Underground legends RUSSIAN CIRCLES have announced their return to New Zealand after 9 years, touring in support of their new album GNOSIS.

Chicago-based post-metal group have traversed a diverse topography of sounds, moods, and approaches with their limited armory of drums, bass, and guitar, that has earned them a loyal cult following that has seen them tour extensively worldwide since forming.

Known for their combination of epic walls of sound with technical dexterity and driving rhythms, their intense compositions have earned them a loyal cult following that has seen them tour extensively worldwide since forming.

It’s difficult to chart an evolution in their sound when their records have always felt like well-curated playlists. It wasn’t uncommon to hear drone-heavy meditations, dazzling prog exercises, knuckle-dragging riff-fests, haunting folk ballads, and tension-baiting noise rock all within the span of one album. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the progression from the pensive and intricate melodies of Enter (2006) to the layered distorted dirges of Blood Year (2019). It’s been a gradual sonic shift owing to the band’s rigorous tour schedule and a predilection towards playing their more authoritative material on stage. But with their latest album, GNOSIS, the band eschew the varied terrain of their past work and bulldoze a path through the most tumultuous and harrowing territory of their sound