Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk has spoken out against the band’s “female-fronted” label, saying she’s sick of being pitted against other women in the scene.
Tatiana Shmayluk of the progressive metal group Jinjer has rejected the “female-fronted band” label in a new interview, saying she’s sick of being compared to other women in the metal scene.
Shmayluk would give her thoughts in a new issue of Metal Hammer after being asked about the “female-fronted band” label.
“We are still getting compared to artists that have nothing to do with us. And not always good or talented artists, and I feel very, very fucking offended by that. Because some people, they cannot sing, they don’t hit the notes! Then I get people saying, ‘Oh, she’s doing better than you, she does it better than you, she has this personality, she has…’ Oh my god! Leave me alone! That kind of stuff really pisses me off.”
Shmayluk would go on to reveal she first started her career trying to emulate Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe. Despite Blythe‘s inspiration, the Jinjer singer says she is only ever compared to women she has never sought to emulate.
“I get a lot of comparisons and comments comparing me with [former Arch Enemy vocalist] Angela Gossow,” she continues. “I never wanted to sound like her. Some people told me, ‘Why don’t you colour your hair? Why don’t you dye your hair blue like Alissa [White-Gluz, former Arch Enemy vocalist]?’ But why would I? I don’t get it.”
This isn’t the first time Shmayluk has spoken out about dealing with sexism in the metal scene. Speaking to Metal Hammer in 2022, the singer expressed surprise that audiences were “impressed” that a woman could scream.
“When I was an 18-year-old girl with no internet, I knew there was a band called Holy Moses [A German thrash metal band] with a female on the vocals who did crazy stuff,” she said. “Maybe we impress the younger generation, but the older generation already knew.”
Shmayluk would acknowledge the other side of the argument, admitting that she’s still happy new fans are discovering artists. “Sometimes I’m annoyed, but then you say, ‘OK, well, I didn’t see a hummingbird until I was 35 years old.’ It’s always a right time to discover new stuff. It’s great that screaming women are a phenomenon.”
Jinjer are readying to set off on a European headline tour in Cologne later this month to promote their new album Duél, which was released last year.
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