The winter in London is long, cold and dragging. The days feel long and gloomy, the rain does not stop and payday seems like a distant memory. But on the final day of January that has seemingly lasted 6 years, Ukrainian outfit Jinjer bring their headline Duél Tour 2026 to one of the capital’s most iconic venues. London’s O2 Forum in Kentish Town may now be your standard grassroots den, but its long-standing status in the live circuits makes it an apt setting for a bill that marries legacy, evolution, loudness and intimacy all in one.
Opening the night were Textures, a band that stands between metal and progressive sounds. After a hiatus and a comeback, the Dutch band now leans hard on structure and precision in their music, whilst there is no compromise on theatrics and spectacle. Even though I missed part of their set waiting outside the guestlist booth, I could hear their guitars and drums all the way outside. Their progressive metal architects title is well-earned, as they bring groove, energy and tension into their performance. There was not a single moment of calm during that set; from songs like “New Horizons” to “Timeless” to “Awake” — there was a clear crowd shift as movement increased organically and the room responded.
Second up were Unprocessed, who you might have heard before as their songs tend to sneak into playlists in the least expected manner. The German band has cultivated their reputation for blurring genre boundaries and incorporating technical sounds, compositional elements and pure rhythm into a concept. Admittedly, I was not only looking forward to their set, but I also left with the need to listen to them more. Their performance was confident, yet restrained, exploding only when the riffs allowed for breathing room and the grooves escalated to crescendos. The crowd response warmed up to them as the set went by; whilst at the start during “111” and “Thrash,” the crowd’s eyes were fixed and the bodies swayed, during “Glass,” “Lore” and “Solara” the pits opened, the crowdsurfers emerged and the line between audience and performer completely disappeared. Unprocessed did not ask for chaos, but they earned it rightfully.
Just after 9pm, we were all waiting for the iconic headliner to emerge and set the record straight. Jinjer are a band who have risen and been defined by their mastery of contrast; brutality versus softness, intellect versus instinct and liveness versus stillness. The duality of the band has followed them from their early albums and into their latest one (Duél, after which the current tour is named), and its strength lies in exactly this oxymoron of tenderness and architecture against brutal vocals and guitar breakdowns. Their performance did not rely on maximalism and special effects, but on pacing their songs and connecting them to their audience.
Though Jinjer are a band, it is hard not to talk about their vocalist and theatrics mastermind, Tatiana Shmayluk. Tatiana is a name that has a long standing reputation of always delivering, whether that is through dynamic vocals, brute force, clarity, dance, figures and audience connection, she does it all. And even though the band operates like a single system and well-oiled machine, Tatiana does stand out. The switch between brutal and clean vocals is immaculate, not a single note is missed, the imposing figure brings every song alive and the audience is not just being entertained, it is being engaged. The room goes from being intense to channelling chaos, as the set progresses more and more pits open, more and more people surf through the audience and over the barriers, and more and more people sing along and cheer. There is something uniquely satisfying about watching how the crowd decides to move as the songs progress, with highlights of the set being “Disclosure!”, “Teacher, Teacher!”, “Kafka,” “Perennial,” “Someone’s Daughter,” “Rogue,” “Pisces” and of course, “Sit Stay Roll Over.” Basically, the whole set.
Jinjer’s show did not aim to overwhelm, but to convince that modern heavy music thrives in instinct and contrast. As tours seem to favour larger spaces, the O2 Forum strikes a rare balance, as it stands as the perfect ground for carrying impact and containing chaos. This is why it offered the perfect backdrop for Jinjer who thrive in contrast and control, because the show was able to be perceived exactly as it was meant to be: emotionally resonant and built on connection.
GALLERY: Jinjer with Unprocessed at O2 Forum Kentish Town in London, England (January 31, 2026)
