Albums to watch

Guidance

Russian Circles

Guidance

Sixth album of instrumental post-rock and metal from the Chicago trio produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou

ADM rating[?]

7.8

Label
Sargent House
UK Release date
19/08/2016
US Release date
05/08/2016
  1. 10.0 |   The Guardian

    They have ditched the mathy time-signature changes of old and instead created towering vortices of foreboding noise
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  2. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    Compared to Memorial, the band's previous release, Guidance plays it straight and heavy, granting the listener fewer moments of mercy from the onslaught of Russian Circles' music
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  3. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Guidance is a masterpiece in the art of emotional communication through musicianship, an album which ultimately, despite its darkness, serves to inspire and uplift – a true reflection of the human experience
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  4. 9.0 |   The 405

    Guidance is not only Russian Circles' best album yet, but a standard-bearer for heavy, guitar-based instrumental music
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  5. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Groundbreaking? No, but impressively earth-shattering
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  6. 8.0 |   The FT

    The combination of power and finesse lives up to the sport from which the band derives its name: a “Russian circle” is an ice hockey drill
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  7. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    After six albums, Russian Circles are still a force to be reckoned with
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  8. 8.0 |   All Music

    Rough and explosive yet perfectly controlled, Guidance is yet another powerful statement from the heavy instrumental rock behemoths
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  9. 7.5 |   Pitchfork

    Even when Guidance gets complicated, there’s a more organic and unforced feel to it, as if songs were allowed to grow wild rather than carefully cultivated
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  10. 7.5 |   A.V. Club

    Russian Circles simply has one of the most powerful and tightly linked rhythm sections in rock
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  11. 7.5 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Though Russian Circles haven’t eclipsed their best work, Guidance is more a subtle nod to the coexistent depths and heights that have defined and run through the band’s music from the very outset
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  12. 7.0 |   Beardfood

    This album has a bit more sunlight to it
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  13. 7.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    In an increasingly chaotic world, doomsday music can be a catharsis, especially when an album like Guidance is able to offer silver linings to its mushroom clouds
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  14. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Some parts of Guidance feel a little familiar for Russian Circles, but it's still a document of a band operating at the peak of its powers
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  15. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    By deliriously atmospheric closer Lisboa, it's clear that the Chicagoan trio have little new to offer the genre, but they sure know how to make a dead concept feel alive
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