PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
The undisputed kings of Latin metal are back. Ill Niño are set to release their 6th full length album Epidemia through AFM Records on October 22nd and I’m here to tell you it is a stormer!!
Founded in the late 90’s by drummer Dave Chavarri, Ill Niño have carved out a nice little niche for themselves. Picking up where the likes of Sepultura and Soulfly left off, they seamlessly blend tribal and Latina rhythms and bi-lingual vocals with modern metal ferocity to create a sound that is immediately identifiable as theirs. Tarred with the nu-metal brush in the early part of this century, Ill Niño has continued to evolve to prove nay sayers wrong.
Epidemia has a more brutal edge to its sound compared to previous releases by the band. Opening track The Depression gets the album going nicely. It has an almost thrash sound to the verses before giving way to the more melodic choruses with singer Christian Machado demonstrating his extreme range on the layered vocals. The thrash sound is carried through onto title track La Epidemia although the melodic courses here are dropped in favour of a near death metal growl.
Ill Niño have never been afraid to indulge themselves when it comes to their Latin influences, so it’s no surprise to hear a track like Escape which has just as much acoustic Spanish style guitar in it as it does down tuned riffs and blasting double bass kicks.
Tracks such as Only the Unloved, Eva, Death Wants More and Forgive Me Father stick closer to the tried and tested Ill Niño pattern. however, with the way the album has been structured the songs are laid out in such a way that everything is kept fresh to the ear and therefore doesn’t become repetitive or tiresome.
Ill Niño chose to close the album with Invisible People and it is a powerhouse of a song that incorporates every aspect of the band. The tribal drums and shredding guitars combined with the full range of Machado’s voice from soaring melody to guttural growl (in both English and Spanish) makes for a real gem of a track.
This is an outstanding slice of modern metal. If you’re already a fan of the band, you are going to love it and if you’re new to the band you’ve picked a great place to start.
As a result I shall be awarding Epidemia 9/10.
Ill Niño release their 6th full length album Epidemia through AFM Records on October 22nd.
Track Listing –
1. The Depression
2. Only The Unloved
3. La Epidemia
4. Eva
5. Demi-God
6. Death Wants More
7. Escape
8. Time Won’t Save You
9. Forgive Me Father
10. Invisible People
Ill Nino are:
Christian Machado – Vocals
Dave Chavarri – Drums
Daniel Couto – Percussion
Lazaro Pina – Bass
Ahrue Luster – Lead Guitar
Diego Verduzco – Rhythm Guitar
http://www.myspace.com/illnino
http://open.spotify.com/artist/1xJ6l1VXgGuyZ0uhu27caF?ref=atw
