Russian Circles Announce Their New Album, ‘Blood Year,’ & North American Tour

“Russian Circles have made great use of post-rock most familiar’s dynamic tricks—loud and quiet; stop and start, swell and subside. But they’ve never had qualms about splicing elements of everything from metal and noise-rock to krautrock and post-hardcore into their darkly dramatic, instrumental compositions.” – Pitchfork

There are few things one can be sure of these days, though one truism that remains is that Russian Circles will continue to reign as one of instrumental music’s supreme champions.

These masters of sonic tension and release plan to deliver their seventh studio album August 2nd on Sargent House. Dubbed Blood Year, the LP is less a musical exploration and more a statement of authority, lest there be any doubt that Russian Circles remain a force to be reckoned with on the stage and in the studio.

The Chicago trio have always explored the dynamics of volume and timbre, with their albums often vacillating between caustic attacks and blissful respites. Russian Circles returned to the studio with Kurt Ballou to record Blood Year, but this time they tracked it in Chicago at Steve Albini’s world-famous Electrical Audio.

From guitarist Mike Sullivan’s riff-fueled assaults, to Dave Turncrantz’s war machine rack and floor toms and Brian Cook’s meat grinding bass lines, the sound of Blood Year is that of a band unafraid to flaunt their hard-earned prowess.

Sullivan, Turncrantz, and Cook made a conscious effort to approach the songs on Blood Year with the same organic feel of a live show. In an age where rock records are often built on a computerized grid, Russian Circles chose to track the foundations of the songs together in one room as complete takes without click tracks. The human pulse and unmetered energy is woven throughout Blood Year, a presence that can be felt with each bone-rattling minute. 

Blood Year will be released via Sargent House on August 2 and Russian Circles will be on tour in North America this September, October and November in support of it.  FACS and Windhand will appear on select dates — check out all tour dates listed below.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES – ON TOUR:
May 31 Chicago, IL @ Do Division Fest
September 11 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon *
September 12 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Culture Center *
September 14 Bozeman, MT @ Rialto Bozeman *
September 16 Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
September 17 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
September 19 San Francisco, CA @ August Hall *
September 20 Ventura, CA @ Discovery Ventura *
September 21 Los Angeles, CA @ The Teragram Ballroom *
September 23 Mesa, AZ @ The Nile *
September 24 Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
September 25 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
September 28 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
October 18 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
October 19 Detroit, MI @ El Club
October 20 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
October 21 Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
October 23 Portsmouth, NH @ 3S ArtSpace
October 24 Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
October 26 Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
October 27 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
October 29 Washington, DC @ Union Stage
October 30 Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
November 1 Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall +
November 2 Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre +
November 3 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade +
November 4 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s +
November 6 Houston, TX @ The Secret Group +
November 8 Austin, TX @ Levitation
November 9 Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company +
November 11 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall +
w/ FACS *
w/ Windhand +