RUSSIAN CIRCLES

On Empros Russian Circles take their brand of post-rock in a notably heavier and more apocalyptic direction. I'd say it sticks to the post-rock side of the post-rock/post-metal boundary, but on the other hand there's enough sludgey influences from the likes of Neurosis or Pelican that post-metal fans will find the album worth their attention too. Looming, foreboding, and with a sound so rich it's hard to believe it's just three guys making it, Empros is a timely reminder that despite its brief period of fashionableness having faded by now, there's still a space out there for Godspeed You Black Emperor!-esque apocalyptic post-rock, and Russian Circles are some of the best purveyors of it around.

Adding A Heart To A Deserving Machine

Russian Circles have always been a band with a more human approach to Math-Rock. Their musicianship never sounds stale or compromised while being apart of a very mechanic genre. Empros triumphs with glorious dynamics and apocalyptic soundscapes. Be prepared to be crushed and preserved with this release.

Empros embodies a musical direction that has been thriving more and more after each previous Russian Circles album. The guitars are devastatingly heavy, the bass will shatter your sense of calm, and the drums are smooth yet unrelenting. This batch of metal soaked math-rock never feels disjointed or unsatisfactory. The songs are a balance between darkness and light, and therefor immerse you into a cryptically gorgeous album. Enter the bastion of Empros and leave with nothing but a well-deserved rush.

309: The album's opener provides the perfect introduction into the band's perfected direction. The song erupts into an incredibly dark jam, it continues to reappear throughout the song after each of the more personable section. For a while the guitar provides an unfathomably thick backdrop, while the bass and drums pass off leading with hi-hat grooves and upfront bass lines or the familiar crushing passages. After the madness shortly dies off the bass leads the song into an awesome finale.

Mladek: Seeing a more melodic side of Empros, Mladek begins with a clean, catchy guitar riff and Dave Turncrantz blessing the guitars' furrow with a fantastic wave of chops that are both flashy and rock solid. The guitarist, Mike Sullivan, switches back and forth from clean to a distorted tone as the song progresses. The song finishes with a revision of the initial theme, fantastic and strong.

Schipol: The sullen tune that really gives Empros a human touch, Schipol is a beautiful voyage that escorts you to a equally beautiful cataclysm. Dominated with a acoustic guitar surrounded with a conflicted electric guitar, sparse drumming, and soft bass to provide the serene tune with additional depth. Russian Circles provide an anticipated performance that is heartfelt and completely violent. A highlight of their career.

Atackla: With a similar embrace as Schipol, Atackla doesn't really catch my attention as much as the previous song. Though it catches air for takeoff much quicker than Schipol. The drum ushers in a darker tone and the guitars really are breathtaking. The atmosphere is perfectly constructed and built upon well.

Batu and Praise Be Man: Batu emerges like a proud phoenix. The band leaves ashes in it's trail. It really amazes me how well Russian Circles mixes metal, post-rock and mathy tendencies. The song paints a pictures of a honorable death. The feeling of weakening and a dissolving power becomes tangible every time i hear this song. It's unbelievable. The ash left leaves the listener with an airy reminder of the destruction. Thought the ending may seem too long, the idea is flawless. Effortlessly, Praise Be Man begins the end of Empros. Drone effects are heard at the beginning and end, along with another acoustic guitar passage. The vocals from the bassist, Brian Cook, fit perfectly and are quite good.

Empros is an impressive album just because of the story the music tells, something that is very rare with a instrumental band.

The metal-tinged post-rock trio Russian Circles presents another compelling collection of compositions on Station, which takes their music into somewhat bleaker territory than their debut album Enter; there's a bit more of an emphasis on harsh, minimalistic soundscapes this time around, which serves to add intriguing textures to the band's compositions.

I also think that on the whole they drift away from the metal side of the post-rock/post-metal divide they so ably straddled on the debut; it's still there, but they don't visit that territory quite so frequently this time around. This is in stark contrast to Cult of Luna, another band who had made a virtue of working in the borderline between the two sister subgenres, who at around the same time were taking a more distinctly metal direction. Either way, Russian Circles remain an interesting prospect.

