Consistency. A word that is synonymous with many bands, but none more so than the US trio Russian Circles. Over a 22-year career, their output has been carved on a reputation for consistency and quality.
Russian Circles – Nine
Release Date: 28 August 2026
Words: Paul Hutchings
Having spent much of 2022-24 touring in support of their Gnosis release, one might be forgiven if guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz, and bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook had taken an extended rest.
Instead, they return with their ninth album, Nine, and have once again hit everything you would expect. Having seen the band headline the first day at dunk!festival in May, I already know how evocative and powerful they are in the live setting.
Nine demonstrates everything that is great about Russian Circles. Swirling progressive passages intermix with crushingly heavy segments, drawing in their massive range of inspirations, muses, influences and complexities into a diverse yet naturally organic collection.
As one of the notoriously press-shy members anonymously mentioned, “the music we make is a collective process of reconciliation, navigation, and reflection upon ageing both as individuals and as a creative entity.
“Life has created very real distances between us, but the band continues to be at the centre, and this creative collaboration is a way of charting the passage of time while also giving us a reason to look to the future.”
Russian Circles have again teamed up with engineer Kurt Ballou, who worked with them on Blood Year and Gnosis. His work is again of stellar quality, from opener Borehole, which has tinges of Mastodon and Neurosis swishing around in the mix. It is as traditional a song as Russian Circles make, still complex in nature but with an addictive hook that draws you in.
Although each track retains its own level of epic stature, Borehole really is an early statement on the album. It is going to pull you in deep, emotionally and psychologically, and the payoff for the investment is guaranteed.
It is followed by the crunch of Empath, a blisteringly heavy and at times unrepentant Metal style. Think Thrash guitars, some Black Metal edges and an overbearing sense of malevolence. For a band who live in the generally melancholic post-rock world, this is visceral stuff.
Eluvial is the central pillar of Nine. An epic eight-minute track, it features delayed guitar patterns. Think The Edge around The Joshua Tree era, playing with a winding melody that evolves into a cinematic soundscape with electronics and drummer Turncrantz’s mesmerising Latin-rhythm-inspired groove.
As with all great tracks in this genre, it is the tension that slowly builds which creates the atmosphere. This is one that really stirs the elements.
Not that they need it, but there is ample change of direction here. Maybe to prove a point, more likely because this is the direction the band can swap to at any time. E2, which opens the second part of the record, is an intoxicating blend of pulsing synths and tapping guitar patterns that segue into each other.
Momentum that is achieved on E2 continues on Meridian, which drops in tempo before the classic slow build commences again. Echoing guitar plays over propulsive drumming, the band are in complete unison as they push forward.
The finale has been compared to the Burton-era Metallica, with the contrast between Arletta, with its melancholic classical guitar, and the aggression of the closing Seventh Seal, a punchy, even Metallic aural assault which explodes and rampages into the final minutes.
Russian Circles have drawn photographs of Snowpile For Chicago for their cover, a sculpture by Tony Tasset, on display in the windows of Chicago Public Library’s West Town Branch since 2004, the year Russian Circles formed.
The inclusion of this image is partially a nod to the band’s hometown, but more importantly, serves as an analogy for Russian Circles’ music.
So, album Nine. And more proof, if it was ever needed, that when it comes to this imperious style, Russian Circles are often a step ahead of contemporaries.
An immense piece of work and a clear message that this band are still leaders in their art.
Russian Circles release Nine on 28 August 2026 via Sargent House. For pre-orders, visit found.ee/RC-Nine.
