Ill Niño
Enigma

Cement Shoes Records

track listing:

Recommended tracks: 

The track “March Against Me” is top. It has a strong rhythm, tight vocals, and that unquestionable sing-along quality that’s hard to replicate. Classic Ill Niño. However, “Me Gusta La Soledad” is the worst thing this band has ever recorded. The song sounds like it belongs in a Univision telenovela. Or worse, an elevator.

Level of Consciousness

5 out of 10... There’s only about a third of an album’s worth of serviceable material here. Sure, the good stuff is ace (“March Against Me,” for example), but the rest is throwaway. This band is capable of much better things, as evidenced by some of their earlier work. Pick it up if you see it in the bargain bin, or wait ‘till it’s a buck fifty used on Amazon.

For more information on Ill Niño:
Official website
Myspace
Cement Shoes Records

Review by Andy Valentine

Ill Niño may very well be the most inconsistent band in today’s metal scene. Their debut Revolution Revolución (2001) was uncompromisingly brutal, and equally stellar. Tracks like “God Save Us,” ‘If You Still Hate Me,” and “What Comes Around” fucking crushed. It was an album designed to kick peoples’ asses to. An album that in one second made you want to put your fist through a wall – all with that trademark Latin twist, acoustic Spanish guitar mixed with the danceable ritmo provided by a second percussionist. In 2001, the hype around these guys was both unbelievable, yet well deserved.

Ill Niño was one of the few bands that could make you headbang to an acoustic guitar.

But then came Confession (2003). In a word, that album was terrible. Aside from the pop-influenced Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack single “How Can I Live,” nothing on that album was noteworthy. It disappeared almost as soon as it hit store shelves, forgotten almost as soon as it was released.

By the time, One Nation Underground (2005) was released, fans weren’t expecting very much. However, defying all expectations, this time Ill Niño delivered an album that matched the animal ferocity of their 2001 debut. Even the radio-friendly single “What You Deserve” had enough punch to cause bloody noses in the pit. The track “My Pleasant Torture” built probably the most effective fusion of hard-up thrash guitar with soothing Spanish acoustic rhythms – that album was beautiful, a perfect 10.

Now, in 2008, Ill Niño is set to release Enigma, their fourth full-length. After splitting with Roadrunner Records, Enigma is their first effort for Cement Shoes Records. And after multiple listens, it seems Ill Niño has lost the touch again. This album is nowhere near as good as this band is capable of producing. The songs are generally uninspired and tedious. This album is the opposite of energetic.

Several tracks on the record, “Alibi of Tyrants,” “Finger Painting (With the Enemy),” and “March Against Me” are all good enough to get your head bobbing, but not a one of them is anywhere near as good as “What Comes Around” from the debut record. “March “Against Me” is instantly catchy, while “Finger Painting” has quite the badass sing-along chorus. Aside from these few choice cuts however, the rest of the album is a waste.

There is nothing about “2012,” “Guerrilla Carnival,” “Estoy Perdido,” or really anything else on the album that will have you coming back for a second listen. The delivery here sounds at the same time forced and lazy. Like the band a serious case of writer’s block, and just churned out some tunes just to get the damn thing done. The passion of Revolution Revolución and One Nation Underground is completely gone.

If, in the off chance you’ve not heard any Ill Niño records before Enigma, don’t start here. Try Revolution Revolución and One Nation Underground first. Both can be fetched on Amazon for under 5 clams used.

A band like Ill Niño can do so much better than Enigma. If their eventual fifth full-length does come back around to redeem them, I fear Ill Niño will be soon forgotten.