Rintrah, a mythical cross between a green ox and a human, has appeared in the poetry of William Blake as well as “Dr. Strange” comics, but now the beast rears its powerful head in Murfreesboro in the form of a four-piece hard rock outfit.

The band pays homage to power-groove bands such as Deftones, Clutch and Helmet, and while Tool comparisons abound for any rock music that’s too slow to be metal but too thunderously powerful for pop radio play, there’s a dose of that in the Rintrah mix also.

The vocals aren’t Maynard-like, but Rintrah actually evokes Mr. Keenan’s other project at times, as some of the instrumental passages remind me of A Perfect Circle, and that’s not a bad thing at all. The tones sound great. These instrumental jams, such as in the midst of “Kallisti,” boast powerful lows with guitar solos above, in a manner I wouldn’t call delicate, but precise and spacey.

I don’t really mind the vocal effects–it sounds like vocalist is singing through a distorted bullhorn at times–but it would be nice to hear someone’s natural voice stand up to the music. In actuality, the vocal effects may mask some pitchyness and droneyness in the vocals, so their use may be the correct call to keep things interesting.

In general, the music is intense and thunderous, but it’s not at all a constant barrage. There are plenty of spacy valleys, tom rolls and dynamic contrasts to balance the thunder, and great tones from the bass guitar and all around.

The compositions are all pretty long and moreso based on a single theme and variations than having a variety of sections within each song. However, they evolve and move well, and while they may not be revolutionary, they don’t get boring, to me at least. If you want to see some heavier music thrive in the ’Boro, check out Rintrah.

The band plays Aug. 25 at Blue Rooster.