This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation for consistency and quality. These three sentences are lifted directly from the PR blurb that accompanies Nine, the ninth studio album from Russian Circles. The trio of Mike Sullivan (guitars), Dave Turncrantz (drums) and Brian Cook (keyboards/bass) hooked up once again with Converge’s Kurt Ballou. Basic tracking took place at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago and working there, as well as with Ballou, meant they retained their awesomely heavy bone-dry sound.
Opener ‘Borehole’ slithers like snakes across sand dunes before switching to a thunderous stomp. It’s possibly one of the most math-rocky creations Russian Circles have created reminding me of early ASIWYFA for the mid-section. ‘Empath’ opens with some ominous guitar tones that sound like dragons awakening from a deep slumber. Before long you’re being shaken mercilessly by a relentlessly scathing riff that chisels into your cranium. This is fierce, powerful and all-consuming. Towards the end the most astounding change happens, as the track starts to jolt before grinding into a stupendously heavy chug like a steam train trying to pull up a hill. It is incredible and never fails to put me into a weird trance-like state.
‘Eluvial’ flickers like a candle in the wind with some electronic textures and whispering atmospherics before we lock into the funereal paced main melody. Dave’s drums signal a switch in dynamic with a hefty clatter as waves of distortion build. This is some prime instrumental songwriting here as the track weaves out a majestic tapestry of melodies and riffs. These three guys working together are such a tight unit, each one playing like their lives depend on it and intuitively stepping up the aggression when called for. ‘Eluvial’ manages to traverse so many different plateaus of greatness, it’s one of the band’s best tracks. The accompanying video is groundbreaking too.
‘E2’ practically fizzes out of the speakers with a glitchy electro bass tone. The precision which Mike picks off his guitar is honed from years of playing live. Brian oozes a slinky bassline while Dave drops those Bonham-esque snare slams in just the right place. How this track swells in volume is sneaky to say the least, and when the spidery main melody finally drops it’s a glorious moment. ‘Meridian’ is the first time I feel like I’ve heard this before as familiar liquid guitar melodies climb over Dave’s shimmering hi-hat. Brian’s bass hum is gargantuan as you sense an imminent switch in volume and release. The band playfully leave you on tenterhooks with extended intricate guitar work, before Dave’s drumming starts to become heftier like a crashing building, then we’re done.
The placing of the brief acoustic instrumental as the penultimate track jars with me. I found that playing it first then letting the album play out was a much better way to enjoy this album. It just seems to disrupt the natural heavy flow of the album. Closing track ‘Seventh Seal’ just goes straight for the jugular vein with some savage drums and scorching riffs spewing forth. It’s almost unfathomable how three people can create such might with basic instrumentation, but these guys are masters of their craft. You just know that every note you hear would be replayed with perfection in the live setting. It’s some sort of alchemy at work. Locking into a mercifully slower section of chugging riffs the well-paced drops showcase the amazing fusion these three musicians have.
After over 20 years of playing together, this hard-working band show no signs of dropping off the quality of their music. They are just so good at what they do. I find that when they announce new music my expectations and anticipation for hearing it reach fever pitch. You could potentially find yourself thinking “yep, that’s more Russian Circles” initially, but repeat plays and focussed listening unravels the intricate underbelly of the music. The standard is so high, and they consistently keep hitting it, never mind there’s no hits to speak of. Nine is another quality addition to the Russian Circles collection of sublime music.
