Doomed Nation

Sounds For The Lost Generation

Russian Circles announce new studio album »Gnosis« and premiere the first single »Conduit«

US instrumental rockers Russian Circles have announced their eighth studio album, »Gnosis«, which will be released on August 19th, 2022 via Sargent House.

Listen to the first single »Conduit« below!

Tracklist:
01. Tupilak
02. Conduit
03. Gnosis
04. Vlastimil
05. Ó Braonáin
06. Betrayal
07. Bloom

From Sargent House:

Heavy instrumental greats Russian Circles have announced a new LP »Gnosis« available August 19th via Sargent House. Listen to the relentless first single »Conduit«. »Gnosis«, their eighth album, eschews the varied terrain of their past works as it razes a path through the most harrowing territory of their sounds by employing a new songwriting technique. Rather than crafting songs out of fragmented ideas in the practice room, full songs were written and recorded independently before being shared with other members, so that their initial vision was retained. While these demos spanned the full breadth of the band’s varied styles, the more cinematic compositions were ultimately excised in favor of the physically cathartic pieces. The album was engineered and mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City with additional tracking done at Chicago’s Electrical Audio.

Pre-order / pre-save / stream: found.ee/rc-gnosis

The band has also announced a 40 date world tour including US headline dates and EU co-headline dates. Kicking off September 15th in Minneapolis the US portion will make stops in Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, DC, Brooklyn and more before wrapping November 12th for a home town Metro Chicago show. In March of 2023 the band will continue their dates in the EU with Cult Of Luna. See full dates below.

GNOSIS TOUR 2022 – 2023

Russian Circles N. America Tour 2022:
Sep 15 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
Sep 17 Denver, CO – Gothic
Sep 18 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Sep 20 Seattle, WA – Croc Showroom
Sep 21 Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
Sep 23 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 24 Felton, CA – Felton Music Hall
Sep 25 Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
Sep 26 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Sep 29 Austin, TX – Empire Garage
Sep 30 Dallas, TX – Amplified Live
Oct 01 Memphis, TN – Growlers

w/ Rezn supporting*:
Oct 27 St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall*
Oct 28 Louisville, KY – Headliner’s*
Oct 29 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West*
Oct 30 Orlando, FL – The Social*
Nov 01 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle*
Nov 02 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle*
Nov 04 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
Nov 05 Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live*
Nov 06 Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw*
Nov 08 Boston, MA – The Sinclair*
Nov 09 Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount*
Nov 10 Toronto, ON – Opera*
Nov 11 Detroit, MI – El Club*
Nov 12 Chicago, IL – Metro

Russian Circles EU co-headline tour 2023 w/ Cult Of Luna and Svalbard as support:
March 17 Copenhagen, DK – Store Vega
March 18 Berlin, DE – Huxleys
March 19 Wiesbaden, DE – Schlachthof
March 20 Utrecht, NL – Tivoli Ronda
March 21 Brussels, BE – AB
March 22 Paris, FR – Olympia
March 23 Stuttgart, DE – Wizemann
March 24 Lausanne, CH – Les Docks
March 25 Ljubljana, SI – Kino Šiška
March 27 Vienna, AT – Arena
March 28 Munich, DE – Muffathalle
March 29 Prague, CZ – Roxy
March 30 Krakow, PL – Studio
March 31 Warsaw, PL – Progresja

Across the span of their previous seven studio albums, Chicago-based instrumental trio Russian Circles traversed a diverse topography of sounds, moods, and approaches with their limited armory of drums, bass, and guitar. It’s difficult to chart an evolution in their sound when their records have always felt like well-curated playlists. It wasn’t uncommon to hear drone-heavy meditations, dazzling prog exercises, knuckle-dragging riff-fests, haunting folk ballads, and tension-baiting noise rock all within the span of one album. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the progression from the pensive and intricate melodies of »Enter« (2006) to the layered distorted dirges of »Blood Year« (2019). It’s been a gradual sonic shift owing to the band’s rigorous tour schedule and a predilection towards playing their more authoritative material on stage. But with their latest album, »Gnosis«, Russian Circles eschew the varied terrain of their past work and bulldoze a path through the most tumultuous and harrowing territory of their sound.

As was the case for so many artists in the age of Covid, the obstacles of geography and isolation forced Russian Circles to reevaluate their writing process. Rather than crafting songs out of fragmented ideas in the practice room, full songs were written and recorded independently before being shared with other members, so that their initial vision was retained. While these demos spanned the full breadth of the band’s varied styles, the more cinematic compositions were ultimately excised in favor of the physically cathartic pieces.

»Gnosis« was engineered and mixed by Kurt Ballou. Drums and bass were tracked at Electrical Audio in Chicago to maximize the natural room sounds of the rhythm section. Guitar and synth overdubs were conducted at God City in Salem, MA to take advantage of Ballou’s vast inventory of amps and effects pedals. Despite the entirety of the album being written remotely, the songs were recorded with the full band playing together to retain the live feel of the material. Owing to the climate of the times and a new writing method, Russian Circles created their most fuming and focused work to date – an album that favors the exorcism of two years’ worth of tension over the melancholy and restraint that often colored their past endeavors.

Russian Circles are:
Brian Cook – Bass
Mike Sullivan – Guitar
Dave Turncrantz – Drums

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well

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