Ill Nino – “Till Death, La Familia” [Album Review]

Till Death, La Familia is the newest release from the Latin-infused metal band, Ill Nino. On this, their 7th full-length, I feel the band return to more of their heavier roots; which is a good thing because I wasn’t a great big fan of their last effort, Epidemia. I love it when bands create grooves inspired by percussive world beats and mix it in with crunchy, distorted guitars. Personally, I don’t think many bands accomplish this nearly as well as Ill Nino.

After a few listens, it seems to me that Till Death, La Familia gets better as you progress through the disc. The opener “Live Like There’s No Tomorrow” is decent, but has a bit too much of the keyboard thing running through it for my liking. That said, by the time you reach “Are We So Innocent,” the ass-kicking, face-melting, brutal assault is in full effect. To further reinforce my point, the second to last track, “Payaso,” is freaking unbelievable on every level; with a percussive, machine gun rhythmic attack, a catchy, seriously down tuned riff, and vocals so scathing they will peel the skin from your face, this is by far the highlight of the disc.

At the end of the day it might not be their very best work to date, but Till Death, La Familia is in many ways a genuine return to form for this band and certainly regained my love and trust in their music after I was let down by Epidemia.

Track Listing:

01. Live Like There’s No Tomorrow
02. Not Alive In My Nightmare
03. I’m Not The Enemy
04. Blood Is Thicker Than Water
05. Are We So Innocent
06. Pray I Don’t Find You
07. World So Cold
08. Dead Friends
09. Breaking The Rules
10. Payaso
11. My Bullet

Run Time: 43:37
Release Date: July 22, 2014

Check out the song “Live Like There’s No Tomorrow”