Review 2584 : Jinjer – Duél – English

Jinjer doesn’t give up, and unveils its seventh album.

The year 2025 marks not only the release of Duél on Napalm Records, but also the sixteenth anniversary of the band led by Tatiana Shmayluk (vocals), Roman Ibramkhalilov (guitar), Eugene Abdukhanov (bass) and Vladislav Ulasevish (drums).

We get off to a fast start with Tantrum, a jerky track where violence and complexity explode together under the singer’s screams, but which struggle to calm down when the clear vocals try to soften the choruses. The only real moment of respite is the bass break that highlights the Prog influences, before moving on with a similar groove on Hedonist, the next composition where softness is the order of the day before allowing the rage to speak. As soon as the title track is finished, Rogue follows with its own wild riffs, conducive to the crowd movements that the band’s fans are particularly fond of, before the mystery sets in with Tumbleweed, a track that usually refers more to westerns than to Jinjer’s modernity. There’s a hint of melancholy in the clean vocals, but saturation is never far away, just as on Green Serpent, which begins with an airy, dissonant sweetness before moving on to a rhythm that’s sometimes more agitated. The musicians allow us to catch our breath once again with the finale, then the darkness sets in with Kafka where influences meet and mix, allowing the blast of the final, for example, to respond to the intriguing harmonics of the beginning. Dark Bile follows, seemingly intent on a return to raw violence and uncontrollable mosh, before Fast Draw takes us back to the basics of catchy, energetic Metalcore in all circumstances, with one lively, heavy part after another. Back to this temporary lull for Someone’s Daughter, but as you’d expect, it doesn’t take long for the musicians to get back to their thick, brusque rhythm that shelters gripping vocal parts before giving way to A Tongue So Sly that dips as much into fury as technicality on certain passages. The band seem to be returning to the raging vocal parts of their debut, but the track eventually comes to an end, making Duel the last track where the four friends let their madness run wild, whether in the virulent moments or the more majestic passages like the finale.

Jinjer has become an unavoidable name on today’s Metal scene, and the band continues in its path, letting Groove, Metalcore and Prog influences guide its riffs. While I’m sticking to my guns, I’m sure Duél will have no trouble convincing their fans.

80/100

Version Française ?

Laisser un commentaire