ILL NINO-EPIDEMIA

VICTORY RECORDS
2012


Ill Niño in a New Jersey act that was founded in 1998. In all that time I'm not sure I have never heard more then one or two of their songs all the way through. Other then samplers, which are threatening to take over my CD collection, I don't have any of their other material on hand in which to judge the band's newest album against. That isn't for lack of trying though as I have their "Greatest Hits" CD heading my way thanks to "Swap A CD". Anyway, how and what now I wasn't sure what to expect out of these guys. For my money they were always some sort of nu metal or alternative metal outfit. As such I never associated Ill Niño with "real" heavy metal or thrash. Was my opinion changed at all with "Epidemia"? Well, by my count this is album number six for what it is worth. It took all of my ambition to even click on this promo and, truthfully, the only reason I did was that I figured Metal Mark wouldn't. Take one for the team I said. Fortunately, when all was said and done, I escaped rather unfazed. That isn't to say that I'll be running out and buying the group's catalog, but that album that is (hopefully) headed my way ("The Best Of Ill Niño") will be headed toward the top of the weekly list of  "Listening to:" If only out of curiosity mind you. Back to the album at hand and, too much turkey and wine notwithstanding, this one rolls along fairly nicely. Thrash it isn't sadly, but that isn't to say it's all a waste. Rather, what we have here is a mix/mash-up off nu metal (hold on, it gets better folks), alternative metal, metalcore and heavy metal/thrash. More then anything you could say this is metalcore meets "nu thrash". Clean and harsh vocals mix it up with mellow, melodically inclined moments and all out hardcore/thrash. Only thing that sets this one apart is the lack of efficient solos. Instead you get those sudden "drops" that nu metal was famous for as well as the occasional "breakdown" moment that has been played to death. In the end I can't get too excited about this one as it swerves far too into alternative/nu metal territory, but at least it pretends as if it is influenced by heavy thrash so a few style points must be awarded. Fans of the band will love this release, but it's highly doubtful that it will suddenly hook new followers.