Author Topic: Jinjer  (Read 3499 times)

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Offline bosk1

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Jinjer
« on: August 22, 2019, 08:38:16 AM »
A search showed that they have come up in a few threads, but do not have a dedicated thread themselves, so here we are.

I want to discuss because the very means by which this thread came into existence are a testament to how much things have changed since I was a kid and would have to ride my bike 45 minutes to the Warehouse record store to browse whatever cassettes happened to be sitting on the shelves if I wanted to see what was new and buy music.  With some obvious modifications, I still favor that general approach to my music.  But now, I usually know a given album is coming out because of a variety of Internet sources.  And I can either go into a brick and mortar store or go onto Amazon and order the CD.

My discovery of this band was completely different.  I discovered them through "reaction" videos on YouTube, which are becoming an ever-growing fad.  I think I first heard them when Lost In Vegas did a "first reaction" to Pisces.  I subsequently saw a few others (I think on BethRoars' and Kel-n-Rich's channels).  And then I saw a breakdown of Tatiana's vocal style on Mary Z's Voicehacks channel (which I LOVE, and I highly recommend for singers to check out).  That got me to explore and check out this band.  I sampled the entire King of Everything album and LOVED it.  Of course, by now, there are about a bazillion reaction videos out there for Pisces.  And Teacher, Teacher is blowing up now too.  Some of those videos are great.  Some of bleh.  But it seems like everybody and their brother has a reaction channel now.  :lol

Anyhow, despite hearing the King of Everything album and Micro EP quite a few times on YouTube and some other places, I hadn't bought them.  I just digitally purchased both this morning and am listening.  I can't say I love every song.  But as a whole, I REALLY like the album and the EP.  Some really outstanding music, even if it is different from my norm.

Here is the one thing that DOES bum me out about them:  Tatiana is an INCREDIBLE vocalist.  She has incredible range and stylistic diversity in her mixed belt voice.  AND she has jaw-dropping growls and screams, whether one actually likes that style or not.  But having heard a few interviews from her now, it is pretty clear that she is on the road to becoming another Geoff Tate.  Here's what I mean: she is an INCREDIBLY gifted vocalist.  Her raw talent and ability are off the charts.  Again, whether one likes her style or not, it is pretty universally acknowledged that she is immensely gifted.  And, thankfully, she mostly uses proper technique, so what she does is sustainable.  But it is also clear from things she has said that she has not idea how to take care of her voice and doesn't really care.  She thinks she "just has it," and that she always will.  In other words...I guess you can say, she's young and stupid.  And unless she figures out the need to take care of and preserve her voice, she is going to lose her gift early, and that saddens me.

But that aside, I am really enjoying this new discovery into a subgenre of metal that, as a whole, I'm generally not into. 

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Offline Bertielee

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2019, 02:21:43 AM »
Ah, Jinjer…. Won't say I love everything they do / have done, but man, the singer is just incredible! The power, the range, the versatility….Pisces must be one of my favorite songs from the last 5 years or so.

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Offline contest_sanity

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2019, 12:08:01 AM »
I listened to them first on Spotify, so without seeing the band, and I just assumed it was 2 different vocalists, until I was corrected. Just incredible vocal talent; by far the best female growler I've ever heard (though admittedly that's not like a huge area of expertise or anything). I really enjoy their track "Outlander"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtOYjCkHJak

Offline Stadler

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2019, 07:44:40 AM »
Ah, Jinjer. I get it, in the sense that I think I understand what they're trying to do, and they seem to do it very well.  Agree that she is a real talent, and I do like her voice when she sings in a more traditional style.   I just don't have a desire to listen to the growl vocals and so this is a band I will likely admire from a distance. 
« Last Edit: August 28, 2019, 08:45:16 AM by Stadler »

Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2019, 08:37:04 AM »
Yeah, I'm not generally a fan of growls and screams either, although I have learned to like what certain bands can do with them (Epica, Trivium, Jinjer at times).  I am finding that Jinjer is very hit-and-miss with me.  What I like from them, I REALLY like.  But what I don't like, I don't really care to listen to.  Their new one, for example, Judgment (& Punishment) doesn't do anything for me at all.  Just too...jarring.  And it isn't just the vocals.  Some bands do odd time signatures well.  With others, it can sometimes feel like they are trying too hard, and the odd time signature just makes the music sound odd and out of sync.  I feel that that is the case with this song. 

