RUSSIAN CIRCLES
RUSSIAN CIRCLES Usa

Across the span of their previous seven studio albums, Chicago-based instrumental trio Russian Circles traversed a diverse topography of sounds, moods, and approaches with their limited armory of drums, bass, and guitar. It’s difficult to chart an evolution in their sound when their records have always felt like well-curated playlists. It wasn’t uncommon to hear drone-heavy meditations, dazzling prog exercises, knuckle-dragging riff-fests, haunting folk ballads, and tension-baiting noise rock all within the span of one album. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the progression from the pensive and intricate melodies of Enter (2006) to the layered distorted dirges of Blood Year (2019). It’s been a gradual sonic shift owing to the band’s rigorous tour schedule and a predilection towards playing their more authoritative material on stage. But with their latest album, Gnosis, Russian Circleseschew the varied terrain of their past work and bulldoze a path through the most tumultuous and harrowing territory of their sound. 

As was the case for so many artists in the age of COVID, the obstacles of geography and isolation forced Russian Circles to reevaluate their writing process. Rather than crafting songs out of fragmented ideas in the practice room, full songs were written and recorded independently before being shared with other members, so that their initial vision was retained. While these demos spanned the full breadth of the band’s varied styles, the more cinematic compositions were ultimately excised in favor of the physically cathartic pieces.  

Gnosis was engineered and mixed by Kurt Ballou. Drums and bass were tracked at Electrical Audio in Chicago to maximize the natural room sounds of the rhythm section. Guitar and synth overdubs were conducted at God City in Salem, MA to take advantage of Ballou’s vast inventory of amps and effects pedals. Despite the entirety of the album being written remotely, the songs were recorded with the full band playing together to retain the live feel of the material. Owing to the climate of the times and a new writing method, Russian Circles created their most fuming and focused work to date—an album that favors the exorcism of two years’ worth of tension over the melancholy and restraint that often colored their past endeavors. 



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TOURDATES
28-07-2023
P8
Karlsruhe
Germany
w/ Crouch
29-07-2023
Rock Im Wald
Neuensee in Oberfranken
Germany
 
31-07-2023
Durer Kert
Budapest
Hungary
w/ Crouch
01-08-2023
MetalDays festival
Tolmin
Slovenia
 
02-08-2023
Magnolia
Milan
Italy
w/ Crouch
03-08-2023
Poolbar festival
Feldkirch
Austria
w/ Crouch
05-08-2023
Krach Am Bach festival
Beelen
Germany
 
06-08-2023
013
Tilburg
Netherlands
w/ Crouch
07-08-2023
Knust
Hamburg
Germany
w/ Crouch
08-08-2023
Beatpol
Dresden
Germany
w/ Crouch
09-08-2023
Brutal Assault festival
Jaromer
Czech Republic
 
11-08-2023
Crock-Alt festival
Le Locle
France
 
13-08-2023
Alcatraz festival
Kortrijk
Belgium
 
14-08-2023
Heaven
London
United Kingdom
w/ Wiegedood
15-08-2023
University
Newcastle
United Kingdom
w/ Wiegedood
16-08-2023
Band On The Wall
Manchester
United Kingdom
w/ Wiegedood
17-08-2023
Arctangent festival
Bristol
United Kingdom
w/ Wiegedood
19-08-2023
Motocultor festival
Carhaix-Plouguer
France