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What’s the Deal: Not to knock musical threesomes or anything, but when one makes themselves sound like there’s a lot more going on than just a guy on guitar, a guy on bass and another on drums they stick out from the pack. Russian Circles have been called post-metal and post-rock, but really they’re a thick, evolving, expanding instrumental group making the most out of their equipment, drawing forth everything from metallic chugs and thrashes to flickering chimes and climactic cymbal crashes. Fun Fun Fun Fest this year will welcome the Chicago group as they tour in support of their third album, Geneva.
“Maiko” is one of the stronger tunes from the latest release. It begins with high pitched guitar noodling and twinkling and revs up into a constant, crashing, distorted arrangement. “Verses”, from Station, is more of a moodier track. Orchestral throbs spin with ringing chords as the song rises to catastrophe then drops off.
Something Interesting: Russian Circles will be playing the Black stage Saturday, November 7th at Fun Fun Fun Fest in between two other bands you shouldn’t miss, The Night Marchers and The Sword.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Youngblood” and “Micah”
Russian Circles [Official]
Russian Circles [MySpace]
What’s the Deal: Images of vikings, dinosaurs and even monsters with generous genitalia adorn the band’s t-shirt catalog, and they’re friends with groups like Mastodon, Mogwai, Kylesa and Municipal Waste on their MySpace page. And, their latest full-length is called Meaderthal. So, judging from that info alone, you should be able to make a pretty accurate assumption as to whether or not this is a band for you. They’ve been called stoner metal, although according to rumor they don’t consider themselves a metal band, which is actually a really good idea because these days genre lines are becoming so blurred that they really aren’t that accurate. Regardless, there is an abundance of chugs, powerful distortion and heavy thuds from the drum pit. But, they still have a melodic vocal presence which doesn’t necessary adhere to the typical metallic structure, and they sometimes go off on somewhat psychedelic tangents.
“Healer” begins with a good solid, powerful guitar riff with distorted fuzz surrounding higher-pitched notes that push on through the entire 2-minute song (the perfect length). It does throw you for a loop, however, when the vocals kick in and sound a little like old Pennywise. But, their live show is where they really shine. So, if you can make time for then at Fun Fun Fun, you won’t be disappointed.
Something Interesting: Torche will be playing the Black stage at Fun Fun Fun Fest Sunday, November 8th at the same time The King Khan & BBQ Show take the Yellow stage.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Sugarglider” and “Tarpit Carnivore”
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