Till Death, La Familia

Lyricist: Cristian Machado.
Personnel: Cristian Machado (vocals); Diego Verduzco, Ahrue Luster (guitar); Dave Chavarri (drums); Oscar Santiago (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Eddie Wohl.
Recording information: Babyland Studios; Collective Studios; Ided Productions; Illustrious Productions; Soundwars Studios.
While the "Latin" side of Ill Niño's self-described Latin metal might have been pushed into the background, the New Jersey band deliver plenty of metal heaviness on their seventh album, Till Death, La Familia. With a driving hybrid of nu-metal and metalcore peppered with occasional flourishes of Latin percussion, the album finds the band continuing to transition toward a more modern sound. Although it's a shame to see the elements that made them so distinct in the early phases of their career diminish, the move away from nu metal has been a long time coming, and should make the band more accessible to a younger generation of metalheads. ~ Gregory Heaney