What could be better than Jinjer in November 2021? Easy answer: Jinjer in December 2022! The Ukrainian metal band returned to the United States to tour again to the fans’ delight. Coming with them on this tour was fellow Ukrainians Space of Variations, Malevolence from England, and the U.S.’s own P.O.D. This had the potential for an excellent night of metal and rock. It lived up to every expectation and then some.
House of Blues Orlando was packed once again for Jinjer, which is no surprise. While the attack on Ukraine has been very unfortunate, Jinjer’s support for their country generated thousands more supporters for the band and their special shirt in support of Ukraine (https://www.jinjer-merch-america.com/jinjer-peace-to-ukraine-tshirt.html). Everyone was amped up and ready to rock. The middle of the floor was getting ready for the mosh pit to get moving. All we needed was some music to kick it all off.
The Ukrainian metal band Space of Variations was first to the stage. Signed to Napalm Records the band released their debut EP XXXXX in 2019 to solid reviews. They released their debut studio album IMAGO on September 23, 2022, also to great reviews. The band’s hardcore sound and vicious vocals make them stand out amongst others in the metal genre. The band consists of Dima Kozhuhar (vocals), Alex Zatserkovny (guitar), Anton Kasatkin (bass), and Tima Kasatkin (drums).
The moment they started performing, I was seriously impressed. Their music pushed boundaries, got the floor moving, and the fans were immediately drawn to them. Alex’s riffs were captivating and hit hard. Dima is the power and unclean vocals and they sounded incredible. Anton hit that bass, dropping riffs that would literally pound through you with every note. And Tima is a precision drummer and did not miss a beat through the songs. Personally, I was truly drawn into their music finding myself banging my head with their songs and truly enjoying their set. I admit I was truly hooked to their song “Fuck This Place Up” and I’m pretty sure the rest of the crowd was as well. What I truly loved was the message he gave the crowd at the end of the night: tell your loved ones that you love them as often as possible and spread peace. I truly see them as becoming the next Jinjer and look forward to more music from them.
Malevolence was next to the stage. The band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire released three studio albums and one EP. Their most recent album Malicious Intent was released in February 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. The band consists of Alex Taylor (vocals), Josh Baines (guitar), Konan Hall (guitar), Wilkie Robinson (bass), and Charlie Thorpe (drums).
This band was hardcore from the first note and never stopped through their whole set. They have an interesting blend of vocals with Alex as the unclean and Konan doing a clean but throaty vocal. I will say it was a unique blend of vocals I hadn’t heard before. Josh is a wildman on the guitar and performs incredibly well. Konan stays close to the mic as he plays. Together their riffs are solid. Wilkie delivers some extra heavy bass for their hardcore sound and Charlie powers through his drumbeats throughout their set. I really enjoyed “On Broken Glass” with its hard and heavy beat and mix of hard vocals from Alex and deep vocals from Konan. The fans enjoyed their set very much and Alex was very appreciative of the fan support.
Next up was the fan favorite P.O.D. The band from San Diego, CA formed back in 1992 and released their first album Snuff the Punk in 1994. It wouldn’t be until their fourth studio album Satellite in 2001 that they would achieve major mainstream success. The album went out to be certified triple Platinum. The band has a total of ten studio albums. Their last album Circles was released in 2018. The band consists of Sonny Sandoval (vocals), Marcos Curiel (guitar), Mark “Traa” Daniels (bass), and touring musician Alex Lopez (drums).
There was no doubt P.O.D. was a fan favorite that night with the House of Blues erupting in cheers the moment they stepped on stage. They started it out hard and heavy opening with “Boom” from Satellite. The whole crowd was singing along through the chorus as P.O.D. threw down on stage. They slowed it down a bit performing “Youth of a Nation” from the same album. The song was a huge hit and was even nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003. But, of course, it was going to be their closer “Alive” also from Satellite that really had the crowd rocking and moving and singing it word for word.
