Seven months after Jinjer last traveled across the United States alongside Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin, they made their return to the US for several rescheduled headlining shows leading up to their appearance at the Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas.
Local Milwaukee metal act Still Stayer started their set unexpectedly, with a slower track, which morphed as the verses built to a heavier sound that fans would expect from a show like this. Their style and sound made them a great choice to open for Jinjer, bouncing between melodic verses and hard breakdowns, as well as technical guitar elements and sounds.
Fresh off of a European tour, Evermorphing made their USA debut at The Rave, bringing more Ukranian metal to Milwaukee. The crowd gave them a warm welcome, and celebrated this debut show by opening up the circle pit and getting the action started after an impassioned speech by vocalist Maks Fatullayev about the Russia-Ukraine war. He mentioned he never imagined his home being at war, so he would live like there is no tomorrow.
The normally four-member group was down to three, as their bassist wasn’t able to enter the country, which left a lot of space for Fatullayev to command the stage, growling and spinning his dreadlocks. Their set ended a bit earlier than scheduled, and the fired-up crowd could definitely have vibed with another two songs from them before the final set of the night.
The dimmed lights elicit screams from the crowd, as Jinjer takes the stage, playing the intro to “Perennial” before singer Tatiana Shmayluk enters, launching into the full song. Immediately, the moshing begins, and “Ape” finds a sea of crowd surfers making their way to the front of the pit. This energy and wild atmosphere never stops, with surfers being thrown up even during slow song moments.
Jinjer’s music is technically incredible, and even more incredible is how they’re just as good, if not better, live. Shmayluk’s vocal range is pure insanity, and her deep growls are up there with some of the best in the business. “Vortex” sees her hit vicious low growls, and their ever-popular “Pisces” is a treat to see performed live, as her transitions from clean to harsh vocals are phenomenal. Her stage presence is nothing to scoff at either, as I’ve rarely seen a vocalist with such a command of the stage and crowd as she had.
This is one of the groups where bass actually takes a key role in the mix, and bassist Eugene Abdukhanov plays with such precision that it feels like his parts are what lead and drive many of the songs. Guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov and drummer Vladislav "Vladi" Ulasevich also excel with the changes in timing and style, from ethereal verses to a technical riff-heavy chorus.
People will often mention Jinjer as one of the best female-fronted metal bands on the scene today, but they deserve a place as one of the best current metal bands in general.
