Ill Nino – Confessions
the Hobo Review
Ill Nino shook the numetal world with their
debut album Revolution Revolution some years ago. The band managed to take
the tired structure of numetal to a new level of intensity with their Latin
influences. The band itself lands somewhere in the vein of Sepultura and
Soulfly, but boasts a more accessible, melodic sound. Cristian (Vocals)
summed up the band perfectly in an old interview – “our music tries to
be as heavy as possible and as melodic as possible - with a Latin twist."
I remember years back reading a prediction
that Ill Nino would soon be a force for Max Calvalera and his Soulfly associates
to reckon with. And indeed that prediction has proved to be rather accurate.
What Ill Nino lacks in brutality, it makes up for in melody. The band have
set off in a conscious effort to evolve their sound and refine the somewhat
disjointed sound of their first album. Gone now are the cluttered tribal
drums overlaid on top of a standard drumbeat, the desultory song structures
– and thankfully - sampling itself is kept to a bare minimum.
Ill Nino are no longer debuting numetal
darlings lost in the ultra-competitive, saturated metal scene. Confessions
represents an Ill Nino hardened by the last two years on the road, boasting
a complete perfection of their definable sound. No longer will Ill Nino
be remembered as the poor man’s Soulfly. (For fans of the first album,
the album is more in the direction of Unreal than any other track off Revolution.)
The album kicks of with Te Amo… I Hate
You, a tasteful yet violent numetal romp, obeying Ill Nino’s predictable
brutal – melodic – brutal structure. All in all a solid track worthy of
praise. Two (Vaya Con Dios) similarly acts as a likeable addition to the
modern metal scene.
The first single off the album How Can
I Live promises to be a massive hit. The track itself has already launched
itself off the Jason Vs. Freddy soundtrack. An apt representation of how
Ill Nino has evolved. Ironically, every track on the album has the same,
smooth melodic hooks and choleric heaviness and hence, every track is a
potential single in itself.
Its hard to differentiate the tracks from
the album as the music is so consistently solid, yet uniformly stylistic.
Ill Nino has created a distinctive differentiated style, no longer is the
band content to be dubbed “another faceless numetal band.”
The one thing which the album lacks is
sine qua non lyrical content. While the vocal style of Cristian Machado
outlasts the disposable clones of the popular numetal scene, his songwriting
ability is somewhat lacking; “I thought that we were friends / but I can
say we’re not”. This (at times) frustrating flaw was mirrored in the bands
first album.
Bombastic journalist criticisms aside,
Ill Nino have created an extremely solid numetal release in Confessions.
Any supporter of the modern popular metal scene should do themselves a
favour and check the album out. In the phantasmagoric numetal arena, Ill
Nino stands clearly above all challengers, having successfully created
an extremely unique and palatable forty-five-odd-minute release.
CD Info
Ill Nino
– Confessions
Genre:
Melodic
Latin Numetal
Label: B.
Rating:
Best Track:
How Can I Live
Tracks:
1.Te Amo… I Hate You
2.How Can I Live
3.Two (Vaya Con Dios)
4.Unframed
5.Cleansing
6.This Times For Real
7.Lifeless… Life
8.Numb
9.Have You Ever Felt?
10.When It Cuts
11.Letting Go
12.All The Right Words
13.Re-Birth |
Listen
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Listen
to samples and Purchase this CD online
Visit
ill nino's official homepage for more info on this CD and the band.
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