Success is never a given: it is merely a rainbow-maned unicorn that many have discovered thanks to hard work and perseverance. Ukraine’s Jinjer knows a little about dedication within the world of heavy music. The band has followed an increasing trajectory over the past four years since the release of Wallflowers in 2021, steadily gaining fans through their captivating blend of Progressive and Groove Metal, with their popularity in no way diminished by their spitfire frontwoman, Tatiana Shmayluk.
But it is this progress on the career front that sits tragically juxtaposed against a backdrop of the war back home. As their homeland continues to fight for freedom from tyranny valiantly, the members of Jinjer—Shmayluk, Guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov, Bassist Eugene Abdukhanov, and Drummer Vlad Ulasevich—are at liberty to roam the globe alongside the likes of Slipknot, Gojira, and Distured, creating and performing music for millions of new faces. The survivor’s guilt would be understandable and natural. Yet, the foursome refuses to play silent witness, using their latest imprint on history—Duél, which arrives on February 7, 2025, via Napalm Records—to turn out tracks that attack tyrannical villains (“Rogue”), eat the rich (“Tantrum”), and lambaste internet trolls (“A Tongue So Sly”).
Brutal by nature, the 11-song collection runs the gamut from songbird to serpent of sin, turning absurdist fiction into a firestorm (“Kafka”) as it remarks on history (“Duél”), whose “truth” is often a creation of its perceived winners. Between these dramatic lines, Jinjer considers how a woman becomes a witch (“Someone’s Daughter”), maligned for strength that was forced upon her by society. A strong and intelligent artist herself, Shmayluk is no shrinking violet. And she is quick to show her listeners that personal struggles never cease to exist, even in times such as these. So, even amid the chaos of 2025, many continue to face off against our inner Marquis de Sade (“Hedonist“) and battle royale with our vices (“Green Serpent”).
Pirouetting into the lead role of Madame Melancholy (“Dark Bile”), she grows in ferocity, spewing contempt against self-regret (“Fast Draw”). This story, however, is not merely her own. A melodic angel with Stygian screams, the frontwoman teaches her troops to enjoy life before it is gone as she reflects on the inevitable evolution of its decay (“Tumbleweed”), seeing life for the duality that it is. There is a sadness inherent in her poetic lyrics, which find themselves housed within short, jarring compositions that, more often than not, turn away from blast beats to embrace haunting melodies.
For this, Duél is a deeply personal joust: an x-ray of one woman’s soul that simultaneously embodies the struggles of an entire nation. It is, quite literally, the brutality of war as seen through the lens of the battle within. With Ukraine still embroiled in a seemingly endless, forced revolution for their right to merely exist, Shmayluk takes her motherland’s tragedies and frustrations and spins a wicked web of molten emotion.
And there is strength in vulnerability. So, unafraid of tyrants and trolls alike, Jinjer yet again proves that they are worthy of their escalating position in the hierarchy of heavy music. From intelligent literary references to testaments on modern history, Duél is passionate in its ferocity and real in its plea for peace—of mind and man. For this, Cryptic Rock gives Jinjer’s latest 4.5 of 5 stars.
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