Russian Circles

Instrumental post-metal rarely sounds this unhurried and this heavy at once, yet Chicago's Russian Circles have built a career on that tension. Mike Sullivan and Colin DeKuiper formed the group in late 2004 before drummer Dave Turncrantz joined, and its name nods to an ice hockey drill, a sport Sullivan and Turncrantz played as boys in St. Louis. Their music moves in long, deliberate arcs, letting heavy riffs swell and recede without a single sung line to guide the listener.

Bassist Colin DeKuiper left in 2007, and Brian Cook, formerly of Botch and These Arms Are Snakes, took over bass on Station before joining permanently. Geneva appeared in October 2009 and reached No. 24 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In 2011 the band signed to Sargent House, which had previously released its records only on limited-edition vinyl, and Empros followed that October. Memorial, produced by Brandon Curtis and featuring Chelsea Wolfe, arrived in 2013. Guidance, Blood Year and Gnosis followed with Kurt Ballou behind the desk, and the ninth album, Nine, was released on 28 August 2026 via Sargent House.