✦✦✦✧ Russian Circles are so fucking cool. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they pull a Crazy Ivan and surprise you with more variations to their sonic explorations. Some of their most metallic and heaviest moments are on this, their ninth (duh) album. But so are some of their synthiest moments.

✦✦✧✧ To be honest, this one’s kinda boring. (Just contrast this to the new Elder album, and you’ll see how much Russian Circles could have done with instrumental shoegaze.)

★★☆☆ It’s good, it’s dynamic, but it’s frankly a little difficult to get excited about or pumped by. You know how you’ll say, “Oh yeah, I fucking LOVE baklava!” but never actually think about it unless you see it in front of you? This album is like that.