One of the most consistently solid direct support bands I've been fortunate enough to see over the years has been Jinjer. Whether it's been opening for DevilDriver, Disturbed, Trivium, or performing in the middle of the day at festivals, Jinjer always brings in the fans and gets the crowd moving. Well, I finally had the chance to see them on their very own headlining tour when they hit the road on the Duél Tour 2026, coming through the House of Blues in San Diego, CA. Fans packed the house early as they were ready to unleash all hell for our openers Entheos and Crystal Lake.

Opening the night was a California native progressive death metal band known as Entheos. I saw them on the Summer Slaughter tour back in 2018, and I was excited to see how they've evolved since then. Vocalist Chaney Crabb is more captivating than I remember as she commands the stage. Drenched in dark atmospheric attire and energy, she was the apple of many fans' eyes in the crowd that night. But when she roared with her vocal lines, you knew she could murder you with just a glance of her eyes. Drummer Navene Koperweis is the backbone of the band. Not just driving the beat, but giving his own performance behind the kit as he puts all his might into each stroke of the drum sticks. Guitarists Michael Stancel and Scott Carstairs, both of whom joined the band last year, have settled in perfectly with Entheos as they trade off guitar lines and solos. Entheos got the mosh pit spinning and the first few bodies surfing over the barricade with songs like “All for Nothing,” “Empty on the Inside,” “Absolute Zero,” “Hell is a Part of Me,” “I Am the Void,” “Life in Slow Motion,” “A Thousand Days,” “Golden Crown,” “An End to Everything,” and “The Sinking Sun.” Seeing Entheos again reminded me just how good they are and that I need to be listening to them more often.

Up next was a metalcore band hailing from Japan known as Crystal Lake. This was going to be a unique performance, as former lead singer John Centorrino had recently left the band to spend more time with his family. So Crystal Lake was featuring multiple guest vocalists on this tour, with different people filling in on different dates. For San Diego, we got to see Wade Walters of the band Secrets melting faces with his vicious roars. Wade was in a precariously cheeky mood, as he appeared to be purposefully leaning over the pit security guards to constantly bop them in the head with the mic cable.

But it's the core members of Crystal Lake that really make the band exciting to see, as each member almost feels like they're trying to outdo the other members with chaotic stage presence. Guitarists YD Miyamoto and TJ Taji, along with bassist Mitsuru, are constantly headbanging, throwing their guitars around, throwing kicks into the air, and barely ever actually looking at their instruments. Yet they are always in time, and the songs sound just like they do on the album. Even drummer Gaku Taura can't be held down to his drum throne. Posing behind the kit and performing while standing up often enough. Crystal Lake brought this energy to every song like “Everblack,” “Blüdgod,” “Neversleep,” “Hail to the Fire,” “Crossing Nails,” “Aeon,” “DYSTOPIA,” “The Weight of Sound,” and “Apollo.” I've been fortunate enough to see Crystal Lake as an opening band a few times now, so hopefully they'll get their own headlining tour through North America soon.

It was then time for our headliner, Jinjer, to take the stage. As the instrumental section of the band played us into the concert with the tour-titled song “Duél,” you could feel the energy building in the room. But it was when vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk walked on stage that our excitement exploded. Tatiana has become renowned for how quickly she can vocally switch between her beautiful, entrancing clean melodic vocals, and then in less than the blink of an eye you have ferocity and aggression blasting you in the face with her ear-piercing screams. Regardless of which style she is singing with, there is an air of elegance and devilish wonder to her.

Jinjer is made up of four extremely talented musicians, with guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov masterfully crafting riffs and melodies that get the air guitars wailing in the crowd. Bassist Eugene Abdukhanov is the driving force, with his playing manipulating the groove and feel of many of the songs. Meanwhile, drummer Vladislav Ulasevich sits high on the stage, almost like the Watcher on the Wall, overseeing the beat and tempo of the music. With his playing, he builds the tempo that the moshers find themselves marching to.

With this being the Duél Tour, we got many songs from this album, but with this also being Jinjer's own headlining tour, we got plenty of fan favorites from across their discography like “Green Serpent,” “Fast Draw,” “Vortex,” “Disclosure!,” “Tantrum,” “Teacher, Teacher!,” “Kafka,” “Judgement (& Punishment),” “Hedonist,” “I Speak Astronomy,” “Perennial,” “Someone's Daughter,” “Rogue,” the fan favorite “Pisces,” and ending with a single song encore of “Sit Stay Roll Over.” With each song, the fans unleashed hell in the House of Blues, sending moshers into a whirlwind circle pit and bodies crashing over the barricade. I'm so used to seeing Jinjer stripped down to a 30-minute set that we truly did not take this show for granted, as we enjoyed all the time we got to spend with the band and their music.

For a progressive metal band from Ukraine, their music at first glance may not seem accessible to everyone, but once you see them live, you feel the energy and the passion behind the music. If you are a metalhead, there's no reason Jinjer shouldn't be on your playlist. This band should be so much bigger than they are, but they have been carving out their own niche in the metal community, and the fans who get to see them live show up whenever they come through. Jinjer is such a fan-favorite kind of band, so don't miss out on your chance to feel the music and connect through their next live show.