P.O.D. is such a phenomenal live-performance band. There are bands out there whose albums sound great, but hearing them live doesn’t live up to the recording. And then there are bands who sound great recorded and even better live. That’s P.O.D. Mark is locked into his music when he plays where you see him moving to the song’s rhythm. Alex is wildman behind the drums. His hair is constantly whipping around when he plays and he’s up and down on his drum stool thundering those drums as hard as he can. He’s a lot of fun to watch. Marcos is the exact opposite. He’s the cool cat and smooth as silk as he performs. I could easily see him performing in a jazz band the way he performs, and damn his riffs are sweet. I appreciated the acknowledgment as he literally looked down at my camera lens and pointed at me during the first three songs. And then there is Sonny who is a mix of both. Sometimes, he’s totally calm, cool, and collected as he sings. And suddenly like a switch was flipped, he’s whipping his microphone wire all over the stage.
I couldn’t say enough good things about their performance that night. They were truly incredible. You can find P.O.D.’s music and merch over at http://www.payableondeath.com/. Their setlist that evening was:
- Boom
- Murdered Love
- Rock the Party (Off the Hook)
- Sleeping Awake
- Soundboard Killa
- Youth of a Nation
- When Angles & Serpents Dance
- Drop
- Southtown
- Alive
And finally, the fans were ready for our headliner, Jinjer. The Ukrainian metal band was formed in 2008. Their first release in 2009 was their EP Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. Their first studio album release was in 2014 with Cloud Factory. The band released a total of four studio albums, three EPs, and one live album. Their most recent album Wallflowers came out in 2021. Jinjer consists of Tatiana Shmailyuk (vocals), Roman Ibramkhalilov (guitar), Eugene Abdukhanov (bass), and Vladislav Ulasevich (drums).
Jinjer’s music is absolutely something special and unique. There is something unique about the way they craft their songs. Between the cadence, the lyrics, and even the delivery, Jinjer knows when it’s right to throw down hard and when to pull back and keep it soft. Vladislav drumming is impeccable and he’s zeroed in on the songs as they play waiting for that moment to jump in with the drums. Eugene is very focused playing bass, watching his hands with every note as he makes his way through the songs. The most unique thing is he plays a very short bass guitar compared to the industry standard length. Roman is so stoic as he performs and a truly talented guitarist. I was surprised to see him crack a smile during his performance as someone off-stage to his right made him laugh during his performance. One of the things I found interesting is he never swaps his guitars during his set (at least not that I’ve noticed!). Many guitarists go on tour with 3-5 guitars and as far as I can tell he only uses his one. Last and certainly not least is Tatiana. Her vocals are the “WOW” factor of the band. To go from this hard guttural vocal to crystal clear is nothing short of stupendous. And all eyes are always on her during the show. Something about the way she moves and delivers her vocals that is almost hypnotic. You can’t help but focus on her. And it is all of them combined that make Jinjer superstars in the metal community.
Their setlist for the tour was a big focus on songs from Wallflowers including “Sleep of the Righteous”, “Vortex”, and “Call Me a Symbol”. Getting to hear live “Sit Stay Roll Over” and “Pisces” from King of Everything was utterly fantastic. But, it was getting to hear their closer of “On The Top” off Macro. It has that hardcore music sound that gets the mosh pits rolling hard. They also dug back into the catalog performing “Who’s Gonna Be The One”. With all the great songs they were performing that evening, that crowd was jumping, moshing, and even crowd surfing. Jinjer put together a memorable setlist that I’m sure had the moshers exhausted by the end of the night.
And while this is something I don’t bring up often in my reviews, I need to call out the beautiful lighting Jinjer had going that evening. The majority of metal bands like to use dark reds and blues to highlight their band and provide an atmosphere to their songs. That’s not Jinjer. Instead, they light up that stage is stunning white lights while using reds every now and then. What’s truly beautiful are the panels of LED screens they bring with them presenting a variety of patterns on the screens during their songs. If you are watching from behind the soundboard, you are treated to some truly stunning visuals.
You can help support Jinjer purchasing their music and merch over at http://jinjer-metal.com/. Their setlist that evening was:
- Sit Stay Roll Over
- Teacher, Teacher!
- Copycat
- Home Back
- I Speak Astronomy
- As I Boil Ice
- Judgement (& Punishment)
- Dead Hands Feel No Pain
- Vortex
- Who’s Gonna Be The One
- Sleep of the Righteous
- Call Me a Symbol
- Perennial
- Pisces
- On The Top
It was a truly phenomenal evening of metal with four talented bands and a very energetic and appreciative crowd. This was an excellent way to close out 2022 and I truly look forward to when Jinjer comes back to Orlando again.
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