One of the fastest rising bands in the metal scene today, it’s no surprise that fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Jinjer to the United States, supporting their recent album Wallflowers (Napalm Records – read our review here). Having sold out numerous shows on their tour with Suicide Silence and All Hail The Yeti, it was incredibly exciting to see what this team could deliver during their stop at The Warsaw in Brooklyn.
Suicide Silence were unfortunately unable to perform on this night, so All Hail The Yeti were pushed up to direct support. Unexpectedly moving up to directly supporting a major headlining band like Jinjer can be a daunting challenge, but All Hail The Yeti handled it with grace and class, pulling out all the stops to make sure the fans got their money’s worth. They played a killer set, including tracks from their latest record Within The Hollow Earth (Minus Head Records). Fans may not have been familiar with the band prior to the show, but Yeti certainly left an impact on the crowd, who by the final songs were waving their hands and jumping around to stellar tracks like “Funeral Heart” and “After The Great Fire.” This was a tough audience to impress, considering many were bummed to not be seeing Suicide Silence, but All Hail The Yeti were up to the task and managed to successfully win the crown over.
After a noteworthy performance from Yeti, it was time for the band of the night. You could feel the electricity in the air as Jinjer took the stage. What proceeded was over an hour of pure metal bliss. The packed audience was enthralled from beginning to end, singing along with each of the 16 songs, including the recently released track “Disclosure!”. Highlights included opening track “Call Me A Symbol,””Judgement and Punishment,” and “Teacher, Teacher.” Noticeably absent from the set, however, was the track “Pisces,” which helped launch the band onto the global stage.
Having seen Jinjer numerous times over the last few years, including their intimate headlining show at The Kingsland, it was clear they’ve grown from a young band learning the ropes to seasoned professionals in an impressively short amount of time. Credit must be given to Dez Farfara and The Oracle Management, who have played a major role in guiding all the bands on the tour through the abyss on the road to achieving their full potential.
The only real critique of the show is more a reflection of the fans than of the band. Throughout the entirety of Jinjer’s set, a large swath of fans up front seemed to be watching the show through their phones, recording the entire performance and making it tough for those further back to see the show. This seemed to irk frontwoman Tatiana Shmayluk a bit. I can sympathize with her perspective and I hope she can find a way to articulate these feelings to the fans in a way that will allow both the audience and the artist to fully enjoy the live experience.
With that minor footnote aside, this show was an absolutely stellar night out and well worth the price of admission. Kudos to both bands for kicking ass and crushing their sets despite the unforeseen challenges of the night. If you have a chance to see Jinjer or All Hail The Yeti in your town, do yourself a favor and GO!
WORDS BY SCOTT SOMMER