Jinjer have never been a band for the faint of heart. Their eclectic and progressive tendencies seemed to reach a peak on 2019’s Macro but even then they had a ferocious sense of propulsion at their core.
2021’s Wallflowers was a hulking follow-up and now Duél builds on that sense of barely-checked aggression. There’s good reason, given what has happened to the Ukrainian band’s homeland in that time.
There’s a sense of distilled anger on a track such as Rogue. Vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk rages at an unnamed – but identifiable – despot as the band whip up a maelstrom around her. But even at their most blistering there’s a blazing technicality to everything they do.
The prog metal touches might be partly hidden beneath the heaviness but they shine through in the quirky guitar phrasings and djent-flavoured polyrhythms. Eugene Abdukhanov is a beast on the bass and it’s always a joy when his fluid phrases bubble to the surface.
Not everything is played with the throttle to the floor: Tumbleweed and Kafka throw a little more light and shade. But this is an album for those who can take a burst of extremity with their virtuosic musicianship.
Duél is on sale now via Napalm.
