Live Reviews : Russian Circles & Eagle Twin @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne 28/09/2012

Just barely negotiating the Number 70 tram after a boozy work function, I find myself at The Corner Hotel and proceed to clumsily drop my phone (twice) on Swan street and smash the screen. A bit bummed but amused, I enter the venue to be greeted by the one of the largest collections of stern-looking bearded young men I’ve ever seen.

A golden sparkling drum kit reminiscent of John Bonham’s set up features on stage for the dominating sludge-groove 2 piece from Utah EAGLE TWIN. I was excited to see these guys and they did not disappoint. The reverb and hard-hitting rhythm shook The Corner to it’s foundations. Drummer Tyler Smith assaulted his drums so much so that they nearly fell off their stands, his limbs flailing excessively. Gentry Densley chugged his gritty guitar and it sounded like one continuous groove laden with heaviness and rawness.

A dark stage paved way for RUSSIAN CIRCLES, who snuck on stage like ninja’s. It turned into an onslaught of epic proportions as the Chicago 3 piece slayed ear drums with waves of discordant distortion, volume and reverb.
The band gelled like every band should; an unspoken connection operating on musical feel and cues, each of them in their own version of ‘shoe-gaze sludge’. Brian Cook’s thundering basslines melded the sound together and slipped effortlessly into the mix. An impressive use of samples, loops and effects illuminated guitarist Mike Sullivan’s riffs and solos, offering an intricate soundscape. Dave Turncrantz powered the trio with skillful and hard hitting beats, his cymbals the only items illuminated on the stage.

The performance was a a display of unspoken brilliance, light and dark, groove and core. The broody bearded crowd would only offer Melbourne’s usual reaction; crossed arms and the occasional head-bob. One dude was even pumping their fist during the middle of the set as it picked up momentum!

The band were fixated on their task of transporting their audience through their back-catalog of brilliance, peaking at Atackla mid way in. The crowd seemed to wake up at this stage and sway in sync, in a cult/underground way. RUSSIAN CIRCLES proved lyrics are not always needed to emote, that they rock in their own unique way anf that they deserved opening slots for bands like Isis, Coheed & Cambria, Mono, Pelican and the legendary TOOL.