On October 3rd, Ukrainian metalcore band Jinjer stopped by the House of Blues Orlando on their headlining North American Tour. They brought progressive metalcore juggernauts, Born of Osiris, from Chicago, along with Hanabie, an aggressive, yet colorful, four-piece from Tokyo, Japan. The crowd at the Disney Springs iconic music venue were sure to feel the thundering intensity of each diverse band.
The night of metal kicked off with Born of Osiris, who quickly established the show to be nothing short of loud, heavy, and complex. The band, who formed in 2003 right outside of Chicago in a suburb named Palatine, consists of lead vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, who commanded his crowd accompained by heavy riffs from guitarists Nick Rossi and Lee Patrick McKinney, plus dominant drummer Cameron Losch.
Next, the lights came back up to present the highly anticipated Hanabie. The girls ran on stage with the lead singer, Yukina, waving an American flag. Each member brought their own stage presence, showcasing vivid neon outfits and luminous, smiling faces before displaying hardcore sounds of heavy growls. The band is self-described as “harajuku-core," mixing Japanese street fashion and aesthetics with todays nu-metal sound. With support from members Chika, Matsuri, and Hettsu, they exhibited heavy powerchord-based riffs, while switching between cute vivacious expressions, straight to metal breakdowns.
Lastly, closer Jinjer, with front women goddess Tatiana Shmayluk took the stage. The first thing you notice about Tatiana is the range and versatility in her voice, demonstrating so much emotion and vulnerability in her lyrics and a melodic voice that can quickly shift to harsh growls. Jinjer is from Donetsk, Ukraine, which is currently occupied by Russia. Being from a country still today being affected by war, her lyrics deal with displacement and resilience. The power behind their message shared with the pure strength in her voice was unveiled with the remarkable acoustics of House of Blues. Revealing a dark feminine style, the entire show felt very ethereal.