The band's 5th album finds the band not backing down. They gained a great deal of momentum, as more emphasis is being placed in the media on women in metal. They are also Ukrainian, so are watching their country being propped up by the US to have a proxy war against Russia, which sparks some of the ire found in the first song. The second song is more deliberate and gives Tatiana more room to sing, though perhaps too much as the hooks of the first song stuck firmer in my ears. The angular metal core riffing driving "Rogue" took a second listen before I paid attention to it. Impressive technical ability trumps songwriting here as nothing sticks to you. "Tumbleweed" finds them slowing down and putting more thought into things, her ung vocals work better as the shock of her ability at harsh vocals wears off quickly. It would be more interesting if she was doing something different from what her male counterparts do.
At this point in the album they have not changed my mind in the debate between these guys or Spiritbox As I feel the latter does this better, though "Green Serpent" finds JINJER put up more of a fight when it comes to this contest, Spiritbox has a new album dropping soon, so this debate will be settled soon enough. The vocal melodies here are just less consistent than what Courtney does. "Kafka" illustrates this while Tatiana sings with alluring emotion dropping into a smoother alto ranger, she is maneuvering around the winding guitar lines rather than establishing a memorable lyrical narrative, as I had to give the song a second listen to recall any of it. Perhaps if you are a fan of the band this is something you prefer.
Progressive metal-core might be the most fitting label for this band. I do like how the guitar lines slither on "Dark Bite" and think her vocals work well here. Hardcore fans of this band might call me a "hater" of the band, which is not true, overall I am pretty indifferent to them as a band, I think a song like "Dark Bite" is what proves to me there is some merit to what they do. "Fast Draw" is less compelling and feels like whatever other metalcore band is doing., They bounce back with a more melodic moment for "Somebody's Daughter" I like the drumming on this one. Lyrically is a feminist lament, which some little girls getting into metal will be into.
The interplay between the bass and drums has a machine-like precision on this album, which makes "A Tongue So Sly" churn with the fury that possesses this song. Though take the technical aspects out, and there is not a great deal of sonic storytelling, however, they did accomplish this on the previous song, so my theory of inconsistency stands true. The title track that closes the album finds them gaining both momentum and aggression but fails to connect with me, and just feels like a bunch of riffs are being thrown at me, and Tatiana is dodging them as she tries to sing in the spaces they create. I can hear her trying to inject more soulfulness in her style throughout the album so she is giving it her best shot. Like their playing his is a well-constructed metal album that sounds great in terms of how it was produced but seems like the chaos in their playing covers the fact they are inconsistent songwriters. I will give this album an 8, so it's better than what most are doing, but short of what we call great here. Out February 7th on Napalm Records.