That said, there is plenty that I love.  Probably my two favorite songs from them:
-Pisces:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU
-Teacher, Teacher:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRkRwL0vjOg

These are two of my current favorite songs from ANYONE right now.
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Offline mikeyd23

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2019, 11:28:26 AM »
Jinjer is one of my biggest musical discoveries of the last 1 or 2 years. Great band, I love most of their stuff, including the new single. Looking forward to the new record.

Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2019, 04:03:16 PM »
THIS BAND! 

These guys are just SO good.  I can't say I love EVERYTHING they do.  But I am finding myself liking more and more of it.  I wanna talk about two songs for a second.

First, I want to gush some more about Teacher, Teacher

The first set of verses over the mid-tempo, heavy stuff is really cool.  I love how Tatiana uses a very hip-hop delivery on the first part up to :35.  Then that awesome contrast where the tempo stays the same, but the riff and drumming get busier, and more percussive, mirroring her shift into her fry scream voice.  And it's interesting to hear her use the fry in still basically that hip-hop style.  They are a band of extremes, and they show that by building an interesting contrast in just the first 1:07 or so of the song. 

Then we go into the second verse, which, to me, is one of the coolest things in the entire song, where Tatiana starts again singing clean, but switches to her fry for select words, and that whole verse just builds in intensity up until the chorus at 1:35.  I have listened to a LOT of reaction videos for this song.  But one thing I have not heard mentioned is the intensity of the extremely low growl on the very last word of that verse.  INTENSE!  That is Chuck Billy range and power right there.

That short little bridge riff leading into the chorus is awesome.  And the chorus itself is sublime.  I love that they repeat it here and build it in intensity for emphasis on the "because your teachers may be fools too" line.  Then they further punch it home with the intense blast-beat bridge.  And I have to pause for a second to address the drumming here.  I don't listen to a ton of stuff with blast beats.  But I have listened to enough to have heard them done well and to have heard them done not so well.  And I have heard them work in a song and not work in a song.  For a lot of drummers, when they are about to go into a blast beat, they will need to back off the groove briefly to kind of set up for the blast beat, and when they are doing it, you can tell they are really working hard to keep it together.  Not the case here.  It is incredible how quickly an fluidly Vlad movies in and out of them.  2:25-2:29 is an incredibly intense showcase of what a talented drummer he is, going back and forth between some amazing fills and blast beats, and sounding like he is doing it effortlessly.  And then the perfect transition back into the verse at 2:30 without, er, losing a beat...

Then another cool pair of verses that, again, contrast a mostly clean verse followed by a more intense screamy verse.  They orchestrate and build intensity in very clever ways.  There are also, again, some very creative drum fills and accents.  Sometimes, Vlad goes for a full-on, complex fill.  Sometimes, it is as simple as a well-timed bell hit.  But it all works so well for the song. 

Nothing much to say about the second chorus at 3:25 that I haven't already said.  It's great.  And then followed by that softer breakdown at 3:55...  They at first dial the song ALL the way down.  Some REALLY tasty bass work in this section that highlights Eugene's creativity.  There are other parts of the song that do that as well, but it is more noticeable here.  But what isn't as obvious on the first few listens (or wasn't to me anyway) is how often the bass actually takes the lead, with the guitar playing the roll of holding down the rythm.  Their use of this technique is pretty unique, IMO.  Anyhow, this whole section again just has some incredible buildup until the fade out and extended silence...until the fake-out ending.

I just love this song.


I think I mentioned not liking Judgment and Punishment earlier in the thread.  I have listened a few more times, and my opinion has softened somewhat.  There are definitely parts of the song I enjoy.  I actually think the reggae parts are pretty cool.  And the really heavy parts are fine.  But then there are a couple of parts that I just...well, I guess I don't get what they are trying to do, and it doesn't sound good to me.  Like the part at 1:11 where the lead and rythm sections sound out of sync.  It is just too jarring a contrast for me, and I don't understand what they were trying to do.  It sounds...amusical, for lack of a better term.  Dunno if anyone can maybe break it down for me and explain what is going on and why it works.  But there's just too much in this song that feels jarring to the point that I don't find myself enjoying it.

