Grapthar's Daily Hive Music Feature: Russian Circles - '309'

Russian Circles binge, so I corrected that error today, hehe. I was first introduced to this band in 2009 or 2010, from a friend of mine. I was just beginning to explore the world of instrumental metal and post-rock, and these guys perfectly fit between those genres. The band was formed in 2004 in Chicago, IL by Mike Sullivan, Dave Turncrantz, and Colin DeKuiper, though DeKuiper left in 2007 and was replaced by Brian Cook. The group has created a sound that is wholly their own, combining elements of metal, post-rock, shoegaze and some math-rock/emo elements. The bass and drums work together to create incredibly rhythmic, and yet still heavy, sections; the metal influence comes out in the guitars mostly, and the timbre of the bass, but the drums are often doing things that are much more technical and groove oriented, which definitely makes their songs much more interesting. They're entirely instrumental, so it's important that each of the 3 instruments fills in the gaps and keeps songs moving to maintain interest, which I personally think they always successfully do. Today's song is the opening track on the band's 2011 album Empros, released on the legendary Sargent House label. This song has some of the dirtiest, heaviest bass stuff, and some really impressive drum parts, particularly the kick patterns. The guitars are heavy as well, but incorporate a lot of delays and reverbs to give that ambient, soundscapey vibe.