Iron Jinn hail from Holland, and release their second album, Zeitgeist on the Run, 19th September via Suburban Records, who you can find at https://suburban.nl/artist/iron-jinn/
Earlier this year, I reviewed the massive epic-length single released in advance of the album, and you can see this by clicking on the button. It is fair to say that this review and the resultant airplay on my Progzilla show went down a storm with my regular readers and listeners, so I have been looking forward to the full release, and am glad to report that the band have not disappointed.
The personnel are Oeds Beydals (The Devil’s Blood/Molassess/Death Alley), Wout Kemkens (Shaking Godspeed/De Niemanders), Bob Hogenelst (Birth of Joy/Molassess), Jarno Van Es and Gerben Bielderman (Pauw).
This band’s strength is to create musical soundscapes full of energy with the ability to range from smooth to blindingly heavy, and I believe they will be a growing force in European rock music in the period to come.
So, seven tracks to dissect. Let’s get to it.
There is no small level of ambition kicking off with a track a mere 10 seconds short of the epic length. Sayonara opens with a wall of noise, keyboards rising above tremendous riffs, a rhythm section shaking the very foundations of your room, some interesting futuristic effects going on in there, and, in effect, the sort of thumping psych rock that those who appreciate the heavier end of the spectrum should lap up but also tinged with very marked jazz fusion sensibilities. The soundscapes created by the synths are dramatic, the noises underneath at times dystopian, the vocals ranging from full-blown descriptive to darker narrative, and, two-thirds in, with the dreamy title being sung, there is the most gorgeous guitar passing through, leading to a sudden slowing of pace, a shift in emphasis, a move to a different temporal zone, this all building in intensity to the denouement featuring some incredible bass guitar work. A very impressive start to proceedings.
The Glass Wall is over eight minutes long, so this band certainly allow their music the space in which to breathe and develop, and what pleases me so much is that not a second is wasted. It all fits into a massive whole. The psychedelic interplay between guitar and the dark, throbbing bass and some nicely complex understated drumming is very good. There are some well mixed voices here supporting the lead vocal, with a undercurrent of violence running throughout. The slide guitar is very reminiscent of Gilmour circa Meddle, and sounds terrific, classic psych rock brought bang up to date in 2026, the instrument crying, wailing, screaming against the dark, before we are transported to a nursery to close, but not one, I fear, you would leave your little one in.
Landing On a Dream follows, and this opens in the manner of a more traditional rocker, the guitars and bass duelling with each other impressively, the synths swirling above. Throughout this album, the use of bass guitar as a lead noise is very noticeable. The landscape produced in this dream is nightmarish, and the vocal effects and mischievously dancing riffs put this across so well, a sort of anti-funk, if you will. Gloriously chaotic as the denouement lands.
Residuum Strut must be a contender for “title of the year” at our year-end awards, and it is epic-length, clocking in at almost 12 minutes. I believe the title refers to the underclass of society, and I like the mellotron-led orchestration which starts it off, with a delicious fusion groove produced by the band. Writing this, I am jigging about in the room listening to this unique piece of music, the bass belting out a marvellous riff below the dystopian keys, the world here I believe a dangerous place, full of exploitation and potential for harm, the music almost cat-like at times, when it quietens, the protagonists moving silently, but ready for the inevitable explosion of societal violence that must follow. This passage contains some of the finest percussive work I have heard this year. The way the guitar is used to slowly build to a crescendo is directly out of the Starless playbook, and I just love it, pure heavy psych-jazz, the “lies, lies” impacting the listener in a massive swirl of noise. Not only vying for “title of the year”, but also “epic of the year”, a stunning track.
Soma was a drink used in Vedic rituals, a drink of immortality, and apparently guaranteed to take you to said Gods with its potence. This one is only just shy of epic-length as well, and the ghostly guitar sliding up and down in the background behind the keys and ritualistic drums is wonderful, before the band introduce some distinctly dark noises, the bass burning out of the speakers, and lyrically, this track goes to the heart of the zeitgeist on the run, the defining spirit of my age in retreat from a world which seems to become harsher, scarier, and less optimistic about its future with each passing year. The track moves into a dreamy sequence in the final third, the toast to the gods now having its time, the pain left behind, forgotten in the grasp of the spirit.
The penultimate, and shortest, track is Can I Watch, and it starts with more gorgeous interplay between guitar and bass, the percussion shimmering in the background, with a rambling narrative vocal accompanied by singing keys and harmonies, the fantasy fading out out in a haze of light orchestration.
The Futurist closes the album, and there is an official lyric video for you to watch below.
Zeitgeist on the Run is a very good album, capturing strongly the changing times in which we live. It is highly recommended.