Latin metallers Ill Nino currently wrapping up The Civil Unrest Tour, have been playing shows as they play tracks off their latest album Till Death, La Familia (2014). But not only have they been doing this, they have been infamously known for their appearance on the movie soundtrack for horror flick, Freddy VS, Jason with their track "How Can I Live". That's not all though, they are also currently writing material for a follow-up release, that will have them in the studio soon enough, with further plans of more tours, shows, and even some festival showcases! Frontman vocalist Christian Machado discusses these matters!
1. You will be headlining The Civil Unrest Tour, how were you guys chosen as headliners and why did you want to do it?
Christian: The Civil Unrest tour is something that came up on our radar in February of 2015. We were approached by the owner of the tour and we were asked if we'd be interested in taking part. The tour was at first supposed to be a co-headline billing that unfortunately did not occur the way it should have. Luckily, the bands included make a killer line up and we are honored to share the stage with them: Straight Line Stitch, Motogrator, The Bloodline, Thira, Darkcell, Davey Suicide, Unloco, and more. We are very happy to be out on tour with so many great friends. It's been nearly a year since we did a full US tour and we certainly wanted to get back out to some of the markets we visited during last year's Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour. Check the dates and come rage with us!
2. How will this headlining tour be different or similar to previous tours?
Christian: We'll definitely be playing more music from our newest album "Till Death, La Familia". I am especially excited about playing the track "Blood is Thicker Than Water". We recently shot a video for that song and we couldn't be more stoked and grateful that Victory Records saw this tour as a great opportunity to release that song as a single. In my honest opinion, it is the best song on our newest album. Expect new music and expect some killer classic Niño as well. The addition of Oscar Santiago as our new percussion player has been amazing. He certainly has added a lot of great back rhythm to our groove so you can expect him to tear shit up with us onstage! It's going to be a great tour with many great friends!
3. What will the setlist be looking like for this touring cycle, what can the fans expect to hear?Christian: We'll be playing about 18-19 songs a night so I am sure we'll have plenty of tracks from our entire catalog. As I mentioned, I do look forward to playing our new single "Blood is Thicker Than Water". Besides that, we'll also have all the Niño hits, if you will, "How Can I Live", "God Save Us", "This Is War", "What Comes Around", and many more. It's gonna be a lot of music but after almost 7 full albums we have to pick them wisely.
4. Once this tour has wrapped up, what else do you guys have planned for the rest of this year, leading right into next year?
Christian: After the Civil Unrest tour we are taking 2 weeks off. Mid July we will be playing the Gathering of The Juggalos along with In This Moment, King 810, and also the entire Psychopathic artists. I hear it should be an amazing experience as we've never done that festival before. At the end of July we will be heading to Europe for a month long European Festival run that should be as intense as it is rewarding. It's been a while since we did the EU festivals and I certainly look forward to getting there and having an awesome time with all the great bands we will be sharing stages with: Korn, Judas Priest, Crowbar, Biohazard, Obituary, Suicide Silence, Skindred, Queensryche, and many many more.
5. Can you tell me the story as to how and why the band went with calling themselves Ill Nino? What does it mean and represent for you guys?
Christian: Ironically, our band name started out by throwing around the idea of calling ourselves El Niño. That name was inherited through the great Billy Milano of the bands MOD & SOD. Billy was a friend of Dave, our drummer, who played in MOD for many years. Apparently, Billy called Dave from Europe after having the epiphany that we should call ourselves El Niño. We quickly accepted the challenge and little by little the name was morphed. Somehow through the Latino grapevine our first vocalist Jorge Rosado of the band Merauder thought it would be a great idea to call the band Ill Niño and that's where it's been since then. Thank you Billy, thank you Jorge, without you both we might have just been called “Taco”! No, bad joke. Sorry, I retract!
6. Back in 2003, your song "How Can I Live" off your second album "Confession" was also featured on the 2003 film Freddy VS. Jason, this is how I discovered you guys, but how did you get involved with being included on that soundtrack? What do you think of people discovering bands through this type of method?Christian: The Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack was a great opportunity presented to us by Roadrunner Records in partnership with New Line Cinema. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to include our track in the movie and to also attend the premier of the movie. I guess with something like this you have to realize that sometimes luck and a little hard work can be a godsend, if you're in the right place at the right time. That's exactly how it played out for us and we have many people to thank for it, much credit of course goes to the Roadrunner staff that made this track inclusion a reality.
7. To this day, do you still perform "How Can I Live" in your sets, do you think people notice you more because of that song and film?
Christian: Yes, we play "How Can I Live" every night but by no means is it the only song that crowds are there to hear. I think the novelty of the film wore off many years ago. At this point in our career our fans are mostly interested in the first 2 albums along with what new music we may have just released. I can comfortably admit that our fans are not trend hoppers and have stuck by us for many years. In many ways I believe they might be more interested in the deeper album cuts such as "When It Cuts", "Unreal", "My Resurrection", etc so we shall deliver!
8. It's been sometime since the release of your first DVD "Live from the Eye of the Storm" back in 2004, will we be seeing another DVD or even a LIVE album in the future?
Christian: Would be great to do a live DVD sometime soon. We were planning on shooting one not too long ago but honestly, the plan fell through after a lack of budget. It's still something we discuss and certainly something we will chase given the right opportunity.
9. What about going acoustic, will you guys ever take this into consideration and release your material in this format?
Christian: We've done a couple songs in the past but I'm not sure that doing an entire album of acoustic material is our thing. There are other bands such as Sevendust that can do that with much more efficiency and serenity. Inside, we're collectively distortion addicts that have yet to have their fill.10. Have you or will you ever perform any of your releases in their entirety from front to back?
Christian: We would love to if given the right tour headlining opportunity. Perhaps our debut "Revolution, Revolucion" would be a main contender. I think it would be a lot of fun but then again it could be cliché and predictable considering the vast number of bands doing so lately. That's something we've liked to do but may need to wait for the right time and the right opportunity.
11. Do you guys have any new music in the works, in terms of a follow-up to your seventh studio album "Till Death, La Familia"?
Christian: We're all constantly writing and I am sure talks of going into the studio will begin shortly. As I mentioned, Victory Records will be releasing a new single for what I believe is the best song on "Till Death, La Familia". We shot a video for it a week ago and though the album came out a year ago, if the planets align precisely it may buy us a little more touring time before we head into the studio to record a new album. The song is called "Blood is Thicker Than Water". If you're a fan of our band, I urge you to call your local radio station and ask them to play it and also share the video when it comes out. I truly feel it's a song the world should hear and I hope it can connect with our fans on a higher level.
12. Anything else you would like to say or want to add?Christian: First and foremost, thank you for this cool interview and thank you to Victory Records. Secondly, but most importantly, thank you to our fans for being the life force that drives us to continue. Third, but not last, help us spread our new music, buy our album "Till Death, La Familia" and share it with your friends, request the new single "Blood is Thicker Than Water" on your local radio station, check our tour dates and come hang with your gang, pick up some merch! It's a tough time in the industry and every fan makes a difference, without their belief and loyalty we would not exist. Thank you!
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