What made Ill Nìno interesting and somewhat
tolerable of all the bands in the nü metal genre is still
present on Dead New World. They haven’t really changed
their sound much from their previous outings, but their new
release sounds a bit heavier. The intricate percussion patterns
remain a fixture in the band, consisting of odd rhythms, congas
and timbale-inspired salsa beats. They still have retained some
aggressiveness in the vocals and riffs, as well as their
trademark melodic, clean vocal choruses.
Personally, I just wish they could mix this
unique talent with more substantial heaviness. If the band could
just decide if they are going to be a heavy band or if they are
going to be a melodic nü metal band. I think the mixture just
doesn’t work. It’s perfectly ok when a band mixes melody with
aggression, but Ill Nino often times fool you into believing
that a song will be heavy and crushing, but then the sappy
melodic, clean vocal choruses kind of ruins it for me. What Ill
Nino does is very good and unique for the most part, but for
strictly metalheads, their sound just doesn’t cut it.
“God is Only for the Dead” starts off heavy
enough, the melodic drum pattern towards the end changes the
tempo and gives the song some variation. “Against the Wall” is
an almost In Flames Come Clarity-era sounding song. The
chorus becomes a little repetitive though. "Mi Revolucion"
starts off very promising, but then turns into the band’s
melodic chorus formula that makes all of Ill Nino’s songs very
predictable. “How could I Believe” has a cool guitar solo over
layed with latin percussion with a catchy melodic chorus. Their
cover version of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet with Butterfly
Wings” is an interesting choice for the most part, but misses
its mark. It’s done in the Ill Nino way, but just doesn’t do
much to the original.
I tried to give Dead New World a
chance, but it just doesn’t work for me. Not to say it’s a bad
album, and fans of the band already, as well as fans of Non
Point, Korn and nü metal in general, will probably really enjoy
it. It’s not groundbreaking in the least, but fans will
definitely recognize Ill Nino’s trademark sound.
