WILL JINJER BE 2019'S BREAKOUT BAND?

Roaring out of Ukraine’s underground, Jinjer are making a name for themselves

Usually, two key things seem to come out of Ukraine – worrying news about the constantly simmering tension with their grabby Russian neighbours, and boxing champions. Now the country is exporting heavyweights of a different sort in the form of the powerhouse quartet Jinjer. With two albums under their belt, 2013’s Inhale. Don’t Breathe and 2014’s Cloud Factory, their pummelling track Sit Stay Roll Over brought them to the attention of Napalm Records. Their first album for the label, 2016’s King Of Everything, was a quantum leap for the group, taking them from their metalcore origins towards progressive metal that could be richly melodic or funky one moment, and then mercilessly heavy and abrasive the next.

The band’s inexorable rise is a tale of triumph over adversity, particularly given the limits of the Ukrainian metal scene. “It’s impossible to make a living doing metal music if you stay in Ukraine. Absolutely impossible,” says bassist Eugene Kostyuk, who joined the band in 2011, and describes the domestic scene as “very underground”. He continues, “It’s even considered a bit antisocial; it has a bad reputation with the public. From the very beginning, we didn’t have that support from families or parents. Personally, my father kept on complaining about what I’m doing until very recently. The first time I got approval from him was two years ago.”

Opening slots for Arch Enemy and Cradle Of Filth have helped to spread their gospel, and after two years relentlessly touring King Of Everything, they’re poised to release their first new music in three years with the five-track EP Micro. “Originally, we were planning to make a full-length album this last fall,” says Eugene, “but after the spring tour with Cradle Of Filth in the United States, I got a call from management. They persuaded us to come back in the fall, but we couldn’t do that without new songs, because we all got tired of playing the old songs live. We decided to make an intermediate release, this EP, so we have fresh blood on stage, but at the same time we have time to tour and grow bigger.”

The EP features the darkest, most unsettling lyrics the band has written to date in Dreadful Moments, a song about the lifelong impact that violent, abusive parents leave on their children. “Those lyrics were written by Eugene”, says vocalist Tatiana Shmailyuk.

“I’ve had a lot of comments on my Instagram saying, ‘Oh my god, thank you for sharing your experience.’ They think I was beaten in my childhood, I experienced violence from my father. No, I didn’t.”

“This is not autobiographical at all,” says Eugene. “Fortunately for me, I didn’t experience that as a child, but I know people who suffered this. Now I’m a father myself and I know what it is to take care of your child and love your child. Unfortunately, almost every day I see how very badly parents treat their children. It happened to me right in the street – I saw parents shouting or even punching their children and it’s shocking, absolutely shocking. Nowadays we need to do as much as we can to stop domestic violence. By means of art, by music, I made my own contribution to the fight against this shit.”

Soon the Ukrainians will be back in the studio to record their fourth album, as they continue to push further and further with their genresmashing style. “As people, we’re changing year by year. As a result, the music changed,” says Eugene. “That’s why we play progressive music,” adds Tatiana. “We like to progress.”

MICRO IS OUT JANUARY 11 VIA NAPALM. JINJER’S FOURTH ALBUM IS EXPECTED IN THE AUTUMN