Ill Niño

Ill Nino hasn’t missed a beat with their sophomore effort Confession. Building on the Latin–flavoured aggressive-rock sound that was introduced on their debut, Revolution, Revolucion, this disc is filled with the saucy percussion (courtesy of the first of two new members to the line-up, Danny Couto) and multilingual lyrics that make up Ill Nino’s hybrid sound. The guitar duo of Jardel Paisante and other newcomer Ahrue Luster (formerly of Machine Head) creates a balance of simple but powerful chords that allow guitar flourishes and fancy fretting to slip nicely into each track. "Numb” is a beautiful song with emotive piano and Spanish tinged acoustics that really highlight the individual talents of this sextet. The songwriting growth of this unit is particularly striking on this disc. Vocalist Christian Machado has learned the true art of the wordsmith that can only be found by one that is willing to honestly reveal himself. Ill Nino has skilfully released a record that blends the elements of the first record that gave them a loyal and dedicated following while also including growth as a band. The result is a damn good listen.