Though the press may push this group's metal side before even mentioning that they're an instrumental band, Russian Circles' debut adds sparse, though undeniably seamless, moments of heavy metal grandeur to mostly math-rock noodling. Enter has several moments of gnashing guitars, and the band shows discipline and musical chops throughout, but Russian Circles are metal-dabblers working inside of an indie rock idiom, not a cult band who happen to permeate its finicky borders. (Their circle on a Venn diagram would be completely enveloped by their labelmates at indie-friendly Flameshovel, where the circles of acts like Boris or Pelican just overlap slightly at its edges. No, I'm not going to draw it.) These guys are used to playing for audiences who don't want to hear extended guitar solos with mile-a-minute hammer-ons, or-- god forbid-- a percussion solo. So, they've found a new way to show off: with stunning, bludgeoning, consistently surprising transitions.
Opening track "Carpe" stakes out a peak the rest of the Enter strains to meet. It has the albums's most breathless false stops and likely its heaviest moments, veering from "Twilight Zone" high note plucking to rubbery fretboard tapping, to punishing power chords and back again. "Micha" is a moody Mogwai knockoff that builds from clean guitar and piano to a thrashing crescendo more naturally, and much less interestingly. Thankfully, "Death Rides a Horse" brings as much muscle as possible, with a tireless guitar riff riding the song's choppy, unpredictable rhythms. The remaining three tracks (doesn't read like much, but these songs commonly stretch past the seven- and eight-minute mark) traverse a smoother, moodier plane, though there are moments, like the halfway mark of the title track or "New Macabre", that are not recommended for pregnant mothers, chronic back pain sufferers, or those with heart disease-- Russian Circles can build an atmosphere so calming and innocuous you'll never see the hammer coming from behind.
The band turns on a dime so quickly, however, that it becomes their best and only trick. Enter never feels like head-down noodling, nor does it get muddled by excess, but maybe it could have used a little of either. "Hooks" isn't quite the right word, but the band works so hard on making Enter a seamless slab of genre-melding goodness that they neglected to include any moments that stood out from the rest, so none have a chance of sticking with the listener. The first couple of listens are stunning, and it probably makes for a great live show, but it doesn't leave much of a mark-- just a vague feeling of competency.
