Album Review: Jinjer – Duél (Napalm Records)

Leading modern metal juggernauts Jinjer return with their eagerly awaited fifth studio album, ‘Duél’, set to be released on February 7th, 2025, via Napalm Records.

Certainly up there as one of the most anticipated albums of 2025, Jinjer return and let’s be honest, we all have very high expectations for this record. Not just because of the quality that has come from the singles released so far, but because of their previous work and how they always seem to be moving forward, sonically. It’s not just that Jinjer are a progressive metal band, it’s that they’re redefining what that means.

They are a band that lives and breathes unpredictability and, once again, they deliver something that is fresh and interesting. Hitting an intense peak from the start with Tantrum, where vocalist Tatiana alternates between demonic growls and soaring cleans, all while the guitars and drums crash and smash with absurd force. It is the perfect opening showcase of the ‘‘dual’’ nature of this record. On the one hand, absurdly wild, heavy, and dangerous, on the other, dramatic, melodic, and imaginative. The latter part of this track is going to take a few people by surprise.

The bar has been set, and it’s bloody high. Thankfully, there are many more peaks to come, and with Hedonist, they take a more methodical approach which allows some instrumental layers to come across even more vibrantly. Then, along comes Rogue, a technical beast of the most brutal kind. Serrated guitars, scathing vocals, and pulverising percussion wrecks here. It, like so much of the album, might be lacking in hooks, but the intense complexities of the track are attention grabbing regardless.

Chances are, like me, you’ll be all in on the equivalent of organised chaos that is this track.

Especially as the album continues to impress with a series of heavyweight listens that blend genres, display emphatic technicalities, and push the progressive bar to even greater heights. First, with the huge vocal performance (Tatiana’s contrasting styles have never sounded better) and thick riffing of Tumbleweed. Then with the dark, ethereal and hypnotic sounding Green Serpent. Their technical delivery has never sounded smarter, and here we are reminded of just how anthemic they can be, all without compromising their intense sound.

It is true though that there are aspects of this album (and Jinjer as a whole) that are an acquired taste and nowhere is that better exemplified then with Kafka. A track that features heavy melodic ways and a poetic style of vocals. Fascinating, but a track that needs time to sink in and on first impression, it may leave some feeling very cold.

Still, once again, it’s Jinjer pushing the limits. Not just ours, but theirs, and with tracks like this (amongst many others), it pretty much confirms this album as their most boundary pushing yet.

It is a technical juggernaut that feels fresh and new, while having that Jinjer magic and that is what continues to be showcased with Dark Bile, Fast Draw, and Someone’s Daughter. A series of powerful tracks that deliver an array of erratic riffs, thrilling bass lunges, increasing intensity, and as always, immense vocals.

The album then culminates in style. First, with the relentless A Tongue So Sly, which has these heart-racing vocal rises and then with the title track, that explodes with vitality from the start and doesn’t let up (instrumentally – in particular, the drums) for nearly five minutes. It’s an exclamation mark on their ambitions and where Jinjer find themselves in 2025. Inspired and confident, the sound of a mighty band with a mighty album.

Jinjer – Duél Track Listing:

1. Tantrum
2. Hedonist
3. Rogue
4. Tumbleweed
5. Green Serpent
6. Kafka
7. Dark Bile
8. Fast Draw
9. Someone’s Daughter
10. A Tongue So Sly
11. Duél

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