46. Russian Circles - "Gnosis"

Slight and uninvasive post-metal, which is brim-full of evocative and creeping beauty. It is not an immediate album, instead it is one that starts to show its real face after a number of listens. Return visits are rewarded with access to a swirling and textured world, nuanced and insular but also utterly entrancing. 

Russian Circles have been doing this for years without much fanfare or hyperbole. With every release they hone their sound a little bit more and whilst “Gnosis” doesn’t see them deviate much from the template, it does feel much sharper and more defined than their previous releases. Post-metal can be a little scattergun in places, but here everything feels very orchestrated and structured. For a genre that is known to wander all over the shop, “Gnosis” is atypically short and this means it never outstays its welcome. Really wonderful.