Russian Circles 'Empros'

Chicago post-metal trio Russian Circles return with their fourth and heaviest album to date, 'Empros', poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of the genre. 'Empros' picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009's 'Geneva' left off, injecting slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with the visceral intensity reminiscent of Godflesh, Swans, and Neurosis. Simply put, 'Empros' is Russian Circles' 'Master of Reality': a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in clarity and perfection.

Like a lone surviving woolly beast emerging from a brutal winter's frost, 'Empros' captures a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with the brutal force of an awakened behemoth. Russian Circles—guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz, and bassist Brian Cook—recorded 'Empros' at Phantom Manor in Chicago with Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines and Interpol, who also produced the band's previous album, 'Geneva'. 'Empros' marks the band's first full-length released worldwide exclusively via Sargent House, their longtime management company and record label that had previously released only the vinyl editions of their three prior albums.