Memorial (Silver With Black Splatter Vinyl)

Russian Circles – Memorial (Silver With Black Splatter Vinyl)

On Russian Circles fifth album “Memorial”, the band shift from somber-yet-soaring melodies on one track to pummeling metal heft on the next, focusing on each individual songs emotional and musical characteristics. In search of such a streamlined sound, the trio focused on each individual song having its own emotional and musical characteristics. As such, Memorial almost feels like stages of grief. That notion might be aided by 1) the album’s clever structuring, in which it ends in the same place as it starts, and 2) special guest vocalist Chelsea Wolfe lending her hauntingly somber vocals to the album closing title track. “We’ve always tried to balance our metal-influenced sounds with more nuanced, pretty, orchestral elements,” Cook says. “But this time, it’s far more polarized in that the heavy parts are much more blown out and exaggerated while the pretty moments are far more restrained, delicate, and atmospheric.”