In an interview with Forever Loud at last weekend’s Download festival at Leicestershire, United Kingdom’s Donington Park, bassist Eugene Abdukhanov of Ukrainian modern metallers JINJER spoke about what it was like to perform at the event right before Swedish progressive metal pioneers MESHUGGAH. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I must say this, I would really love to be there [to see their show right now]. I checked their first songs and had to run here to do the interviews, ’cause work is work. But this is one of my favorite bands, and playing before them was something special for me.”
After the interviewer noted that bands like MESHUGGAH and JINJER are both very musically technical but they always retain a certain “groove” in their music, Eugene concurred. “Thanks a lot for the kind words,” he said. “And you are absolutely right. No matter how complicated what they do seems to be, it always has the groove. It always makes you just nod to the rhythm.”
Acknowledging MESHUGGAH‘s influence on JINJER‘s music, Eugene said: “I must say that it’s not only us, whole generations of bands nowadays, more or less in this or that way, are actually based on MESHUGGAH‘s music. So they changed the whole approach to the sound, to riffing, everything. So in many respects, they created the whole scene which we have now And this is what differs, like really legendary music, legendary bands from everybody else. You are not afraid to bring something new to the table, no matter what the others say. And I pay huge respect to MESHUGGAH for that, because I remember the days before [2008’s] ‘ObZen’, before even [2002’s] ‘Nothing’ when there wasn’t such a band yet, such a big and massive [band] with such a heritage. And for many people, it was really hard to accept them. But I kept saying that, ‘No, this is a really big thing. You will see in the future.’ And I think I was right. So it’s just a masterpiece band.”
JINJER‘s latest album, “Duรฉl”, came out on February 7, 2025 via Napalm Records.
Renowned for its genre-defying sound and electrifying performances, JINJER continues to rise as one of the most dynamic forces in today’s metal landscape. The band spent 2024 on the road with SEPULTURA as part of the iconic group’s farewell world tour, and 2025 has already seen them bring their ferocity to stages across Asia and Australia. This summer, JINJER will storm North America as direct support for BABYMETAL, with additional high-profile festival appearances set for Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting, and more.
While JINJER‘s previous album, “Wallflowers”, was slightly more alluring and contained noticeably more clean vocals, “Duรฉl” now takes on a much more aggressive tone. This is proven by songs like “Rogue”, “Green Serpent” and “Dark Bile”, with their brutal and hefty breakdowns. Fans of Tatiana Shmayluk‘s clear vocals also get their moments, as tracks such as the opener “Tantrum” show the potential of the frontwoman’s outstanding vocal prowess. “Duรฉl” presents itself way more cruelly โ and JINJER are more vicious than ever before. “Fast Draw” is a wild death metal beast with grooving drums from Vlad Ulasevich, Roman Ibramkhalilov‘s one-of-a-kind riffs and Eugene Abdukhanov‘s trademark bass wizardry โ showing what this band does best: brilliant state-of the-art modern metal.
On “Duรฉl”, JINJER continue their long-lasting collaboration with accomplished producer Max Morton, who co-produced, mixed and mastered the album. This new masterwork lives up to JINJER‘s reputation as metal visionaries, once more showing that the band refuses to follow any set rules in their genre, but choose their own path of creativity.
Over the past 16 years, JINJER has attained remarkable milestones, touring globally and captivating millions at prestigious festivals like Wacken Open Air and Download. They’ve headlined sold-out shows across Europe and North America, and have thrilled audiences in destinations like Dubai, Philippines, Turkey, Japan and South Africa.
