An Expansive Rock Record
Chicago trio Russian Circles release their debut EP 'Enter'. The band went for a slightly different technique on this record; they made all the tracks merge into one, the band have said that they wanted to make it one giant piece and not disjointed song by song, and they have certainly achieved that.
Russian Circles have perfectly mastered the skill of mixing aggression and distortion with sympathy and delicacy. Opening track 'Carpe' starts off in an eerie manner, but after about a minute it builds into a bass growling menace. Never once through this six track EP do you feel that vocals are needed, the sheer amount of sounds the band manage to pull from their instruments just do not leave room for any vocals. 'Depth Rides A Horse' for me is the stand out track; it is more up-tempo than the other tracks on the EP, and is easily accessible for people who normally find instrumental rock dull and boring, not to mention it's packed full of impressive drumming and guitar riffs.
This 45-minute release will fail to disappoint, it is full of surprises and satisfying climaxes and is overall a perfectly balanced album. Russian Circles are one of those bands that seem to come out of nowhere and blow you away.