Russian Circles
Enter

After '89, the fall of the Berlin Wall, it seemed almost as if all barriers had collapsed. The most diverse cultures, finally totally free to face each other, to open up, to confront and contaminate each other. Naturally, what I'm saying has very little historical value; I don't even dream of playing the sociologist-historian. But somehow I had to begin.

Now, more or less in that period, two progenitor bands were born. The Slint and the Neurosis. The first, with their strong repetitions, time changes, and crescendos, would give life to the post-rock movement. The latter, in a path of continuous evolution, would explore the most infamous and apocalyptic meanders of the human creature, nurturing bands like Isis, Pelican, or Minsk, the so-called post-metal.
Almost twenty years have passed since the Berlin Wall, and already some speak of canonization, clichés, and stereotypes in the post-rock/metal scene (especially the former); yet, before anyone has the urge to build walls, some have already torn them down: hence, we are talking about the Russian Circles.
Hailing from the very fertile Chicago, they are a typical trio (guitar-bass-drums) devoted, in simple terms, to an effective blend/fusion/contamination of post-rock and post-metal. From the former, they take certain melodies (which have already been frequently absorbed by other post-metal artists) and especially the songwriting style, linear and in a certain sense, cinematic. From the latter, they take the strongest, most powerful and angry, cathartic moments, and an overall atmosphere of greater dynamism compared to typical post-rock work (if such a thing exists), where a very frenetic drum stands out (it reminds one a lot of the East of the Wall).

We start with the pair Carpe/Micah, balanced in the contamination already described, followed by Death Rides A Horse, a strong, dynamic, and incisive piece, which is succeeded by the sublime Enter, a comprehensive manifesto of the well-defined sound (it is the trio's debut) and the open yet clear songwriting of the group. The album closes with You Already Did, a track more oriented towards post-rock with almost noise angularities, and New Macabre, a track that adds even more memorable moments to an album that, in itself, is a majestic succession of breathtaking moments and memorable emotions. An almost Tool-like closure (or should I say kingcrimsonian?) is the worthy epilogue to one of the most interesting albums of the year that is ending.

Now that even this last frontier, between post-rock/metal, is being destroyed, swept away, shattered (let's not forget the last album of Isis!), what is there to expect? The territories of experimentation, research, and contamination are vast and infinite.
All that's left to do is explore them.

9+