Metalheads came out in full force to see Jinjer when they headlined a nearly sold-out at the House of Blues in Houston.
Born of Osiris started the night with a heavy set that set the mood for the rest of the evening. With a pretty packed venue to begin their set, the band had fans cheering, rocking along, and even flipping them off – per request of the group’s lead singer, Ronnie Canazaro, as he asked for fans to get their middle fingers up. As the band ended their nearly 40-minute performance, fans were cheering, signaling that they did a great job opening the night.
Patriotism became the theme of the night, first with Born of Osiris. Before the band started performing, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA” rang over the speakers. As Hanabie took the stage, lead singer Yukina came out waving a giant American flag as she said hello to the Houston crowd. Hanabie proved one thing for sure during their set: that looks can be deceiving. Each band member introduced themselves and had the stereotypical Jpop look down. However, the sound didn’t match the look as the heavy instrumentals and Yukina’s screams signaled that this would be the furthest thing from a pop performance. After some hesitancy early in the performance, the crowd quickly warmed up to the band, and Hanabie fed off that energy with a fun, playful performance.
Jinjer kept that lively mood going after opening their set with a pair of older tracks that the audience recognized. The group opened with “Just Another” before following with “Sit Stay Roll Over” as they waved and engaged with the audience. Those little interactions made an already hyped-up crowd that much more excited for the remainder of the performance.While Jinjer opened their set with a pair of older songs, they did mix in some newer tracks. Early into the performance, the group performed “Somebody’s Daughter,” a song that was released earlier this year. It was during this tune that lead singer, Tatiana Shmayluk, took over mixing her beautiful vocals with her harsh deep scream. That performance proved that Shmayluk has one of the most unique voices in the metal game.
While Shmayluk shined, so did the rest of the Jinjer. The heavy, fast, and brutal instrumentals were the real reason their singer became the highlight, and made for some beautiful moments. One of those occasions occurred during “Pit of Consciousness.” The heavy instruments hit early, allowing Shmayluk to open her screams, but the scale back on the chorus highlighted just how solid the instrumentals really are, thus allowing their singer to sound phenomenal.
Patriotism once again came into play during Jinjer’s performance. Early into the set, Shmayluk spoke to the crowd, proudly stating that the band is from Ukraine. She followed that by thanking the Houston crowd for always embracing the group and welcoming them with such hospitality. With that in mind, and how much the audience enjoyed Sunday’s performance, it surely won’t be long before Jinjer returns to Space City.
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