Released at around the same time as Cult of Luna's Somewhere Along the Highway muddied the line between post-rock and post-metal from the post-metal side of the fence, Russian Circle's debut album sees them doing much the same thing from the post-rock side, with the band incorporating riffs of a crushing heaviness adopted by few post-rock bands (as opposed to post-metal bands) since Mogwai dropped My Father My King on an unsuspecting public. Russian Circles might fall into the same old quiet/loud formula of most post-rock and post- metal, but they prove themselves adept at the quiet and willing to go louder than many of their peers when the composition calls for it.

After three albums that featured distinct grayish looking album covers it was quite a change of pace to look at the warm and fuzzy artwork of Empros. Still, the big question is whether the colorful album cover could be an indication of the changes that the band has undergone since their 2009 release Geneva. Let's jump right in and find out!

I was actually already familiar with the two opening tracks since Russian Circles have performed 309 and Mladek throughout their 2011 European summer tour. 309 made quite an impression on me in a live setting seeing that it clearly showed a continuation of the themes that were featured on Station with it's crushing guitar soundscapes and the tight interplay between the drum and bass. It's really great to hear that these tracks sound almost as great on Empros as they did live but the biggest surprises are still ahead.

Schipol was clearly this album's highlight for me since Russian Circles fill this 6 minute slot with some of the most gorgeous melodic and atmospheric music yet. The first half of the track is a buildup that finally bursts into a passionate take of the previous themes but with more energy added into the mix. Even though Atackla seems to have become somewhat of a concert staple in the band's supporting tour for Empros, it doesn't grab me as much as Schipol. Still, I admire the band's ambition of creating gorgeous post-rock compositions.

Things turn slightly for the worse with Batu. This is a great track that unfortunately stops 6 minutes into it's 10 minutes running time and the remaining 4 minutes are filled with a prolonged drone effect leading into Praise Be Man. I kind of understand that the band wanted to create a buildup for the album's final track, since it's quite a different composition compared to what we've come to expect for Russian Circles so far, but filling a 44 minute album with 4 minutes of atmospheric gibberish is just not something I can support. Luckily Praise Be Man is clearly a track worth waiting for since it features first vocal performance on a Russian Circles album. Even though Brian Cook's vocal performance is a bit muddled within all the sound layers, it does have an engaging effect that becomes even more powerful once the bass comes in with a loud distortion tone right at the end of the track. Could this possibly be a sign of the things to come?

Empros is another excellent album from Russian Circles which shows growth and progression while still giving us, the fans, exactly what we all came here for. The album might not be as heavy as Enter, nor as conceptual as Station but that doesn't mean that it can't hold it's own. On contrary, Empros gives me a feeling that the trio knows exactly what they're doing and the next logical step in the evolution of their sound is going to be an interesting one!

***** star songs: 309 (8:49) Schipol (6:16)

**** star songs: Mladek (7:40) Atackla (7:27) Praise Be Man (4:27)

*** star songs: Batu (10:06)

After two quite impressive releases that showed clear growth from Russian Circles, the band decided to take a slightly different route with their third album. This decision has been met with mix reactions from both the fans and critics due to the album's lack of any real progression compared to the one acknowledged on Station.

Just like the previous release, Geneva continues the band's stray from the metal oriented approach of Enter, with the clear exception of the album's title track, while moving toward the atmospheric post-rock sound. I never considered this in itself to be the reason behind the album's failing. Instead it's the lack of progression mixed with too many directionless mellow parts that keep Geneva from being another excellent album from Russian Circles.

The album's opening track Fathom clearly sets up the mood while not actually being as effective as Station's Campaign, but that's just nitpicking on my part. The title track reminds me a lot of second album's highlight Youngblood while still making enough impact of it's own. Unfortunately this is pretty much where this album sinks into the realm of mellow and atmospheric music. Meele is chill-out moment but instead of functioning as a temporary breezed, the album continues in this same mellow direction with Hexed All, slightly more energetic and very indie rock sounding Malko and continuing the same low-key style throughout the remaining 18 minutes of the album.

