On Friday, October 1st, I visited the Turock in Essen again after a long time. The occasion was the surprising appearance of an absolute Metal great: Jinjer from the Ukraine made a stop on their European tour in the small cult club that I have always found cozy up to now.
But this time there was no sign of that. Because of my job, I was only able to turn up at Viehofer Platz at 8.10 p.m. A long queue awaited me in front of the entrance. After the mandatory check of the vaccination certificate (or current test certificate), ID card and ticket, however, at some point we went into the small hall.
Small Metal club is fuller than ever
There I found myself in a scene like in “Back to the Future”. Countless metal fans, close together, crowded the place. There was also no longer any mask requirement due to the application of the 3G rule. In short: It looked like a year and a half ago – as if Corona had never happened. However, something was different. It was even fuller there than I ever remembered – and I’ve been to the Turock several times.
Just in time for the end of mandatory seated concerts in North Rhine-Westphalia on September 30, the organizers apparently wanted to go all out – in the truest sense of the word. In my opinion, too many people were already there – even if I can of course understand that as many tickets as possible should be sold after the long dry spell. It was almost as if the Turock makers wanted to shout a loud “Fuck you” in the face of the politicians with this completely sold out concert evening without any contact restrictions, combined with the finger after an excruciatingly long pandemic break.
“Space Of Variations” inspire the masses
What should happen to me as a vaccinated person, I also thought after a short period of getting used to it. And then I was back in the concert flow of the old days – which the first supporting act made really easy for me. Space of Variations are also from the Ukraine, and I had never heard of them before – let alone supporting Jinjer.
But then there was a funny incident on Thursday: Guitarist Anton wrote to me on Facebook and asked if I or my friends would know a place to sleep somewhere after the concert for his group of six. All of them would not drink or smoke and bring their own sleeping bags with them. I then recommended the hostel “In Hostel Veritas” near the CentrO to him with a clear conscience, where I myself have stayed very well and cheaply before.
But I don’t know whether the band ended up there. In the general crowd, I didn’t see Anton again after their show – which was great by the way. Somehow the formation reminded me of Linkin Park, only as a Metalcore variant. Especially since the singer looked similar to the late frontman Chester Bennington with his close-cropped hair. Fortunately, they weren’t as shy on stage as Anton had described himself and his colleagues. They really let it all hang out, with some “Fuck you” phrases as well.
Hypno5e were a little disappointment
The crowd was going crazy. In that case, I was even happy that I only got a place in the back because of my late arrival. Because the front was heavily “moshpitting”. But at my age I don’t need that kick anymore, sorry! After 45 minutes the gig was over and everyone could cool off with a beer. The loud screams of the crowd for an encore, however, revealed that Space of Variations had made a great performance.
So after the perfect start, my anticipation for the second support was all the greater. However, Hypno5e were a little disappointment that evening. The fact that the group from the neighboring country only sang in French was not the irritating point. But the introversion with which they played their tunes somehow didn’t fit into the picture. As a comparison to their music one could use Alcest (only without Neiges Black Metal vocals) – another band from France, which I like very much by the way. But this time Alcest would also have been out of place in the Turock. Even if Hypno5e seemed to have some fans in the audience – the applause at the end was much more restrained.
Charismatic Jinjer front woman Tatiana Shmaylyuk
After a short break, the time had come. Jinjer boarded the stage and immediately kicked off with “Call Me a Symbol” from their recently released album “Wallflowers”. The quartet delivered riffs, hooks and blastbeats non-stop in their first song. And of course the extremely versatile voice by front woman Tatiana Shmaylyuk hovered above everything.
The 34-year-old is one of the best singers in the field of female fronted bands. When she unpacks her brutal growls, she sings like a guy. But when there are more contemplative moments at Jinjer’s shows – like in Essen with the title song of the new record, “Wallflower” – then she can also appear very fragile and arouse deep emotions.
Biggest Jinjer hit was left out
But Tatiana and her buddies are no strangers to Ska either. In parts of “Judgment (and Punishment)” you could almost guess she was the more talented sister of “No Doubt” singer Gwen Stefani. Such comparisons are certainly a horror for die-hard Metal fans. Nevertheless, it has to be said that through their immense record and concert successes, Jinjer have almost made it into the mainstream of the extreme music genre.
If you only know the band from their mega YouTube hit “Pisces”, you will have been amazed at the ultra brutal sounds in the Turock. But Jinjer are – despite all the existing technical virtuosity – still a Metalcore combo. It goes without saying that Jinjer didn‘t play their mega YouTube hit that evening.
Bathed in sweat, but happy
At around 11:15 p.m, the concert ended. Like all the other fans, I went home completely drained and drenched in sweat, and my shoes also sticking to the hall floor from the dried beer. Still, I was happy. Because it was almost everything like in the old days – and that’s just a good thing.
