There's something extra special about experiencing a night where the line-up is stacked with heavy-hitting women who are commanding the stage like battle-hardened generals.
So when Jinjer rolls into The Fortitude Music Hall with Kittie in tow, Brisbane is bracing for a night (21 February) where feminine fury and raw power are colliding in the most glorious way. Before they even officially take the stage, Kittie lets fans know they're definitely here, casually checking pedals and plugs to a round of applause, as if letting the crowd know, 'yeah, we're here. We're gonna do this.'
Kittie steps up first; from the moment Morgan Lander is growling into the mic, the room is pulsing with energy. There's no warming up – 'Fire' sets the tone instantly, its searing riffage blistering in the air.
Lander's vocals switch between venomous screams and clean, haunting melodies, proving she's still reigning as a force to be reckoned with. Tara McLeod shreds with precision, her leads adding a razor-sharp edge to the relentless grooves, while Ivana 'Ivy' Jenkins is holding down the low end with basslines that are reverberating through the floor, our bodies and the air around us.
'I've Failed You' rolls in with a creeping menace, the crowd already moving as if possessed by the raw emotion dripping from every note. Mercedes Lander is behind her kit, battering drums with an intensity that feels like an unstoppable freight train had a head-on with a colossal wrecking ball.
'Cut Throat' tears through the venue, McLeod's guitar tone slicing clean through the chaos. By the time 'Oracle' is slamming in, the pit erupts into a maelstrom of airborne hair. The connection between band and the audience is undeniable – people are screaming every word back at the stage, fists raised in defiance.
'Spit' is an absolute riot, bringing that nostalgic, pissed-off energy that made Kittie legendary in the first place – this song didn't just define an era, it fuelled a movement. The way voices are screaming along proves it's still an anthem, still a rallying cry for women in heavy music.
Morgan is absolutely owning this moment, her voice carrying an edge of venom hitting out every lyric with poisonous precision. Asking if we've heard the new album, roars erupt as Morgan appears in awe that it's made it to our side of the world. With that we get our first live encounter with 'Eyes Wide Open'. It slays and the crunchy guitars are simply stunning; riff-tastic even!
The set is relentless: 'We Are Shadows' makes a welcome appearance and the band is fluid at keeping the fire burning. This truly is a fire that needed reigniting long ago. Kittie are pretty well punching it out bare-knuckled for us tonight.
All music, little dialogue, just a killer hardcore performance. Landers did take a minute to thank us for coming out before they let loose 'Vultures', which locks us into the crushing groove, Jenkins' bass tone growling underneath McLeod and Lander's wailing guitars. . . it is delicious.
'Charlotte' took me way back, but 'Brackish' – arguably their most iconic song – implodes punters into a frenzied mosh. Leading us further into temptation, 'We Are The Lamb' takes punters willingly to the slaughter of its explosive power.
The metal matriarchs are playing as if they're performing at their own headline show, their chemistry undeniable, their musicianship razor-sharp and edgy. They're back baby! Dare I say it, bigger, bolder and ballsier – it's more beautiful than I'd imaged!
We are forced to break for changeover, but it is not for long. The house lights are dropping. The intro is swelling, as Jinjer take their place onstage. Tatiana Shmayluk, a powerhouse in the scene, is last to step forward.
Looking spectacular sporting a baby hair-do at the front and single braid at the back, and dressed in clothing similar to what she wore in a Halloween photoshoot (ending up as a kind of mystical character), Tatiana takes no time in unleashing 'Just Another'. Instantly she holds command of the room with her signature blend of ethereal cleans and feral growls. The transition between those two sides of her voice is always astounding to me, no matter how many times I hear it; and live? Mate, the contrast is utterly flabbergasting!
'Sit Stay Roll Over' follows, and it is a straight-up auditory assault. Shmayluk stands on her risers and lets rip her growls that ripple through the air like a dense fog, thick and primal, saturating everything in their path, the band locking in like a well-oiled war machine beneath her. The way she's throwing herself into these guttural roars with a met(al)iculousness is nothing short of bewitchment.
When 'Teacher, Teacher!' hits, the pit is a swirling vortex of limbs and hair, Jinjer's knack for unpredictable song structures keeping everyone on their toes. Roman Ibramkhalilov's riffs and lead work are piercing through the groove-heavy chaos, while Eugene Abdukhanov's bass is rattling ribcages.
'Fast Draw' followed by 'Green Serpent' (a personal song for Shmayluk, about alcoholism) keeps the energy soaring, the vocal and instrumental technicality only adding to the sheer weight of Jinger's sound.
However, 'Retrospection' provides the first real chance to take a breath – still heavy as hell, but with an emotional depth that has the entire crowd's eyes locked into Shmayluk's every move, ears unable to escape her growls slamming into the air like a wave of raw thunder, heavy and unrelenting, and like Abdukhanov's bass, shaking everything it touches.
'On The Top' brings back the sheer force, while 'Duél' is a riff-driven monster, its groove sinking deep into the bones. 'I Speak Astronomy' showcases Jinjer's ability to blend brutality with intricate melody, proving once again why they're dominating the heavy music landscape. The digital backdrop showcases film clips and digital art as the lights perfectly sync to the music.
Next comes 'Someone's Daughter'; this song hits different in this setting. A tribute to pioneering women takes on an even more powerful meaning in a room already buzzing with the undeniable force of female-fronted metal. Cleopatra, Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, Joan of Arc – each name a battle cry, each note resonating through a crowd who know damn well the strength it is witnessing tonight.
Let's not forget Abdukhanov's bassline – it is slapping harder than the reality of glass ceilings being shattered. 'Kafka' brings personal joy, and there is no caring who is watching the uncoordinated moves – it's impossible not to get swept up in the chaos of this track, and plenty of others are losing themselves right alongside.
'Copycat', 'Perennial' (where Vladislav Ulasevich shows off his double bass blasts), and 'Rogue' round out the main set, each one showcasing just how tight this band is. The transitions, the unpredictable song structures, the raw power – it's what makes Jinjer a band redefining modern heavy music.
Then, the encore. 'Pisces'. The song that hooked so many in the first place. As the first clean notes ring out, a hush settles over the room, every single person bracing for that transition. When it hits, it hits hard and so does Ulasevich. I mean, the dude is masterful at balancing his want for technical precision with powerful, heavy grooves demanded of the song. The transitions between time signatures and rhythms are seamless, and his intricate drumming adds to the song's ethereal yet crushing atmosphere.
'Pisces' amplifies the sheer contrast between beauty and brutality, the seamless flow between them – it's what Jinjer is doing best and to date, it's one of their best songs, if not the best. The stage and digital backdrop bathe everything in blues and golds, the colours of Ukraine, giving a fittingly ethereal feeling like a final, transcendental moment.
Before departing, Shmayluk signals her heart-felt love to fans with a hand symbol. The rest of the band lingers, tossing out picks, sticks and a signed set list to the lucky few. The rest of us exit still buzzing, exhilarated and empowered by tonight's lineup, fuelled by an unrelenting force of women who have forged a solid and fierce presence in the music industry: unapologetic, uncompromising, and refusing to retreat from claiming their thrones in genres long lorded over by men.
Shmayluk, taking Kittie's pioneering stance and running with it, is solidifying herself as the artistic reflection of the Curie of heavy music with an impressive band of highly skilled musicians that should be equally admired – it makes Jinjer visionary, unbreakable and impossible to ignore.
If there's a ticket to ANY show left on this tour grab and get your ass to it – you can't rewind regret!
