2 RECORD REVIEW: Russian Circles - "Geneva"

Russian Circles - Geneva (2009)

Sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling when listening to a record. Not only deciding its worth, but also the vision that comes to mind as you are engulfed into a world outside your own even if for only 46 minutes and 1 second of your life. The 46:01 I spent tonight involved me, a pair of fairly descent DJ headphones, and a copy of the new Russian Circles record “Geneva”. Though it has been in my possession for awhile and have listened to it in passing on multiple occasions, this was the first time I've sat down with the mindset of really attentively listening.

This sit down conjured the exact same images of the dark labyrinth landscape that had initially came to mind the first time I heard the haunted opening of “Fathom”. Geneva’s blend of eerie effects, pounding drums, rumbling low end, and stout riffage mixed with melodic ambiance brings to mind a vision of the most barren of post-apocalyptic wastelands. The nuclear clearing and fall out of a 3000 years’ war has left the Earth scorched of nourishment. As far as the eye can see are nothing but the most jagged peaks and impassable craters. Few still survive on limited resources, with no hope of ever rebuilding the world as it once was, most only wait to die. The title track is a bird’s eye view of the carnage, a flight over devastation and despair. "Geneva" easily stands out and is the only song on the record that rivals the sludgy riffage and mood of 2008's Stations' mammoth title track.

The addition of Seattleite and These Arms Are Snakes bassist Brian Cook has not only up’d the ante as far as musicianship goes but his ominous rumble creates a thicker than tar back drop throughout the record for Mike Sullivan’s cunning transitions from chugging metal riffs to delicate atmosphere, case in point “Melee” which brings the isolation of this imagined world a glimmer of hope, peering through the black shadow that blinds all chance of a different fate. The added use of strings only hinders the epic climax for a short time, and once again Cook’s bass is brought front foreward, and Sullivan’s haunted and inspired guitar work is exposed for what it is. Carnal. Epic. Devastating. Like most drummers making heavy music today, Dave Turncrantz is the rock. He is indeed an amazing craftsman, and on “Geneva” he delivers a killer performance on each and every track.

“Hexed All” is a lullaby, a peaceful winter slumber complete with keys, strings, and delicate picking. Beautiful. It all comes together on “Malko” though; circular guitar swirls courtesy of Sullivan, Cook’s earthmoving bass, and Turncrantz’s frantic drumming perfectly coexist on probably the most frenetic track on the album; a literal mind blower. “When the Mountain Comes to Muhammad” is enhanced with the sounds of WWII news coverage setting the stage for an eight minute accent into madness complete with horns, and an end time message wall of distortion. “Philos” is a ten minute battle of the senses, and a fitting and doom filled end.

"Geneva" is indeed dark in nature, but it is also glorious to behold. It illuminates a bleak and utterly dissonant world, one that not only leans heavily on a sci-fi imagination, but also a potentially all to real prediction of what could come due to worldly matters out of our immediate control. Russian Circles have created some incredible and ethereal soundscapes before, but this record not only tops their two previous efforts (Enter, Stations) but is a release of the highest caliber. It is an epic journey, and certainly one of finest records of 2009.

Review by SRG - @seattlerockguy