Author: Primož Novak
Location: Kino Šiška (small hall) / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 05.04.2015
Ticket price: €15/€18
Chicago outfit Russian Circles, who played the Menza pri koritu hall at Metelkova five years ago, are finally back in Slovenia. Going by the announcement that the band would play Kino Šiška, it felt like RC had seriously grown their fanbase here. But on the day of the show it turned out that just enough tickets had been sold to fill the small hall at Kino Šiška.
Russian Circles were joined on tour by Helms Alee from Seattle, who have put out three albums so far. The trio set out to win people over with an interesting mix of sludge metal, post-metal and noise rock. The basic setup is definitely appealing, and a good chunk of the crowd was visibly enjoying the set. The trio’s use of vocals was even more charming: two women and one man, which gave the dark, drawn-out songs a bit more life. But Helms Alee didn’t go beyond a more than solid performance. Despite all their mileage, the band let quite a few slip-ups through. The vocal harmonies were especially shaky, and the drummer kept dropping out of time. Helms Alee have interesting ideas, but sadly they don’t come across polished enough.
The trio Russian Circles didn’t arrive on the scene as newcomers who could shape its later development. They knew the confines of the post-metal/rock scene, but luckily they didn’t stick to just one approach and showed that much more is possible. Russian Circles helped make that happen with more refined arrangements and a dynamic rhythm section. Even though the band showed its potential and defined its style with the very first album, with every following record it proved that the ideas wouldn’t just run dry. The show in the packed small hall lived up to that. In a little under an hour and a half, RC played the hits of their discography and showed what they’re made of. The experience definitely showed: the three of them are tightly in sync, and each member stood out in their own way with their lines and various solo spots. There was no talking to the crowd; RC simply surprised the audience without any announcements, and the crowd, despite the packed hall, loved it. The atmosphere was also incredible thanks to the minimal lighting and the »fog«. Sure, at first you could hardly see the band, but the point was hit when they suddenly surprised everyone with a punchy section, a result of more thought-out and sophisticated structures. A Russian Circles show is something special, with calm passages blending beautifully into heavy, distorted ones, so the crowd gets to experience something out of the ordinary. With pleasant, dreamy songs RC showed a sense of calm, while the louder parts were a nod to the crowd that wanted to move a little more.
Russian Circles did more than well. The sound doesn’t quite come into its own in the small hall, but the crowd got what it came for. Next time, though, the hope is that the band will grow even more in popularity so that the big hall at Kino Šiška fills up too.
