Guidance
by Russian Circles
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. The Guardian
    Aug 4, 2016
    100
    Doom has never sounded so good.
  2. The 405
    Aug 17, 2016
    90
    Guidance is not only Russian Circles' best album yet, but a standard-bearer for heavy, guitar-based instrumental music.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    Aug 4, 2016
    90
    Guidance is a masterpiece in the art of emotional communication through musicianship, an album which ultimately, despite its darkness, serves to inspire and uplift--a true reflection of the human experience.
  5. Exclaim
    Aug 3, 2016
    90
    Compared to Memorial, the band's previous release, Guidance plays it straight and heavy, granting the listener fewer moments of mercy from the onslaught of Russian Circles' music.
  6. Uncut
    Sep 23, 2016
    80
    Russian Circles display a welcome eagerness to cut to the chase whether they're crafting gentler soundscapes like "Overboard" or hurtling through the doomy mathcore of "Vorel." [Nov 2016, p.37]
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  7. musicOMH.com
    Aug 15, 2016
    80
    Brief moments of respite and apparent simplicity allow the more aggressive and expansive moments to really resonate.
  8. AllMusic
    Aug 5, 2016
    80
    Rough and explosive yet perfectly controlled, Guidance is yet another powerful statement from the heavy instrumental rock behemoths.
  9. Revolver
    Aug 5, 2016
    80
    Russian Circles deliver seven glorious cuts of cinematic elegance and regal thunder. Not to mention what might be its best album yet.
  10. The A.V. Club
    Aug 5, 2016
    75
    Although Guidance may have a few minor shortcomings, the Chicago trio’s sixth LP is yet another example of its ability to examine and depict multifaceted emotions without needing to utter a word.
  11. Consequence
    Aug 4, 2016
    75
    Though Russian Circles haven’t eclipsed their best work, Guidance is more a subtle nod to the coexistent depths and heights that have defined and run through the band’s music from the very outset.
  12. Pitchfork
    Aug 3, 2016
    75
    Even when Guidance gets complicated, there’s a more organic and unforced feel to it, as if songs were allowed to grow wild rather than carefully cultivated.
  13. Magnet
    Aug 11, 2016
    70
    The result is the most dynamic LP of Russian Circles' career. [No. 134, p.61]
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  14. PopMatters
    Aug 3, 2016
    70
    Guidance has parts where Russian Circles deliver on the promise of their astounding career, and instances where one is reminded of their greatest hits. The latter may be less appealing to those acquainted with the Russian Circles discography, but the former is still a thing to behold.
  15. Under The Radar
    Sep 14, 2016
    60
    The trio pushes sound experimentations forward within the confines of their drum/bass/guitar instrumentation. [Aug-Sep 2016, p.75]
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  16. The Skinny
    Aug 3, 2016
    60
    By deliriously atmospheric closer Lisboa, it's clear that the Chicagoan trio have little new to offer the genre, but they sure know how to make a dead concept feel alive.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. thebassline
    Aug 19, 2016
    10
    I begin this review by embarking on something of a challenge: I have no intention of referencing a single separated track on Guidance. For me,I begin this review by embarking on something of a challenge: I have no intention of referencing a single separated track on Guidance. For me, it would do a disservice to the cohesion of the record, and frankly the actual beginnings, middles and ends are academic, as every movement drags the listener deep inside and makes one feel and engage rather than just listen.

    But what actually makes this album and this band stand out? Well, first off, production. While this record doesn’t insist on painstakingly cutting out every hiss, fuzz or imperfection, Guidance is lush, smooth and subtle yet dense. It all feels so natural for the three-piece to sound this tight but so sprawling. The end product doesn’t satisfy in how clean it has come out, but in how personal it all sounds, akin to sitting in God City Studios, peering over the mixing desk, absorbing it all but not touching a single dial. While previous entries in their discography had a charm in the lo-fi approach, album number six hints that it could delight the purest of audiophiles, and yet decides not to. Whether this is a conscious decision by the band or not is a mystery, but Guidance sounds like a perfect live album.

    Musically, it is fair to say that whilst Russian Circles haven’t exactly abandoned post-metal, chugging riffs and gritty guitar tones serve as a flourish rather than the base of this record. Guidance is overwhelmingly warm for the most part, encouraging the listener to step in and allow the waves to sweep them under with reckless abandon for when the waters get their most choppy and abrasive - for those that have concerns: there are zero disappointments on the heaviness front here. Even at the most quiet moments, there is no shortage of atmosphere, whether in blissful serenity or satisfaction in the knowledge that the storm is around the corner. There are tinges of acoustic folk, Godspeed-esque passages of reverb-drenched fuzz, minimalist mid-sections, and everything in between (which just happens to be the most delicious glue).

    Moreover, a striking observation made from quite early on is that Russian Circles are under zero obligation to alienate anyone with implausible time signatures or technical insanity. There is much to be appreciated in musical showmanship if it fulfils the brief of the actual song behind it, but more so on Guidance than on their previous efforts, the trio use their obvious talents into maximising the basics - some could argue (and have) that this inspires a lack of immediacy or allows the record to rest on its laurels, but as far as my own opinion is concerned, this is not the case. Every section is explored to full potential almost free of arrogance or pressure to over-perform and makes the finished article so simple to engage with. The record glides effortlessly between light and dark, mixing twinkling sections of beauty with crushingly bleak walls of noise, and refreshingly never once feels like an awkward juxtaposition.

    In essence, Guidance is everything this reviewer could want in a Russian Circles album. It could be the backing to a Shakespearian melodrama, it could be the best concert you could ever attend, it could be the soundtrack to the laziest of Sundays, but whatever your purpose, please give yourself to this record, be it for one listen or many, many more. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m jumping back in.    … Full Review »
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