Chicago’s Russian Circles initially comes off as exactly the kind of band you’d expect from a city known for its post-rock music scene. Then, after a few minutes of gentle loops and delicate guitars, the Windy City duo of Dave Turncrantz and Mike Sullivan breaks out the thunder. Make no mistake: Russian Circles is a post-rock/metal hybrid band, and there’s enough heavy riffage on the group’s debut full-length, Enter, to earn favorable comparisons to Mastodon or fellow Chicagoans Pelican. The band’s epic songs—which feature little, if any, repetition—often top the eight-minute mark, offering a long-distance journey through loud/soft dynamics, propulsive rhythms, and metal shredding. It’s a tour through post-rock, indie-rock, and prog-rock then back again, in the way only a band from Chicago could muster. Russian Circles performs with Dalek and Young Widows at 7:30 p.m. at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. $10. (202) 388-7625.