Hearing a new band for the very first time can be an awesome experience - it can also be horrible, but that is not the case here. I had never heard of Russian Circles prior to seeing their name listed as an opener for a semi-recent Isis tour. Being curious as to what they sounded like, I scoured the Internet for any information I could find. I was surprised to find that two members of the now extinct Dakota/Dakota were a part of this band; I rather enjoyed them. After further investigations, I eventually I came across an mp3 of the song "Death Rides a Horse." Needles to say, I was floored by what I heard.
If one wanted to be lazy, they could simply describe Russian Circles as an instrumental act in the vein of Pelican and all those other post-rock/metal hybrids. But this would be doing a huge disservice to Russian Circles. Yes, the band certainly draws from the likes of post-rock/metal trailblazers Isis and Neurosis, but there is also a significant draw of math-rock from the likes of Don Caballero, Drive Like Jehu, and Frodus, not to mention, the occasional nod to math-core pioneers Botch. Combine all these influences together and you get the brilliance that is the forty-four minutes that comprise Enter.
The album opens with the nine-minute epic "Carpe." Over the course of the song, the band makes use of interweaving guitar melodies, dynamic drumming, and thundering basslines. The song slowly builds, moving through a number of different segments that highlight each individual's skill at their instrument, before it crescendos in a wall of sound. Following this peak, the song softly resides until there is nothing but the faint guitar tones.
On the next track, "Micha," Russian Circles delve into the slightly more atmospheric and sparse instrumentation of post-rock, save for brief segment of heaviness toward the later portion of the song. The ante is then upped on "Death Rides a Horse," the song I first heard from the band. There is definitely more muscle to this song that the others on Enter. The riffs are fierce and drive the song, which fuses a plethora of influences - everything from math-rock, metal, and prog-rock - into a cohesive sound. The bands ability to arrange a song with so many varying styles truly exhibits their skill as songwriters.
The title track blends everything that we've heard thus far with ultra smooth transitions between building sequences, morsels of chaos, and lulling drop-offs. I especially enjoyed the use of eerie snyths after the completion of the song as an interlude. The final two pieces of Enter come together in the songs "You Already Did" and "New Macabre." The former is another moody post-rock-esque tune in the vein of Explosions in the Sky, while the later defies clear definition, like many of the other songs, as it traverses multiple genre boundaries.
With their debut release, Russian Circles have certainly become one of my favorite current bands. A feat that has been further solidified with the help of energetic and awe-inspiring live performances. If you've yet to buy into the craze, do so now as Russian Circles are certainly deserving of all the praise they are receiving.