That said, again, I am really digging most of what I hear from this band.  I need to check out Macro.  And I hope they swing by my neck of the woods at some point so I can catch a show. 
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline Ruba

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2019, 06:32:58 PM »
Perennial might be my song of the year so far. Teacher, Teacher is cool too, but some of the vocals are phrased bit oddly, I'm not entirely convinced of the "rapping". But that final climactic verse is soooo good.

I'm keenly anticipating the new record. I do like Judgement & Punishment even though the sharp contrast between reggae and full-on assault took a while to get into, and it has a great video.

Offline ErHaO

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2019, 01:50:49 AM »
Ok, checked it out, the perennial, and that is a real banger!

Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #9 on: October 05, 2019, 07:34:12 PM »
Perennial didn't click at first for me, but I love it now.  The live version from Wacken is pretty good too. Really shows off that they do indeed have the chops to pull off their music live
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Offline ErHaO

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2019, 12:24:15 PM »
Perennial didn't click at first for me, but I love it now.  The live version from Wacken is pretty good too. Really shows off that they do indeed have the chops to pull off their music live

Yeah, the Wacken performance is what I saw. It was already lingering in my yt reccomended tab for a while, and I decided to click on it finally. Time well spent!

Offline yeshaberto

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2019, 11:15:02 AM »
Uh, thank you for the recommendation.  That was quite the treat!

Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2019, 11:41:56 AM »
Here's the live video for Perennial from Wacken:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxi3i9wzQBk

And here's an even newer one where I don't hear any post-production, and it STILL sounds phenomenal:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thZcwPl5QFU
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2019, 12:21:51 PM »
I'm on my first listen for Macro.  I wasn't in love with On the Top or Judgment (& Punishment) from my initial listens.  Both had some really cool moments, but just didn't really do it for me as songs.  But I'm warming up to them a bit, and I'm liking some of the other tracks.  Home Back is probably the biggest standout track thus far.  I REALLY like it.  Thoughts?

"lainnereP"--I get it now!  That's actually pretty cool.  :clap:
« Last Edit: October 29, 2019, 12:48:31 PM by bosk1 »
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Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2019, 01:29:25 PM »
Just had a listen to King Of Everything on spotify and holy hell does that singer rock. From the sweet pop stuff, to the emotional, to the powerful singing and then switching effortlessly to the evil screaming and growling and back again. I mean wow, just wow.  :metal  :metal :metal

Definitely have to check out more of them.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #15 on: October 29, 2019, 01:37:43 PM »
:tup  Does she not sound like she is channeling Gwen Stefani (in a good way!) on Beggar's Dance, or is it just me?
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Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #16 on: October 29, 2019, 01:43:25 PM »
I didn't think of Gwen Stefani, but then I had just one listen so far. And I don't like Gwen Stefani that much, so hopefully not.  :D
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2019, 01:49:14 PM »
I've listened to the new record several times, it's really good. I need some more listens to fully grasp everything that's going on, but it's definitely good stuff.

Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #18 on: December 04, 2019, 01:38:53 PM »
Macro isn't really sticking with me for some reason.  I can't decide whether I like it less than King of Everything and Micro, or if I've just been too distracted to focus on it and fully digest it since release. 
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Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #19 on: December 04, 2019, 02:24:18 PM »
I only listened to it once, but compared to King Of Everything and Micro it felt very uh... underdeveloped. Like they couldn't come up with any actual songs this time around and wrote an album of riffs instead.
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Offline Adami

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #20 on: February 11, 2020, 11:30:40 AM »
Can I please just say that Teacher, Teacher! is just a god damn awesome song? It wasn't around when I saw them live, but I feel like I'd actively hurt my neck headbanging to this song if I saw it live.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #21 on: February 11, 2020, 12:00:45 PM »
Yeah, it is a great song.  But that whole EP is fantastic.  I wish Macro was as good.
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Offline Adami

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #22 on: February 11, 2020, 12:34:36 PM »
Yeah, it is a great song.  But that whole EP is fantastic.  I wish Macro was as good.

