Genre : Instrumental post-metal
Released : August 19th, 2022
Label : Sargent House
FFO : Pelican, Explosions In The Sky, Cult of Luna
I'm pretty sure Russian Circles are responsible for getting me into post-metal in the first place, unbeknownst to me at the time.
Back when I was still familiarizing myself with post-rock, along came this band who had the same subtleties, tension-building elements and cathartic crescendos you would expect from post-rock but brought a much heavier, grittier and dark approach to the style.
Immediately I was hooked on their sound, with albums like "Geneva" and "Memorial" ranking among my all-time favourites and 2019's "Blood Year" is definitely up there too as it doubles down on the bands signature repetition of crushingly heavy triplet riffs backed by sludgy, booming bass and snappy drums.
With "Conduit" as the first promotional single I thought «oh boy, they're going even heavier than on" Blood Year"» ; however, that is not entirely true and that is perhaps the only major tooth I have to pick with "Gnosis" : that it doesn't really meet the expectations I had set up for myself when I first listened to those singles.
Indeed, there's definitely more of a balance between light atmospheric post-rock and devastating, slightly blackened, post-metal on "Gnosis" compared to their previous release, which objectively is by no means a bad thing.
And the way in which those variations occur throughout the album's forty minutes as they build up into each other is always tastefully done and feels very organic.
The album's title track perfectly encompasses this as it starts off as this cosmic, pensive post-rock track that eventually bursts into pummeling aggression as the trio hammers in a concussive release of tension with utterly devastating force.
Tracks like "Vlastimil" and "Betrayal" sees the band tint their style of post-metal with black metal influences which was definitely very welcome and gives "Gnosis" a slightly different character than their previous records, while tracks like "Tupilak" and "Conduit" carry on the band's unmistakable rumbling sludgy post-metal.
As "Bloom" concludes what is still for the major part a very aggressive listen which carries that dramatic, forlorn quality Russian Circles have to their sound-weaving and world-building in an unexpectedly light-hearted and hopeful-sounding manner; I would conclude that although "Gnosis" didn't live up to my own personal expectations upon first listen, it is yet another fantastic addition to the band's catalogue and is still currently growing on me given how much their music manages to get under your skin without having a use for words.