There was a time in the early 2000s where Ill Niño were everywhere. Ripping up the tent at Download. Appearing on the Roadrunner Road Rage tour with Spineshank and Chimaira. Even singing about your favourite stripey jumpered horror icon on the epic soundtrack to Freddy vs Jason. To the nu metal kids of the time, these guys were massive, and tonight more than two decades later, Ill Niño take to the stage again in Manchester. 

Ill Niño are renowned for a sound that heavily fused nu metal with their Latin American roots. Think percussion heavy tracks and salsa rhythms layered upon catchy riffs.  This style made their music so important in the Latin metal movement, with their album “Revolution Revolucion” being a musical milestone, bringing Latin music to a wider audience.

The night begins with Mind Incision from Denver, Colorado. Offering up a frenzy of nu metal from the get go with their opener Zero230, the band quickly entice the audience to move forward from the bar and shady back corners of the venue. The intrigue and high energy means Mind Incision soon have a hungry audience eating out of their hands.

With a sound that settles somewhere between Devildriver and Drowning Pool, front man Jason playfully tells the crowd to “start a fucking mosh pit... or I will!!!” and true to his word during the closing number ‘Slaves to the Game’ he dives straight off the stage and starts one himself. It is a well delivered and well received warm up.

Hungarian band Ektomorf offer up something ever so slightly different, with a sound that feels more rooted in thrash as opposed to the bouncier accessibility of nu metal.  That overtone of groovy brutality carries the set over the 40 or so minutes. 

Highlights of the set included the blistering ‘I Choke’ and a crowd pleasing cover of Slipknots ‘Surfacing’. The squealing riff at the start of the song is something we’ve heard done badly too many times, so we’re ever grateful to hear it done well. Overall Ektomorf are a thrashy filling sandwiched between two nu metal bands and a very welcome middle portion of the night. 

After Ektomorf the audience are so  ready for the headliners to take to the stage. There’s an excitable energy in the room as Santana’s ‘Maria Maria’ is pumped over the speakers. Ill Niño take the stage with guest vocalist Tommy Vext, formerly of Bad Wolves. He actually does an amazing job considering how little time he had to prepare for the tour with Ill Niño. He’s likeable on stage, clearly having a lot of fun, and brings his own spin to the songs rather than trying to sound exactly like Christian or Marcos.

They open with the massive ‘If You Still Hate Me, and straight into I Am Loco before the dust has even settled. Sadly there are moments where the mix of the instruments feels off; the drums and percussion over power the whole thing at one moment, then suddenly there’s a loud blast of lead guitar before the mix then stabilises and sounds a bit more normal. Technical teething problems aside in the early tracks, it’s still a solid start to the set. 

Between the twists and turns of the set, a drum battle and a Bad Wolves cover, Ill Niño perform all their best known tracks including ‘God Save Us’, ‘What Comes Around’ and the previously mentioned Freddy vs Jason song ‘How Can I Live?’ There’s an atmosphere of mutual admiration between the band and audience, as Rebellion routinely erupts into circle pits and walls of death, with the fans singing back every word.

Tonight in Manchester Ill Niño truly celebrated 25 years of Latin Metal, and we loved them for it. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Ill Niño + Ektomorf + Mind Incision