Jinjer: We’ve Always Been A Little Different…

“Deadlines!” Tatiana Shmayluk exclaims, in the voice of a woman who has been doing press calls all day. “They are my enemies and friends at the same time.” It’s all in service of some of the best music that progressive metalcore giants JINJER have ever written.

New album, Wallflowers, takes on a much darker and more pessimistic voice than their previous work, and it suits them. The political upheaval in their home country of Ukraine, coupled with the pandemic and Tatiana’s long-distance marriage have been the inspirations behind the music this time around.

“The world has always been fucked up, you know? That’s the source of inspiration for every artist in the world,” Tati laughs again as she asks, “should I be complaining about my life?! I see my husband once every three months and then he leaves again. It’s hard, constantly adjusting. Luckily I was making the album, so I didn’t have much time to mourn. But it’s still hard.”

Channelling her pain into music, Tatiana set to work writing lyrics. “And that’s how I wrote the lyrics to [lead single] Vortex. That’s basically me describing myself walking in circles, you know? Missing a person so much and then deciding to continue, to try to live without him. But at the same time, I’m grateful to have had this lockdown shit, because we have had the opportunity to compose the new album.”

Did the lockdown help their creativity as a band? “Yes. Because I’m a big couch potato! Now I have an excuse to stay at home! And the pandemic helped me with figuring out the lyrics to the new album. I appreciate it and really value every single day that I spend writing songs. Without it, I think we would have been late turning the album in.”

It’s easy to see why. JINJER has always been a hardworking band, but even more so since their now-infamous live session video for Pisces went viral on YouTube, and gained them countless new fans. They’ve been touring non-stop, releasing their fourth album, Macro, after over two years of global touring, writing and recording.

“We used to play so many shows. We had only four months to record our albums. In an ideal world, we’d have a year to do it, piece by piece. But no! Although for me, nothing changed. I only wrote like two passages in advance and then I was just procrastinating – that’s why, fucking deadlines, I love you!” So again, the lyrics were written just before heading into the studio. “But I cannot do it any other way! It just works for me.”

Of the two singles that have been released so far – Vortex and Mediator – a theme began to emerge. One of control, the need for it, the loss of it in a reality which seems to be spiralling more and more out of hand. “I love to hear what other people think about our songs. I write songs that touch certain problems on different levels, come at them from different sides, so they often have a many layered meaning. So maybe that was in my subconscious. Maybe I just really wanted to gain control.”

Let’s speak about that album title. It’s Wallflowers, a word which means reserved, on the sidelines – not something you’d necessarily associate with one of the loudest and most exciting bands on the metal scene. “The working title was ‘Introvert’, but it’s such a plain word. There’s no poetry behind it. So we chose Wallflowers. Because I’m an introvert. What you see on stage – that’s an alter-ego.”

It’s hard to imagine this woman, with one of the best growls in metal (of any gender, let’s be honest), as shy, but that’s absolutely how Tatiana feels. “If we talk, it has to be about something deep, you know?”

It’s a more relatable notion now, in 2021, than it would have been in the past. A year and a half deep into a pandemic which forced everyone inside their homes, now that things are beginning to open up again, the prospect of going out and having to socialise as before can be a terrifying and exhausting thought. “In the song Wallflower, there’s a line; ‘and fell in love with solitude’. That’s me. Touring and communicating with so many people is very exhausting for me. I want introverts to understand me. And I want extroverts to respect it!”

“I don’t think it’s understood enough by parents, or teachers. Kids in school will be bullied because they are not that outgoing, parents can raise introverted kids in a way that makes them feel like they’re broken. There’s nothing wrong with them. It’s just a different energy that flows. It’s like flowers again. Some of them can thrive without being watered much, and some of them need very special care. So treat other people who are not like you with respect.”

JINJER have always been utterly unique, forgoing typical metal song structures in favour of jazzy progressions and complexities. “We have always been a little difficult. We have always been a little different. And we don’t want to change because someone doesn’t like us. It used to give us a lot of energy, and inspiration, being hated. But without my guys, I feel like I wouldn’t be so ground-breaking, you know? I wouldn’t be as strong as I am without them.”

As inspiring as it sounds, it also sounds exhausting, especially for a self-defined introvert who not only has to front an incredibly loud and outspoken band, but also do the majority of the press as frontwoman and spokesperson. “Yeah it can be exhausting, of course it can. But we love it, so what can we do? And if we want to survive then we have to stand our ground.”

Wallflowers is out now via Napalm Records. 

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