Jinjer - Macro (2019)

Ukrainian outfit JINJER have been riding a wave of momentum as of late. Their live session video of Pisces currents sits on 27 million views on YouTube and after packing The Dogtooth Stage way beyond its capacity at this year’s Download Festival, it’s fair to say that the Ukrainian metallers are all at full speed ahead on the hype train. Whilst the initial exploded largely thanks to reaction videos to the aforementioned Pisces video, the quartet have displayed enough talent across their back catalogue to show that they are far more than just a flash in the pan. Now, intending to capitalise on their soaring momentum, comes album number four; Macro...

...Macro does a lot of things right but this album is without its shortcomings. There are times where the band’s progressive-leaning metal comes across as bland rather forgettable. Noah‘s crunching grooves keep the heaviness of their sound ramped up to the max but Tatiana‘s vocals in the chorus don’t connect as well as they probably should and Home Back is largely forgettable; save for an interesting display of vocal work in the track’s mellower section.

Often when bands find themselves the product of a swirling mass of hype, they fail to deliver upon the promise as the result of the immense pressure. With Macro, JINJER have certainly done more than enough to keep their momentum marching forwards and where the record connects, it does so oh so sweetly. Whilst it certainly isn’t a perfect record, those who buy into the hype will certainly not be disappointed.