While labelled as post-metal, Russian Circles can sometimes be bundled into the post-rock genre alongside bands like Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai. This works for some of their softer, atmospheric sounds, but I’d be hard-pushed to put these bands alongside the band’s latest album, Nine, which absolutely slams. My God, I wasn’t expecting this.
I have to say, this year is the year for instrumental post-rock/metal music. With an already insane lineup of releases from the likes of Pelican, El Altar del Holocausto, MONO, Lost in Kyiv, If These Trees Could Talk, and Din of Celestial Birds, it’s almost overwhelming and difficult to pick a favourite. Then, Russian Circles dropped Nine, a 39-minute onslaught of post-metal riffs that casts no doubt that this band is certainly a post-metal band through and through.
Nine goes insanely hard from the minute opener Borehole begins. It’s dark, raw, and pulls no punches. Starting with a distorted lead guitar twanging a haunting intro, the drums come thumping in, later joined by a crunchy bass that bores into your head as it creeps slowly toward the pinnacle of the track with a heavy dose of crushing riffs and crispy leads. It’s unapologetically metal and just the beginning of what to expect from this album.
There are definitely more doom and sludge elements in Nine than in previous records, and it’s (for lack of a better word) sick. I know, I know, that doesn’t really say a lot, but sometimes you just hear a record and think: “that’s fucking sick”. Nine by Russian Circles is a fucking sick album. That’s all that I need to say.
From the first track to the next, the band create such an intense soundscape of stank-face-inducing belters that I’m not sure I’m going to ever recover. This album is for sure going on repeat multiple times this year and is definitely a contender for the best post-metal release, holy shit.
Okay, let’s get back to writing about this album critically. Production-wise, the album is solid. It’s loud without being too overbearing, which is key for music like this. Being able to create a big atmosphere but also keeping all of the elements coherent without becoming muddy is key, and the production on this album has nailed that. The drums are punchy, you can FEEL the bass rumble, and the guitars sit clearly among one another. It’s impressive. I mean, holy fuck, the tail-end of Empath is just chugging, but it’s so well put together that even when the second guitar comes in, it’s not overwhelmingly noisy; it’s just right.
Overall, Nine is an insanely impressive body of work that absolutely crushes. The album is insanely heavy when it needs to be, while also letting tracks breathe when they need to. Though on the topic of breathing, I found the album to be somewhat suffocating, but in a good way? It genuinely floored me and has pushed Russian Circles up there as one of my favourite instrumental bands.
Score: 10/10
Russian Circles releases Nine on August 28, 2026 via Sargeant House.