Russian Circles + Pelican

TICKETS

Russian Circles return to Prague once again. After sold-out shows at Lucerna and last year’s biggest Prague concert to date at ARCHA+, the band is now heading to Smíchov’s MeetFactory. The second and no less major act of the night will be fellow Chicagoans Pelican, bringing their long-awaited new album.

Throughout their discography, the instrumental trio Russian Circles have traversed a vast terrain of sounds, moods, and techniques – all with just drums, bass, and guitar. From their debut Enter (2006) to the dense, layered compositions of Blood Year (2019), their music evolved from meditative, intricate melodies to raw, distorted walls of sound.

On their latest album Gnosis (2022), the band chose to abandon the broad stylistic spectrum and focus instead on the deepest and darkest aspects of their sound. The pandemic made them redevelop their writing process: each member composed separately, resulting in material filled with tension and physical energy. The outcome, produced by Kurt Ballou, is their most concentrated and ferocious record yet — an eruption of two years of suppressed unrest. “While still exploring a wide range of dynamics, they're not afraid to get right to the point and knock people's heads off. The fact Gnosis remains so compelling with only three people and no vocals should be sign enough. Russian Circles still writes riffs worthy of remembrance,” comments Metal Injection.

Russian Circles have been part of Full Moon magazine’s story from the very beginning and the band’s return to MeetFactory is in many ways symbolic. One can recall their concert at the venue twelve years ago with Chelsea Wolfe, organized by the magazine’s founder Jana “Apačka” Kačurová, packed Podnik a few years later, and multiple other memorable shows.

Likewise, Pelican, another cornerstone of the Chicago scene, draw deeply from a long and vibrant history. Formed at the dawn of the millennium, the band has always embodied the free spirit of their home music community. The return of original guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec revived the band's original dynamics and led to the creation of Flickering Resonance (2025), a record that fuses doom-laden roots with the emotion and melodicity of 90s post-hardcore. “There’s more than enough bands ploughing the furrows of instrument rock/metal and you either have to have great musicianship or a unique selling point to survive. I’ve been listening to Pelican for a long time, so they get special dispensation as being one of the first pioneers to garner my interest. Growing old gracefully, Flickering Resonance finds Pelican revitalised yet not venturing too far away from their trademark sounds,” wrote Echoes and Dust. Under the supervision of producer Sanford Parker, Pelican have crafted an album that doesn’t celebrate the past, but the present, like a flame in the dark: it reminds us of what has passed while hinting at what is still yet to come.

Tickets:
from 590 CZK in presale
490 CZK for students with ISIC
790 CZK at the door
 

The concert is promoted by MeetFactory in collaboration with Full Moon and Pushteek. Before your visit to MeetFactory, we recommend checking out the page Information for visitors.