Cristian Machado And Other Former Ill Nino Members Form New Band Lions At The Gate

Last updated on June 2nd, 2021 by jEX

Finally! The REAL Ill Nino returns as Cristian Machado and other former Ill Nino members announce the creation of new band Lions At The Gate.

Ok, so maybe I’m being a little harsh with that “real Ill Nino” comment, but when bands lose members, especially a lead singer, usually the band is never quite the same – even if they’re still good. Take Adema, Drowning Pool, and Three Days Grace, for example. All solid bands, and some have even had new tracks I’ve dug (“I Am Machine” for example), but they don’t sound the same as before. On the flip side, those former singers have been known to start new projects with totally new names that ended up sounding far similar to those old bands (Ex: Saint Asonia).

For those not in the know, Ill Nino split apart with one group of members retaining the right to use the Ill Nino name. Unfortunately, this was not the side with singer Cristian Machado.

For a while, it was unclear what the way forward was going to be for Machado. He put out a solo acoustic album while Ill Nino has been moving on in their usual metal direction with their new singer. The lack of any new announcement of a metal project with Machado had a lot of fans worried as his was a voice the metal community could not afford to lose.

Well, luckily, Machado, and former Ill Nino guitarists Ahrue Ilustre and Diego Verduzco have united to form Lions at the Gate, and a first single “Not Even Human” is expected on Friday. Ilustre is hyping up the music as being the best they’ve ever made including all the records made with Ill Nino. He also compares it specifically to the more melodic and well produced Confession album. This could just be drumming up hype, but Confession was arguably the best record Nino ever put out, so that has us pretty excited.

It will be interesting to hear how the percussive side of this new band fares as that is one aspect of the old Nino that was pretty unique with its two drummers and latin infused elements. For now, we’re looking forward to the first taste of new music on Friday.

Source: Blabbermouth