A lot has happened in Jinjer’s world since they released 2021’s exceptional Wallflowers album. In those four years, the Ukrainians’ profile and popularity have skyrocketed, they’ve toured with Slipknot, Disturbed and Bullet For My Valentine, and have drawn massive main stage crowds at summer festivals. They’ve defied expectations that a band this progressive, aggressive and knotty would remain on metal’s fringes.
They’ve also become staunch ambassadors for their homeland following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine – a trauma that is palpably etched into the steely fabric of fifth album, Duél. ‘Have you heard of the storm / That uprooted my home?’ sings Tatiana Shmayluk, on dependably fantastic form as always, as she segues effortlessly between harsh and clean vocals, and bellows ‘I turned into nothing, I won’t be the same’ over doomy, convulsing riffs on Tumbleweed. Single Rogue, the most uncompromisingly brutal song the band have put out, is a 0-100mph aural battering. With no intro and no build-up, it sounds like a blistering attack on Vladimir Putin: ‘Collecting blood is his ambition. He sets so light the value upon lives.’
Jinjer’s monstrous groove-tech sound is instantly recognisable. But if Wallflowers saw them eschew the whirlwind chaos of their earlier albums, where progressive metal clashed impulsively with jazz, prog and metalcore for something more refined, Duél is a darker, less immediate beast. The labyrinthine Hedonist and Kafka aren’t the kind of tracks you chuck on for a bit of casual listening; they’re less melodic and difficult to follow.
Understandably, writing an album of bangers was clearly the last thing on Jinjer’s minds, but the ‘Draw your weapon!’ command of Fast Draw is one of the few moments that feel ready-made for fist-pumping crowds. Duél, much like the band that created it, is one tough cookie, but is very much worth your perseverance.
Duél is out this Friday, February 7, via Napalm
