Welcome to the first official album review on Both Kind of Heavy! I'm pleased to kick things off with an album from a band I've been following for many years, Russian Circles. There aren't many bands that have claimed a singular position in the way that Russian Circles have - they're the biggest name in instrumental metal, hands down. I've written before about what I call the "Russian Circles test," which is the question I ask whenever I listen to a new heavy instrumental album: Why would I listen to this, when Russian Circles exists? Of course, there are plenty of bands in the subgenre that have found their own unique paths and create their own worthy music, but Russian Circles remain the undisputed heavyweights.

Russian Circles' official bio states "This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation for consistency and quality." I find this understated approach to the band's career somewhat overly modest, but it's nevertheless accurate. Russian Circles is an extraordinarily consistent band, and that consistency definitely continues on their new album, Nine.

I've been listening to Russian Circles since their 2009 album, Geneva, and I've always thought they made the best music for writing sessions. I used to sit back and let the vibe of their music wash over me, the propulsive nature of their songs spurring me forward in my work and keeping me energized. At the same time, more attentive listening always reveals many interesting complexities and unexpected flourishes in their songs. I don't know that I could ever completely put my finger on the special sauce that makes Russian Circles' music so unique, but the closest I can get is that it's consistently nuanced and experimental while simultaneously catchy and heavy. 

Nine is a concise and punchy album, delivering seven tracks in roughly 38 minutes. The tracks are distinct but flow into each other neatly. Like the rest of the albums in their catalog, you can simply kick back and let yourself simply get carried away by the muscular sonic engine that keeps Nine moving from start to finish. It's an excellent mood piece of mounting tension and existential dread. But Nine is even more successful when you start pulling on its many little strings. 

The album starts off with "Borehole," the most straightforward track on the album. With bright, prominent guitar tones that initially present as a "friendlier" Russian Circles track, it doesn't take long to see that "Borehole" is about easing you into the darkness. The track builds in heaviness before ending on a calming note, only to transition into the "Empath," the lead single on the album. Opening with an ominous Christopher Nolan siren that immediately shifts to chugging heaviness, "Empath" is impelling, with a constant sense of forward momentum. It sounds like the score to an epic battle and defeat of some lumbering monster in the ruins of crumbled city under a sky clogged with grey storm clouds. 

The next track, "Eluvial," opens with cosmic keyboards and shimmering guitars over a sinister rumble. The longest track on the album, it takes its time to build, with the guitar parts really taking flight around three minutes in. From there, it builds and builds to the controlled chaos of its climax, a noisy crescendo with victorious undertones. "Eluvial" then flows into "E2," another slowly building track with a pulsing, electronic opening that gives way to crisp, punchy drumming and slithering guitar. "E2" may have the catchiest riff on the album - this track in particular has been rattling around the dusty haunted castle that I call my brain. 

"E2" flows seamlessly into "Meridian," another track built around a slow but steady sense of growth and progression. This track is a perfect example of why Russian Circles is such perfect music to write to, or why they're so good on a workout playlist. - it has a sense of travel, constant forward momentum, like gliding along a highway at night. It's hard to stop when you have such driving music in your headphones. 

There's a short, pretty moment of lightness near the end of the album with "Arletta," a quick respite of lovely acoustic guitar before the album closes with the cataclysmic "Seventh Seal." Pummeling and heavy from the the start, "Seventh Seal" overwhelms the listener with distortion and speed before the track, like "Empath," staggers to a close. It's the heaviest track on an album full of heavy tracks, and it closes out the record with crushing weight.

Russian Circles is, as their bio states, an incredibly consistent band. It is truly incredible that after more than 20 years, Russian Circles is still creating exciting, vital music without undergoing any drastic evolutions in their sound. Sure, their music has changed over the years, but in subtle ways rather than dramatic. I guess there's no need for reinvention when a band is so singularly masterful of their trademark sound. Nine doesn't push the band in any unexpected ways. It doesn't need to in order to be another excellent addition to their catalog.  

Russian Circles' Nine is out August 28th via Sargent House.