Napalm Records
7 February 2025
Words by Jimmy Glinster
The last time I saw this band I got to catch 2 songs back at Good Things 2022 before I had to run back to the interview tent for a chat with then Soulfly guitarist Dino Cazares which was rudely interrupted by Gloria Cavalera demanding that he hurry up and get the fuck onstage. Shortly after, Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk returned back to the artist area across the imaginary uncrossable line from the media area to be adorned with a massive python from the mini-Aussie zoo followed by a game of ping-pong with Arch Enemy’s Cristina Scabbia.
What’s the point of all that name-dropping you say? Well, fuck all really apart from the opportunity to drop some names and tell tales of the odd occurrences backstage and excuse myself for missing the majority of the show. Excuses aside, I’ll now focus on reviewing Jinjer’s latest release Duél. And just to drag some of those names back in, you’ll be getting a review of Arch Enemy’s new banger of an album from me next week too. But for now, let me shift my focus back to the Ukranian Progressive Nu-Metal juggernauts Jinjer.
The album opens with a little thrash banger by the title of Tantrum. Great name for the song as it literally sounds like the band are all having a Tantrum. There may be a little bit of bipolar disorder occurring as Tatiana launches into a clean melodic chorus, but the band quickly pulls the song back into absolute carnage. Funky bass moments jump in and out from the mix and create an unusual bounce in an otherwise fast-paced thrash track. The track pulls back for an interlude and then ends on a slower grooving riff and outro. This is a fucking good start to proceedings!
Hedonist takes on more of a heavy broken groove and Tatiana’s vocals remain clean as the song sails through its verses and choruses. It’s a little weird to grab the groove in this track as it swerves on and off the beat, but something about it is still catchy as fuck. Eventually the vocals dirty up, and the track gets straight-up heavy with double kicks and syncopated guitar chugs. If things continue like this, this is going to be a bit of an adventure.
This next one is a bit rogue, and it just happens to be called Rogue. It’s all about that broken heavy groove that we just heard in the previous track, but this time around it means business and is a fair whack heavier. Some tricky riffage and an unusual time signature fuck with my head mid-song and I struggle to figure it out by the end of the song.
Just like a tumbleweed, Tumbleweed rolls in ever so softly across the surface of this so far fairly heavy album. Don’t get me wrong, this is still heavy albeit a little slower and melodic. Those broken offset guitar chugs though … Ooft!
In a strange turn of events after my whole python story, this next track is called Green Serpent, and it slithers its way into my earholes with an even smoother intro than the previous song. This very quickly gets sorted out though with some heavy ass drums and guitar riffs marinated with some brutal screams. Eventually, the screams and cleans interweave to show both the heavy and dark sides of the track.
The album seems to have hit a vibe as Kafka follows suit with the two previous tracks and their slower-paced melodic intros. 4/4 does not seem to be a familiar time signature with this band, and as the song progresses it slips in and out of a familiar groove. Maybe it is 4/4, maybe I just can’t count. I’m really not sure, as the guitar jabs and snare hits don’t always land where you would expect. I thought I heard some weird polyrhythms with cowbell hits, but it turns out that’s just Sohnelm rehearsing in the studio and me forgetting to kill the feed back into the office.
Dark Bile again starts on the more melodic side, but it does heavy up very quickly while maintaining clean melodic vocals. When the screams start the band launches into a wickedly groovy chugging rhythm. It’s like one big ongoing breakdown with the odd heavy guitar melody pushing through. This is a fucking heavy song, not fast, but goddamn heavy!
Fast Draw draws us quickly back to the opening of the album with frantic heavy riffs and vocals. The band seemed to do really well with naming these songs as they almost perfectly fit the individual vibe of each track. Draw your Weapon wails frequently through the track, which just keeps beating itself into heavier versions of itself. This is probably the heaviest track so far, by far.
I was expecting the next track Someones Daughter to possibly be a ballad, and it is, for all of 30 seconds. And then, it gets heavy, and chuggy, and squealy. You know, all the good things that you would expect from a metal song. The band shows off in the middle of the track with some technical rhythmic noodling before strapping themselves back in to end the song on a really heavy note, a fucking low one!
The name of this next track reminds me of that scene out of American Pie about the bible. You know, the sex one with the Tongue Tornado in it. Yeah, I’m reminiscing, but in my defence, I went to some American Pie Emo night the other night where the bible made an appearance and resulted in that move of A Tongue So Sly to be the main topic of discussion. I don’t believe this song has anything to do with anyone getting cozy with Tara Ried, but I could also be very wrong. Either way, it’s a fucking banger of a track!
The title track rips me a new one as guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov, bassist Eugene Abdukhanov and drummer Vladislav Ulasevich jam out some heavy as fuck rhythms. It’s a heavy and relentless ending to the album which shows off both the musicianship of the band and the vocal flexibility of Tatiana with her heavy screams and soaring harmonic melodies.
Is Duél, is good! I can’t wait to check Jinjer out at Fortitude Music Hall on the 21st of this month. It’s sure to be a banging heavy show.
