Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this release. My relationship with Russian Circles has been fraught, to say the least. Some of their music is pure genius to me, trendsetting to the full extent of the term. It's safe to say that modern post-metal and post-rock wouldn't look the same without them. But then there are years and years of material which I personally did not find impactful. It's not that it was bad, it was just...weightless. Which is funny to say about one of the bands that are most famous for being present, heavy, weightful, especially in the spaces of post-metal which suffer from much abstraction and "ambience". But that was just it; that undefinable spark that made the early Russian Circles material seemed absent. Everything was technically there but the arrangement fell flat.
And so, I approached Nine with some trepidation. Happily, all my concerns were proven to be misplaced. Nine feels like Russian Circles reborn, refocused on what made them tick as a band. But it's a not a re-tread; on the contrary, it is quite different to the band's previous releases. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely Russian Circles. We are still talking about heavy, patient, instrumental metal. The tones are still dark and brooding. But there's a lot more in there; there are electronic touches which do wonders for the groove of certain tracks. There are riffs which move with a purpose, mixing things up from just "weight" with feelings of aggression and forward momentum. The formula is the same but Russian Circles feel mean on this release, hungry like they haven't in a while.
"Empath", the second track on the album, is probably my favorite example. It opens with this haunting, buzz-saw like synth line and almost immediately blows up into one of the most swaggersome (swaggerful?) riff of the band's career. It's hard to overstate how much this riff goes hard. It's not just that the guitars are tight as all hell, that the bass rumbles in just the right way, or that the cymbals are pure, crashing joy. It's that everything feels purposeful. Nothing is there just to be there, to be scaffolding. It's all lean and no fat. I am aware this is entirely subject; we're talking about je ne sais quoi here, "the juice", as the kids call it. Everything just feels like it has it, the rock n' roll impact, that metal heft. And then it goes heavier; the riff which ushers "Empathy" out is the angriest I've heard Russian Circles. The riff just repeats and repeats, swirling around some black and red abyss of rage and outcry.
Things feel better even when the band does go atmospheric, like on "Meridian". This is more of a classically constructed Russian Circles track, made up of builds ups and crescendos. But there too, Russian Circles sound like a band revitalized - the bass lines which make up the majority of the track's substance are delicious and the building up instruments feel vital and secure, pointed towards a well understood and executed direction. Of course, it's "obvious" that Russian Circles can execute a track like this well; it's their bread and butter. But, again, something feels more right than before, more present and demanding. You're not zoning out listening to the buildup; it has you arrested.
I don't know what has spurred this new fire in the band but, whatever is it, I salute them for it. It's not easy to keep pushing and rethinking your approach after twenty-two years of operation and nine albums. Russian Circles have done it; Nine feels like an album worthy of their legend, a recommitment to the ideas at the base of the band alongside a new way to bring them forth. Here's to nine more.