I gave it a once or twice over and it sounded fine, but....if I really love something, I don't just give it a once or twice over.

So I'll revisit it, but yea. I don't think any of it was bad, just a bit okay.
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #23 on: August 21, 2020, 11:30:06 AM »
So clearly I'm late to the party.

I've only heard Pisces, but thought it was hella cool.  Is that a standout, oddball kind of track from them?  Or is it a pretty good representation of the kind of stuff they do?
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Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #24 on: August 21, 2020, 11:39:28 AM »
Pisces is pretty mellow compared to their general sound, from what I can tell.
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Offline Adami

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #25 on: August 21, 2020, 11:59:26 AM »
They’re pretty damn heavy but have tons of not heavy moments. They’re a hard band to accurately describe.
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #26 on: August 21, 2020, 12:57:26 PM »
OK, I'll just dive in.

Thanks, guys!
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Offline ProfessorPeart

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #27 on: June 17, 2021, 04:00:52 PM »
New track and album!

Wallflowers out August 27th.



01. "Call Me a Symbol"
02. "Colossus"
03. "Vortex"
04. "Disclosure!"
05. "Copycat"
06. "Pearls and Swine"
07. "Sleep of the Righteous"
08. "Wallflower"
09. "Dead Hands Feel No Pain"
10. "As I Boil Ice"
11. "Mediator"

Video for Vortex: https://youtu.be/AiaOSGZTwtY
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Offline Adami

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #28 on: June 17, 2021, 04:02:21 PM »
Dug the song. Pumped for the album.

That said, I’m getting pretty bored of their drummer. I dunno. He tends to play either very syncopated half time break down beats or blast beats and very little in between. I’m just getting bored of his approach. I really appreciated the other drummers energy a lot more. Ah well.
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Offline ProfessorPeart

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #29 on: June 17, 2021, 04:08:05 PM »
Agreed. Vlad is not the flashiest. The guy that played on Cloud Factory was a beast. They even admit he was the best they had. Sadly, he fell out a hotel window on tour and messed himself up.

The only real props I can give to Vlad is I did prefer his take on Pisces compared to Dmitriy's. That little extra snare flair he did on the Live Session performance of that is better. Otherwise, he's passable. Always a red flag to me when you seem to have 3x more cymbals than actual drums.
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Offline Adami

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #30 on: June 17, 2021, 05:12:30 PM »
Agreed. Vlad is not the flashiest. The guy that played on Cloud Factory was a beast. They even admit he was the best they had. Sadly, he fell out a hotel window on tour and messed himself up.

The only real props I can give to Vlad is I did prefer his take on Pisces compared to Dmitriy's. That little extra snare flair he did on the Live Session performance of that is better. Otherwise, he's passable. Always a red flag to me when you seem to have 3x more cymbals than actual drums.

Vlad is amazing at what he does. I’m just getting bored with what he does. I can tell he has a ton of skill, I just wish he’d change up his style a lot more.
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Offline EPICVIEW

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #31 on: June 17, 2021, 06:03:57 PM »
found them a while back   very interesting and amazing vocals  ,,, shocking at times, the song didnt stick with me but I may take another listen
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #32 on: June 17, 2021, 10:29:02 PM »
I LOVE King of Everything and Micro.  Macro was kinda hit and miss, and the songs from their older albums are hit and miss as well.  Looking forward to checking our the new one. 

Hef, some songs to check out that you may like:
-Perrenial - live
-Teacher Teacher
-Who is Gonna be the One
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Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #33 on: August 03, 2021, 09:28:41 AM »
New single is better than anything I can remember from Macro. Granted, I can't remember much of anything from Macro. :lol
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Offline ProfessorPeart

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Re: Jinjer
« Reply #34 on: August 25, 2021, 09:56:53 PM »
Was just checking the status of my pre-order and now it is showing 9/3 for release. This appears to be a strictly US problem. Many major US sites are now showing that date. I was really looking forward to listening to this over the weekend. I'm heavily tempted to buy the digital from their Bandcamp page so I can hear it.
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