The name Russian Circles may seem arbitrary, but there’s a story behind the Chicago instrumental metal trio’s appellation. See, there’s a skating drill that ice hockey players do called “Russian circles.” In it, a player speeds in a looping pattern to follow large circles painted under the ice, constantly moving forwards and backwards across the rink in a demonstration of dexterity and grace. When you dig into the challenging, intricately structured, often coldly calculated music of guitarist Mike Sullivan, bassist Brian Cook and drummer Dave Turncrantz, you understand that the name’s a perfect fit.
Russian Circles formed in Chicago in 2004 and initially struggled to find their footing in the city where post-rock was born. Their first LP, Enter, won knee-jerk comparisons to a handful of other ‘00s instrumental rockers like Isis and Explosions In the Sky, but the trio didn’t easily fit alongside either. Compared to the droning churn of Isis, Russian Circles’ clean architecture and through-composed instrumental metal was technical and exacting. Compared to the knotty, schizophrenic output of Explosions, they were basically playing pop music.
Over the past seven years, the band has continued to find success on their own terms. They’ve been a part of high-profile tours with Coheed & Cambria and Tool, and have increasingly garnered critical accolades. Their gift is the thoughtful, patient approach to shaping tunes that slowly reveal themselves with long, atmospheric builds. They have the maturity to save the explosive, chest-swelling guitars until the moment they matter most. The wash of big-echo guitar, brass band and unsuspectingly urgent beats on tunes like “When the Mountain Comes to Muhammad” are the product of a band that has mastered the slow burn. It’s elegant, yet still approachable enough to draw in a big audience.
With the band’s latest, Empros, they augment the rigorous song structures and weighty crunch with the racing pulse of black metal, the catchy harmonic ease of spacey indie rock and all kinds of dark, melodramatic, melodic inclinations. In only six songs, the record defines the far-out edge of instrumental metal. It’s a tremendous leap forward for the band, and places them among the genre’s most treasured searchers. With their cyclical, hypnotic songs, fluidity and fundamental precision, the band’s name couldn’t be more befitting. --