Artist Russian Circles

Chris Strong

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Russian Circles

Chicago instrumental trio Russian Circles’ take on metal has always kept an ear cocked toward subtlety, making the quiet, melodic spaces just as compelling as the dense, riff-pounding passages on its 2006 debut, Enter. That only increased on subsequent albums; 2008’s Station sounded downright eerie and sneaky in comparison, and 2009’s Geneva is even less heavy and more given to a somberly epic sweep. The band has always drifted gradually between the two contrasting points; on the new Empros, things come to a dizzying head with an even offering of the group’s earlier bombast and later albums’ refined atmosphere, all grounded by a new element to Russian Circles’ metal: a bludgeoning grasp of dense-as-hell low end.

Updated 11/01/2011