Russian Circles – Gnosis

Label: Sargent House

Release Date: August 19, 2022

Post-metal, especially instrumental, has become increasingly vanilla. However, Russian Circles stays grounded in visceral riff-mongering. The band brings power, intensity and nuance to each new record and remains a force to be reckoned with. Gnosis is a potent album in a genre plagued by boringness. Conduit rides a nasty-ass groove into the post-apocalyptic sunset. The track’s syncopated chugs and double kick might bring bands like Mastodon to mind, while maintaining a sense of size and atmosphere. The title track, Gnosis, begins with a slow-build exercise in krautrock methodologies—drones, guitar arpeggios, cosmic synth, hypnotic drum patterns—that eventually explodes into the wall-of-sound bombardment Russian Circles are known for. Betrayal rushes forward, a blitz of wordless black metal obliterating the twilight languor left over from the previous track. It sounds like a street fight.

Not a GMR artist!

Listen to: 2, 3, & 6

FCC: None