Jinjer: Duél

Jinjer is a modern metal band from Ukraine. Despite the turmoil in their home country the band has a constant presence in the international touring circuit and has built some serious momentum in recent years. Perhaps the biggest feature or draw card for the band's sound is the vocals of front- woman Tatiana Shmayluk. Her vocals are incredible - they're every bit as versatile, skillful and varied as say a Mike Patton or Devin Townsend, and whether she's clean singing or belting out extreme metal style gutturals, she gives Jinjer the sort of lift needed to elevate the band above their peers. Musically, Jinjer is a difficult band to pigeonhole, they're forging their own sound blending Djent style progressive metal, with death metal, Nu metal, and alternative.

Whilst Jinjer isn't a band that I have followed very closely I must admit that listening to a pre-release of the album for a review is a really enjoyable assignment. As I listen through Duel I hear shades of bands like Allegaeon, Periphery, Lacuna Coil, Lamb of God, Korn, along with plenty of unique and individual sound palattes. Despite the name-dropping for stylistic context, Jinjer are very much their own thing, and despite me only just dipping my toe into their world, I probably prefer Jinjer to all of those aforementioned bands. The music is deceptively complex and whilst the vocals will get a lot of the flowers, everyone in the band is churning out world-class performances. The complexity in the music is veiled behind the melodic hooks of the soaring clean vocal passages, but even the intricate downtuned guitar and bass lines carry a lot of melodic sensibility. Melody aside, when the band decides to lock into a rhythmly complex passage, they do so with a Meshuggah-esque level of precision and brutality.

Even though I often approach reviews in the mindset of being critical, more so when I'm not an established fan of a band, there's almost nothing for me to single out as a weakness as I listen through the album from top to tail. Not all of it is exactly what I'm typically into, but it's all done very well.

If you're a fan of heavy music and want to hear a relatively new band forging their own path, look no further than Jinjer. There are a fair few pre-release singles/videos available on YouTube; start there and see how long it takes for the band to get their hooks into you. Duel will no doubt see this band continue their ascent towards the summit of the mountain of modern heavy music.

Tracklisting
1. Tantrum
2. Hedonist
3. Rogue
4. Tumbleweed
5. Green Serpent
6. Kafka
7. Dark Bile
8. Fast Draw
9. Someone's Daughter
10. A Tongue So Sly
11. Duél

Added: January 22nd 2025
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 689
Language: english

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