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Dig deep lads... Jan 22, 2010
I'm not going to wax philosophic on the merits of postrock. Only know that these guys play ROCKing and interesting metallic excursions into the netherworld of heavy music. Damn, and I thought I'd heard it all...
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
This is a good one... Jan 12, 2010
3rd album from Russian Circles lives up to the hype! I'd describe this band as a nice mixture of Pelican, Explosions in the Sky and Red Sparowes, leaning a bit towards the Pelican. But they explore nuance and open space in a way that Pelican doesn't do as much anymore. Three brilliant musicians, a very diverse album that takes you on a journey, what more could you ask for. If you like instrumental music, or any of the above bands, check these guys out! Fabulous...
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 What you would expect... Jan 02, 2010
How anyone can give this less then 5 stars I don't know. True, I think their first two records are a little bit better. However, this album is still 1000 times better than 99.9% of what you would hear on modern radio today. Basically, if you enjoyed the first two you won't be disappointed with this cut!
3 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Skip it-buy their first two. Nov 09, 2009
First off, I love Russian Circles. I've listened to Enter and Station countless times and consider them both great albums. Their live show will absolutely blow you away-evil, beautiful, intelligent, brutal music! I can't wait to see them when they come to town next month! I anxiously awaited Geneva and after repeat listens have come away dissappointed each time. This album seems disjointed to me and quite frankly, boring. The sense of urgencey that builds in their first two albums is definately missing here. The band has always been good at tempering their agressive moments with beautiful, trance like rhythyms, but on this album it falls flat. My advice-see them live and buy the first two!
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Their best work to date. Oct 25, 2009
Russian Circles is one of my favourite bands, if not my favourite. I've listen to Enter and Station countless times, soaking in every detail I can, finding something new with every listen. I hyped Geneva to no end, and it delivers on all fronts. Heavy, brooding, and absolutely beautiful.
The first two tracks are absolutely relentless - dark, heavy, and unsettling. The album opens with a violin and a cello, fighting back and forth to play a single note, bending and twisting. Dave pounds the toms, and the song proceeds forward. The song ends the same as it began, which leads into Geneva. Absolutely massive and an incredibly dark atmosphere, Geneva is the heaviest song Russian Circles have ever written. Brian's bass work shows here, as the single best bassline in the band's history comes in about half-way through the song!
The album then takes a turn with Melee, a painstakingly beautiful song with an incredibly creative and catchy drum beat at the beginning, with Dave playing 16th notes on the rim of his snare and the bass drum thumping on syncopated beats. It's brilliant, and the song as two very distinct parts that compliment each other wonderfully. Hexed All is one the softest songs on the album, and probably the softest song they've ever written (Xavii being the other.) Simple guitar melodies and bass notes are complimented by a very simple, repeated pattern on the drums, with the accents coming in on different beats as the pattern repeats itself.
Malko is the next song on the album - an extremely aggressive track that starts with Mike's signature guitar tapping and ends in absolute chaos. A very short but destructive track.
The second-to-last song is When the Mountain Comes to Muhammed, an incredibly dark track. It's the band's first use of any type of vocals. A sample from the Oppenheimer atomic bomb tests opens the song, which sets a very creepy mood. The song builds slowly as the man in the sample awaits the bomb's detonation, and when the wave finally hits, a sudden rumbling starts in the sample, followed by an unsettling nose from the guitar, and finally a bass melody that sets the chord progression for the rest of the song. The song concludes with an unexpected use of horns, which I found to be very, very suiting.
The album ends with Philios, a track they previously released on a split with These Arms are Snakes. It's by far the most optimistic (well, the only optimistic) song on the album and features a brilliant use of strings and horns, which leads into a huge climax, which actually reminded me a lot of Red Sparowes, particularly the clean-sounding guitar strums.
Geneva is a masterpiece, and is by far the band's most compelling album. I didn't expect to be disappointed with Geneva, and I wasn't. It features the best riffs, chord progressions, drum work, and bass work in the band's career, and there's not a weak track on the entire album. I cannot wait to hear what these guys release next.
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