The overall result is really not in any means a bad one but Geneva definitely lacks the energy and ambition of the previous releases. The addition of a few orchestrated sections don't really add the needed momentum to the material and instead only make it sound more like lounge music that loses it's post-rock roots. From what I've heard, this album actually brought in many new fans into the realm of Russian Circles but let's hope that the 2011 release Empros will spark a new flare within the band!

***** star songs: Geneva (5:49)

**** star songs: Fathom (4:55) Melee (7:39) Malko (4:43) Philos (10:26)

*** star songs: Hexed All (4:29) When The Mountain Comes To Muhammad (8:00)

Though I like this sub-genre of prog, it is one which tests me within the ratings system: I find it difficult to award straight-up instrumental Post Rock/Math Rock five stars or "masterpiece" status. The only times I've found myself doing so are when the artist and/or particular album offers something really new or different within the subgenre--e.g. the vocals of SIGUR ROS's Agaetis Byrjun, ULVER's Shadows of the Sun, and AUTUMN CHORUS's The Village to the Vale, or the synths and melodies of GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT's All Is Violent, All Is Bright. I've been close to offering five stars to favorites by COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE, DATURAH, RED SPAROWES, CASPIAN and GIFTS FORM ENOLA, but the 'monotony' of the genre's structures and sound base has kept me from doing so--despite the continued presence of songs and albums by these groups on my regular playlists. The same goes for my reaction to RUSSIAN CIRCLES: creative bass playing and guitar looping effects, great sound and energy, but, alas! they sound like--dare I say it--every other Post Rock/Math Rock band. Five star songs are "Carpe," "Enter," "You Already Did."

Russian Circles are a Post Rock band from the important Post Rock city of Chicago, but their music contains elements of Math Rock and Post Metal as well. This is the only album I have heard from them so far so I can't compare other albums, but on their debut Enter they are mostly in Post Rock territory. Being a trio of guitar / bass / drums they have a fuller sound due to guitarist Mike Sullivan's use of looping and other effects. Sometimes he can sound like three guitarists playing at once. The drummer is very good and the bass sometimes sounds like a guitar, not just playing 'bass' parts.

The album opens with the faded in arpeggios of "Carpe," a song you can listen to here on PA. After a little bit of heaviness the song goes into a section with African-styled snare-rim oriented drumming that some Math bands like to use. This section is fairly calm and melodic. Slowly it turns into a louder and faster section with some disco style hi-hat accents in the drumming. Later on some melodic bass playing as the mood is atmospheric before getting louder and more typical Post Rock sounding. "Micah" starts out very Mogwai sounding with the arpeggios and the drumming. Later on some tom-tom centred drumming and more melodic arpeggios. Again it gets more Mogwai sounding when it gets loud and heavy. Some fast hi-hat and bass playing before more guitar arpeggios show up.

"Death Rides A Horse" stands out from the other songs by its sheer intensity and heaviness. This song is much closer to metal and math rock. Everytime I hear the beginning of this song I am reminded of Iron Maiden. Metalheads would love a song such as this. Love the scratching of the guitar strings, it just adds to the overall effect of the song. Around 1 1/2 minutes goes into a bouncy New Wave style beat while rhythmic bass and math-y guitars work around it. After 3 minutes goes into a straight metal riff including some guitar runs. I like the drumbeat near the end; actually there is nothing but drums for awhile before the track ends on a loud, distorted note.

After the intense "Death..." we get the more subdued title track. The beginning of this track reminds me of Explosions In The Sky. Turns more rhythmic with great drumming later. Around 5 minutes builds up to a great part with a very muscular and aggressive bass sound. Some lovely Mellotron flute ends the song. That was a surprise the first time I heard this album. Pounding tom-toms segues the title track into "You Already Did." This song is more in the Mogwai/EITS vein but the drumming is a little more complex than either band.

