Russian Circles share final single 'Seventh Seal' ahead of new album Nine

Russian Circles have shared "Seventh Seal," the final single before the release of their new album this Friday. The Chicago post-metal trio's track pairs raw, unresolved riffs with tightly structured sections, building a track that stays aggressive and unpredictable without ever losing its shape.

The album, titled Nine, is the band's ninth studio record and arrives August 28 via Sargent House. It was made by guitarist Mike Sullivan, bassist Brian Cook and drummer Dave Turncrantz alongside their longtime engineer Kurt Ballou, whose credits include Converge, High on Fire and Mastodon, and recorded in Chicago, the same city where Russian Circles has tracked every record since its 2006 debut, Enter.

Describing the album when it was first announced, the band framed the songwriting as a way of taking stock of time and distance. "The band continues to be at the center, and this creative collaboration is a way of charting the passage of time," Russian Circles said, calling the record a process of reconciliation and reflection on aging, both as individuals and as a group that life has pulled in different directions.

Nine runs seven tracks: "Borehole," "Empath," "Eluvial," "E2," "Meridian," "Arletta" and "Seventh Seal," which closes the record.

Russian Circles will back the release with a North American tour beginning September 25 in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and running through November 21 in Minneapolis. Pelican joins the early September and October dates, with Primitive Man taking over support duties for the November leg through cities including St. Louis, Los Angeles, Seattle and Denver.

With Nine, Russian Circles adds another release to a run of new metal records tracked on the release calendar this fall.