RUSSIAN CIRCLES + DEAFHEAVEN

18th June 2025 • OM

  • Doors • 19:00
  • RUSSIAN CIRCLES
  • Deafheaven
  • ULTHA

TICKETS AVAILABLE

RUSSIAN CIRCLES

Over the course of their seven previous studio albums, the Chicago-based instrumental trio Russian Circles has explored a varied topography of sounds, moods, and approaches with a limited arsenal: drums, bass, and guitar. It’s hard to trace a true evolution in their sound, as their records have always felt like meticulously orchestrated playlists. It wasn’t uncommon to hear, within a single album, heavy and atmospheric meditations, dazzling progressive rock exercises, raw and imposing riffs, enchanting folk ballads, and tense, provocative noise rock tracks. However, one cannot overlook the progression that leads from the thoughtful and complex melodies of Enter (2006) to the saturated, layered litanies of Blood Year (2019). This sonic shift happened gradually, thanks to a rigorous touring schedule and a preference for performing their most powerful tracks live. But with their latest album, Gnosis, Russian Circles abandon the varied terrain of their previous works to carve a path through the most tumultuous and devastating territory of their sound.

Like many artists in the COVID era, geographic barriers and isolation forced Russian Circles to reassess their writing process. Rather than building songs from fragmented ideas in the rehearsal room, complete tracks were written and recorded individually before being shared with the other members, allowing them to preserve their initial vision. While these demos spanned the group’s full stylistic palette, the more cinematic compositions were ultimately set aside in favor of the most physically cathartic tracks.

Gnosis was recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou. The drums and bass were recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago to maximize the natural sounds of the rhythm section. Guitar and synthesizer overdubs were done at God City in Salem, Massachusetts, to take advantage of Ballou’s impressive collection of amps and effects pedals. Although the album was entirely written remotely, the tracks were recorded with the band playing together to preserve the material’s live energy. Due to the era’s climate and this new writing method, Russian Circles has created their most enraged and focused work to date—an album that prioritizes the exorcism of two years of tension over the melancholy and restraint that often tinged their earlier creations.

Deafheaven

Originally formed in San Francisco, Deafheaven is comprised of vocalist George Clarke, guitarists Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra, bassist Christopher Johnson, and drummer Daniel Tracy. The band gained widespread acclaim for their groundbreaking 2013 album Sunbather, which redefined the margins of heavy music, earning esteemed spots on Rolling Stone’s ‘100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time’ and Pitchfork’s ‘200 Best Albums of the 2010s.’ Deafheaven again challenged genre conventions on 2015’s New Bermuda earning widespread acclaim, while their 2018 LP Ordinary Corrupt Human Love garnered the band their first-ever GRAMMY nomination in the “Best Metal Performance” field. Always moving forward, the band’s 2021 album Infinite Granite continued their evolution and galvanized with a refinement pointed at lusher textures and lilting melodies. Revered for their transcendental live shows, Deafheaven have toured the world over performing at festivals such as Coachella and Primavera Sound, while sharing stages with everyone from Slipknot and Knocked Loose to Chelsea Wolfe and Mono.

ULTHA

ULTHA is a five-member black metal band from Cologne, Germany, formed in 2014 after the dissolution of its members’ previous bands, such as PLANKS, GOLDUST, ATKA, IRA, and others. Their music can be described as a mix of American black metal, (funeral) doom, post-punk, and film-score-like atmospheres. Imagine Leviathan and Emperor collaborating with Neurosis and Oranssi Pazuzu to play tracks by Fields Of The Nephilim, and you’ll have an idea of Ultha’s sound.

Lyrically, the band moves away from the traditional metal clichés to explore inner darkness and sadness, delving into the human struggle to find happiness and the failures that come with it. The band’s songs typically range between 10 and 20 minutes, oscillating between rapid blast beats and slower, sludge-like eruptions. With their hypnotic and melodic songs, as well as their captivating live performances, Ultha has won over a wide audience in a short amount of time.

To date, Ultha has played over 100 shows alongside major European and international acts, in small clubs or on tour with bands such as Sun Worship (Germany), Woe (USA), Yellow Eyes (USA), and Unru (Germany). They have also performed at many renowned festivals, including Roadburn (Netherlands), Brutal Assault (Czech Republic), Party.San (Germany), Dudefest (Germany), Soulcrusher (Germany), Saint Helena (Germany), Doom Over Leipzig (Germany), In Flammen (Germany), and more. They also created their own festival, Unholy Passion Fest, which takes place annually in December in Cologne.

Ultha is one of the most prolific bands on the German underground scene, with more than a dozen releases over their ten-year career. Their second album, Converging Sins, critically acclaimed, received overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans and critics alike, establishing Ultha as a unique band with a very distinctive style. This album secured them a worldwide contract with CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS, which released their third album, The Inextricable Wandering, in the fall of 2018, confirming the band’s rise in quality.

In 2022, Ultha returned to their original label, Vendetta Records, to complete a trilogy of interconnected albums with All That Has Never Been True. This album topped numerous lists and rankings in specialized media and among fans, cementing their position as one of the must-watch bands in the underground metal scene.