Album closer "New Macabre" has maybe the most interesting drumming on the album. It varies a lot. The guitar and bass interplay (and drumming too in fact) sounds a lot like Tool towards the end. A very good album and recommended to fans of instrumental rock music. This will get a 3.5 from me but I'll round it up to 4 stars.

There's always something I look for in an instrumental artist, and that is whether they can keep your interest throughout the length of the album. Many are capable of doing it, some aren't, but even fewer are capable of exceeding your expectations. Russian Circles' début album, Enter is firmly placed in the latter category.

While one could lump 'Enter' with a whole range of contemporaries from Isis to Pelican, Don Caballero and Battles. It's best just to let the music speak for itself. 'Enter' mixes the textural density and voluminous aspects of post-metal, with the tricky and deceptive elements of math rock. The combination is often stunning. 'Carpe' is often underscored by pin-point accurate drumming, oscillating around looped guitars and thundering bass lines. Liberal amounts of distortion and layering will often have you grasping for air at their intensity; this is especially impressive when you consider this is only a three-piece band. Likewise, 'Death Rides a Horse' showcases that the band not only has the ability to mash complex compositions with more powerful and emotional passages. There's little chance of boredom, if you pay attention. 'Enter' rewards those who dig a little beneath the surface. Playing off a Pelican-like chromatic vibe, Russian Circles are not afraid to open up the compositions with extended pieces of ambient that threaten to fall into expansive movements of free-form psychedelia. The more technical math rock elements aren't particularly brash, as one might expect from an artist like Don Caballero, but are often understated; elegant in simplicity. Contrasting the lighter aspects of the music to the heavier, sometimes crushing distortion, while not a new concept, is forever underscored by the album's ability to explode and morph at any moment.

There's plenty here to give a determined listener a foothold into the expansive music of Russian Circles. I was not completely blown away by this record. It's altogether somewhat mechanical. There's no doubt that Russian Circles have talent, and at times their music is exceptional, but I can feel that they still have more to give. Perhaps I'm being a little harsh, but once you've heard 'Enter', it's not difficult to see that Russian Circles have made the bar plenty high for themselves.

It's been more than a year since the last Russian Circles review here on PA and that review was penned by yours truly! This is quite surprising considering all the praise that was spilled over this Chicago based trio's debut album Enter, only a few years back. Since then, the band has shifted gears and moved away from the metal style that was so prominent on their 2006 masterpiece. This was at least what I've read in the reviews for both Station and Geneva both here on PA and many other websites. This tiny bit of misinformation was actually the sole reason why I didn't give these albums my attention until now. So why do it after all this time? The answer to this is simple --- I finally got a chance to attend a Russian Circles live show!

You see, back in 2009 the band was planning to play a gig here in Stockholm, Sweden but this gig just wasn't meant to be. Luckily, I've still had my passion for Enter burning in me as I purchased the tickets for their July, 2011 show and it's pretty clear that I was not disappointed! The band began their performance with a completely mesmerizing take of Harper Lewis, or at least this was the name of the track once I asked a few other audience members about it. This composition was easily the highlight of the entire show since it completely knocked me off my feet and even made my eyes wet from Dave Turncrantz's and Brian Cook's drum and bass intro which then followed by the joyous tones of Mike Sullivan's guitar. Russian Circles followed this tour de force with great live renditions of Station and Youngblood, all of which just happened to be featured on the band's sophomore release and so it was pretty much a none-brained for me to purchase the album right there and then!

Station is a very fluent album, helped by the smooth transitions between the tracks and the great softer moments like Campaign and especially Verses. I've been pretty much playing this album non-stop since the gig and it has already surpassed the high level quality of their debut Enter! This material has received some unjust criticism so far and I hope that the fact that Russian Circles still base most of their live repertoire on this particular release speaks more for Station than I ever could!

***** star songs: Harper Lewis (7:15) Youngblood (7:34)

**** star songs: Campaign (6:40) Station (8:43) Verses (8:42) Xavii (4:29)