Jinjer requires little to no introduction to the global metal fanbase. The Ukrainian four-piece stormed its way into the international spotlight with its second album from 2014 ‘Cloud Factory’, and subsequently carved its own niche with the progressive sound delivered in ‘King of Everything’ (2016). Here, Jinjer became associated with the sonic textures that immediately became the band’s identification tag; a relentless yet unpredictable and unforgiving groove paired with a lyrical and vocal delivery that is par excellence, gripping the listener into hypnosis that is conjured from the marriage of the two.
After playing numerous tours and sold-out shows, receiving critical acclaim, and achieving cult-like status (for reasons justified), Jinjer is set to unleash ‘Wallflowers’ by the end of this month. The eagerly anticipated fourth studio album is a genesis formed out of long, deliberated musical craftmanship, backstage song-writing, and emotionally tense inspirations that are very evidently influenced by the state of current global affairs. Paired with the pristine production touches delivered by producer Max Morton, the album instills an atmosphere of dread and discomfort that is fresh to the ear but also retains a lot of Jinjer’s signature progressive metalcore sound.
A rule of thumb to be observed while listening to this album; Wallflowers doesn’t disengage from the gnarly atmosphere intended and just when you believe it has, that’s when you become most wary. The album presents to the listener 11 tracks, all of them harboring their own unique journey but come together to form a sense of oneness.
Drummer Vlad Ulasevich and bassist Eugene Abdukhanov lay out the foundational groove of the album exceptionally well, interlocking with one another as if engaged in an action-packed, blitzing waltz while also giving room to each other to add surprises to their roles. Tatiana Shmayluk, although known for her extraordinary and immediate control of her vocal range and dynamics, outdoes her previous performances with this record which captures her magnificent vocal lines and sudden transitions (occurring along with the band’s textbook abrupt instrumental transitions) in a captivating manner.
However, guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov arguably plays the most diverse role in the album. Various compositions interchange between zestful riffing and soft ambient phrases, ensuring that the record’s guitars, whether clean, spacy, or distorted, act as a glue between all elements of each track. The song “Vortex” is one such example, where the song starts off at relative ease and quickly instills a sense of urgency only to end in a face wrenching breakdown that pays homage to the band’s earlier metalcore style and would make any 2000’s metalhead experience a sense of familiarity. The many guitar tones embedded into the song play an obvious role in instilling such urgency, as the guitars start off distant and then steadily transit into high (smack you straight in the face) gain distortion.
On the other end, tracks like “Call me a Symbol”, “Disclosure!” and “Copycat” do not hesitate to take a breather even for a split second, keeping the Jinjer groove between all instruments engaged and locked for the entire time period of each song. The record takes a momentary rest at the album’s title track “Wallflower”; soft and uneasy yet ending in a dramatic, loud and wide fashion, as to how one feels a subtle sense of anxiousness prior to panic ensuing in an endangering situation. “Wallflower” also structurally resembles “Pisces”, the song that was responsible for the band’s near-instantaneous rise to recognition on a global scale.
Much cannot be said further aside from what has already been acclaimed. The album retains the experience of traveling through a sonic journey. Albeit it is intentionally an uncomfortable and introspective one, the compositions and production of the record make for an engrossing experience that one wouldn’t realize is about to come to an end until it comes to a crushing halt.
‘Wallflowers’ is an exceptional record capable of welcoming back the band’s fans for endless hours of unbridled jamming and welcoming new ones alike to join the same. Jinjer, being one of the bands at the forefront of the progressive end of metal, leads its ship steadfastly into the uncharted territories of sound in the relentless search for the next jaw-clenching groove to be laid down and so far, has done the work remarkably. Until the next record is ready to smack us in our faces, groove baby, groove. ‘Wallflowers’ is out via Napalm Records, August 27th!
