Russian Circles - Gnosis

With Gnosis, Russian Circles strip away the expansive terrain of their past albums and instead forge straight into their heaviest, most harrowing territory yet. Written in isolation during the pandemic, the band reimagined their creative process: instead of developing fragments together in a practice space, members wrote and recorded full songs independently before sharing them. This shift preserved each track’s raw, original vision while channeling the urgency and frustration of the times.

Though conceived remotely, the songs were ultimately recorded live as a full band to capture their visceral energy. The result is Russian Circles at their most furious and focused, an album that exorcises years of tension with relentless riffs and thunderous rhythms. Cinematic flourishes give way almost entirely to pure catharsis, delivering one of the most unflinching statements in their catalog.