RUSSIAN CIRCLES
Gnosis (Sargent House)
Music has the ability to unite people, but heavy rock instrumentals are best played as loud as possible while lying alone in a darkened room. Russian Circles play instrumental post-metal and Gnosis, their eighth album, is around 40 minutes of exactly that. Apparently, the trio, who hail from Chicago, have used a new songwriting technique here; granted, being new to the band, I’ve no idea what their previous work was like.
Conduit, the album’s first single, is described as “relentless” in the label copy for this album – there are other, heavier numbers here, though, opener Tupilak knocking Conduit out of the park for one. Betrayal and the title track explore emotion and are light relief from Gnosis’ gutsier moments. Russian Circles are competent musicians and you won’t hear a duff note – and a blast of synth or guitar, when you might least expect it, stops Gnosis from becoming simply background music.
words LYNDA NASH