Russian Circles
Nine

4.5
superb

Review

by CultOfNoise-Steve CONTRIBUTOR (57 Reviews)
September 5th, 2026 | 48 replies

Release Date: 08/28/2026 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Occupational Safety and Health Risk

Large industrial drills—such as those used in oil and gas extraction, construction piling, and mining—present a significant threat to life and stand as primary contributors to catastrophic workplace injuries and fatalities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that machinery, primarily drilling rigs and related equipment, is the leading source of severe injury in the oil and gas extraction sector, accounting for over 20% of all severe industrial incidents.
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Nine is a colossal return to form from Russian Circles, one of the premier post-metal acts of the last 2 decades. After the fall-off of 2019's Blood Year, I and many others felt their sound and approach had grown stale, and we'd potentially heard everything the three-piece had to offer. 2022's Gnosis moved in a more positive direction but was still considerably less exciting than their previous albums. The band's nineth effort however, is a ***ing beast. A towering, methodical, mechanical release that operates like a well oiled machine and will pulverize you into the ground.
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Meanwhile, bulldozers are a highly significant threat to life on job sites, ranking as one of the deadliest types of heavy machinery. Historical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and safety studies show that earthmoving equipment (like bulldozers and excavators) is responsible for hundreds of recorded construction fatalities, with bulldozers alone accounting for roughly 200 to 800 deaths depending on the specific multi-year study parameters analyzed.
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Produced by Kurt Ballou, the sound design on this album is incredible. Not only is there depth and weight to the dynamics, there’s a real scale to it: it sounds massive and crushing. Opening gambit 'Borehole' (inspired by the world's deepest in Russia) sets a brooding, ominous and desolate tone.
From that point onwards, Nine conjures imagery of large pieces of industrial machinery, chugging away and stomping on the floor, kicking up dust. This might be the heaviest Russian Circles have ever sounded.
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Workers on foot and maintenance personnel are most often killed when struck by moving machinery, backing vehicles, or falling equipment loads and parts. Vehicle and machinery rollovers are the leading cause of death specifically for equipment operators, often worsened by a lack of seatbelts or rollover protection. Workers getting crushed, compressed, or caught in running machinery, rotating parts, or collapsing trenches represent another major category of fatal accidents.
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The blaring synth at the begin of lead single 'Empath' will make you feel like you are on a construction site with a high risk to life factor. Brian Cook's bass rumbles so deep it feels like the earth shaking beneath you. Syncopated chugs are mechanical and uncaring. The band's flow state remains uninterrupted as guitars or bass riffs get layered on top of the calculated engineering, creating a dynamic and cathartic mechanism. Closer 'Seventh Seal' closes the deal, beginning with cogs and gears churning away before the behemoth gathers steam, leaving nothing but barren wasteland in it's wake.
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Heavy equipment and machinery cause hundreds of US workplace deaths every year, with construction and excavation sectors facing the highest risks. Historical data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information shows an average of about 770 machinery-related occupational fatalities per year. Roughly 1,000 total construction workers die on US job sites annually, and a large portion of these fatalities involve heavy equipment and large trucks. Backhoes, trucks, cranes, excavators, and tractors are most frequently involved in fatal incidents.

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