To preface this, I don't really listen to much metal. Modern metal has always kind of alienated me with my love of melody and dislike of mullets. However, when I stumbled allong Russian Circles and their 2006 release Enter, I was really impressed. Aparently they're "Math Metal". Really, that means nothing to me. Basicly, imagine if the Smashing Pumpkin's started doing instrumental metal and you have a small idea of what Russian Circles sounds like. With it's six songs, this Album feels more like an EP, until you realize that the shortest song on it is around six minutes, with most of the others leveling out at about eight.
I'll be blunt. These guys kick ass so hard, their boots are coming out of your mouth. Or are they wearing Converse? It's kind of hard to tell from the music, because really, they are an indi-rocker's approach to metal. Each song is a rollicking adventure of blistering guitar work that not only blows your mind, but actually SOUNDS good as well, backed up by solid bass work and equally impressive drum-work. They tend to start slow and rise to a crescendo, doing it so subtly that you start the song, and then before you understand what's happening your shredding air guitar and you have the uncontrollable urge to slaughter a goat. Despite this though, there are only a few true 'metal' moments in the whole album (you know the ones, blinding noodly guitar notes over a chugging bass and a drummer having a seizure), something I count as a plus.
To summarize, Russian Circles is hard bliss. I've no idea what real metal-heads would think of them, and truthfully I don't care. All this indie kid can say is that after a long session of acoustic Decemberists-esque indie rock, I'm looking for something that can fucking rock me like a vestal virgin being mounted by black beauty, and Russian Circles delivers (without all the burst hymen's and bestiality).
-Sigmund Amadeus Werndorf
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