sadly, it didn't really do anything for me: I heard it five times and didn't really respond to any of the songs of Grengus. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience and I do not regret having listened to it. http://www.myspace.com/rhinomotherfuckers


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