Ukrainian metal sensations Jinjer have picked out the five tracks that have defined their career so far. Chatting to Metal Hammer in an exclusive new interview filmed backstage at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith before the four-piece supported Brazilian metal icons Sepultura, frontwoman Tatiana Shmayluk and bassist Eugene Abdukhanov jumped straight in with what is arguably the band's hallmark song, Pisces.
First released on 2016 album King Of Everything, the song took on a life of its own when it was put on YouTube with a specially performed video, and has now racked up just shy of 90 million views.
"I guess the music video actually brought attention to to the song," admits Tatiana. "It was the last single on King Of Everything," adds Eugene, "and prior to that we had a couple of big singles. We were not aiming at this song to become big; it was a simple video just shot in in the studio!"
The band's next pick, I Speak Astronomy, taken from the same album, is a firm favourite of Eugene's, who notes enthusiastically: "I still believe this is one of the greatest songs we've ever written in all the respects. Music-wise, arrangements, vocal lines, just everything."
Of the band's third pick,Teacher, Teacher!, taken from 2019 EP Micro, Tatiana breaks down the song's lyrics, explaining that they were inspired not by literal teachers, but by people who try to project certain moral values onto others. "Basically, it was about people who try to teach you morals," she says. "They have their own ideals in their head, so they try them on you, basically. They compare you to themselves and you don't fit in their picture of this world, so they try to change you."
Another song from the Micro EP also makes the cut, single Perennial, as does a much more recent number, Green Serpent, which was released as a single only last month and deals with the subject of alcoholism. To see Tatiana and Eugene discuss all five songs in more detail, watch our exclusive video chat with the duo below. New Jinjer album Duél will be released on February 7 via Napalm.
