Russian Circles - Blood Year (Album Review)

Release date: August 2nd 2019. Label: Sargent House. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Blood Year – Tracklisting

1.Hunter Moon 02:20

2.Arluck 06:33

3.Milano 06:35

4.Kohokia 07:18

5.Ghost on High 02:34

6.Sinaia 07:30

7.Quartered 06:39

Members

Brian Cook - Bass

Mike Sullivan - Guitar

Dave Turncrantz - Drums

Review

Blood Year is the 7^th album from Post-Rock/Post-Metal heavyweights – Russian Circles – and it sees the band returning to their heavier sound they first realised on albums such as Enter, Station and Geneva. This album does have their trademark and uplifting anthemic Post-Rock grooves with Ambient sounds being part of the overall complex sound.

Blood Year is perhaps Russian Circles most engaging and fully realised album since Geneva with the band being more focused than ever before. The album once again is an emotional journey with Mike, Dave and Brian proving once again why they’re the definitive Instrumental Post-Rock/Post-Metal band of the genre. Always forward thinking and creating new sounds that we haven’t heard before.

The album is full of different styles of Post-Rock/Post-Metal but Russian Circles make it all seem very easy to listen to at the same time. Songs such as Hunter Moon, Arluck and Milano all convey a haunting atmospheric vibe hidden amongst the lush progressive sludge based melodies. The music drifts from one deeply engaging scenario to the next with the instrumental work offering a deeply unforgiving sound that’s very hard to beat.

Russian Circles don’t hold back on this album with the band having a more unforgiving nature compared to the most recent albums they’ve released. Blood Year is quite intense and it’s good to see Russian Circles have more aggression to their music. I have missed that style of music from Russian Circles over the last few albums and Blood Year sees the band retain a sense of fear to their music.

Songs such as Kohokia, Sinaia and Quartered are perhaps the best songs contained on the album. As the songs feel fully realized and have a sense of purpose to them. The Post-Rock/Post-Metal dynamics of these songs leave you wanting more and they also offer some of the heaviest sounds on the entire album.

Blood Year is a wonderfully engaging and beautifully played album with top-notch production to match. Russian Circles have been together for 15 years now and I’m hoping that they’re together for many more so they can release more stunning albums such as this.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Rarely Unable PR for the promo. Blood Year is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Sargent House now.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Russian Circles - Guidance (Album Review)

Release date: August 05^th 2016. Label: Sargent House. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Guidance – Tracklisting

1.Asa

2.Vorel

3.Mota

4.Afrika

5.Overboard

6.Calla

7.Lisboa

Band Members:

Dave Turncrantz, Mike Sullivan, Brian Cook

Review:

Guidance, the sixth album from Russian Circles sees the Chicago based instrumental three piece honing their sound into an even sharper form while at the same time, sees them becoming even grander in scope and execution. With every album since the bands debut Enter in 2006, they have broadened their instrumental sound to include ever expansive sounds and they have gone even further in doing this with Guidance.

The album ranges in both sounds and musical emotions, from the opening salvation of Asa to the closing peak of powerful beauty that is Lisboa and all that is in between,especially the stunning Overboard, a song that is packed full of vigour and the majestic Vorel.

The albums centrepoint and undoubted highlight is the initially uplifting Mota, a song that climbs and climbs with a sound that exudes positivity until shifting and eventually descending into a carefully controlled bass led transcendence and a pummelling finale and this works extremely well and spurs the song onto an even greater glory. This compelling end morphs perfectly into the following track Afrika, a song that again, is serene at first and then transforms into a more mammoth composition. Afrika is a driving and uplifting track that is full of redeeming anthemic qualities and serves to highlight the contrast and power of the Russian Circles sound, something that happens again and again on Guidance.

It has to be said that bassist Brian Cooks recent work with Sumac appears to have had a bearing on this album as there is, at certain times, an added aggression to both his bass playing and the heaviness on the album but is perfectly balanced by the more peaceful sounds on Guidance, and it has to be said that even these more peaceful sounds have an added power to them. Every time though, when the sound turns more mellow, the continuation of that heaviness is never far away and adds to the tense atmosphere that prevails and makes Guidance such a compelling listen.

The playing in the album is superb all the way through and highlights how tight the band are when performing together and you can sense a connection between all three members that results in how good the album sounds.

Guidance is a powerful album throughout with an heaviness that is epic in its vision and that is a vision that is powerfully executed from beginning to end and Russian Circles, as they have done since their inception have upped the ante with these seven tracks of instrumental post metal brilliance.

Words by Gavin Brown

Thanks to Rachel at Silver PR for the promo. Guidance will be out to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Sargent House from August 05^th 2016.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp