Traipsing to school as a kid, watching my feet disturb and awaken the early-morning grey puddles and my breath plume like cigarette smoke into the still, snappy air, thered be the sound of Latin, tribal rhythms haunting my ears and crunchy, melodic guitars chasing the ghosts away. Getting into school, after walking that bastard hill, breathless and clammy, Id see the faces of the other kids and shelter into my coat even further. Turn the music up even louder. Stand in my usual place, in the corner of the corridor, by my form-room door and shuffle my feet, and fiddle with non-existent things in my pockets. That music that soundtracked many a journey to school was Ill Nino. There were plenty of other bands but they dont matter right now. This review isnt about them. Maybe another time, over a beer as we look into the grin of the camp-fire. Brokeback Mountain style. There was something about Ill Nino that attracted me straight away. Im not really sure what it was. A mixture of things. The melodic vocals, bilingual lyrics, flamenco guitars, tribal drums, Latin percussion, Salsa-infused bass lines: all aspects of Ill Ninos sound magnetised me like a bee to honey, and even now, years after leaving school and supposedly leaving my youth behind, Ill Nino regularly pop up on my iPod. Since the bands inception in 1998, theyve shifted over 3 million records and have released 5 studio albums and 3 EPs. The most popular release, arguably, being Confession which was released in 2003 which spawned the tracks How Can I Live (which was featured on the Freddy vs Jason soundtrack) and This Times For Real. Confession sold over 110,000 copies within the first five months of its release in the US. The bands most recent release was Dead New World, released in 2010 through Victory Records, and it very briefly reached the top 20 of the rock album chart on iTunes and was home to tracks such as Against The Wall and Bleed Like You, with the latter being featured on the 66th episode of Victory Records TV, which was hosted by Ill Nino themselves. The bands sixth album, which will be released in less than a fortnight, is called Epidemia, and even though the bands popularity may have waned over the years its still interesting to hear the fusion of the bands sound and always intriguing to hear if their established sound has progressed and how it compares to their previous releases. The Depression is the opening track, and with its intro of muffled beeps and feedback, which soon pares away for a jangled, eerie riff, the track hypnotises us into an almost static state. This is until the main body of the track smashes in with a robust, cantankerous drumbeat, a slicing and dicing riff which would snap your fingers off were it some sort of animal and the vocals which range from irate low screams to anguished highs and melodic clean vocals, which remind us just how good Ill Nino are at creating a track that stays in your head. A great opener and one which bodes well for the rest of the album. Eva has a climbing, almost scuttling, guitar riff which, alongside the screams of Christian Machado, creates a sinister, gloomy feel. However, the riff soon grows and sprouts at different angles and plants its roots along a wall of melody. The drums are constant and well-structured, especially in the chorus, where they are even more of a highlight than Machados notable vocal prowess. The track reminded me of older Ill Nino, in particular the ending of the track, where the Latin-infused roots are evident. But thats not a bad thing: its actually a welcome surprise compared to the more contemporary-sounding Ill Nino we hear throughout this album. One more contemporary-sounding track is Forgive Me Father. Machados mature, pleasing, clean vocals work well alongside a measured drumbeat and a no-frills guitar. What works particularly well on this track is the breakdown, which doesnt feel forced in the slightest and is used at exactly the right moment. This breakdown raises the whole level of the track, as it allows Machado to utilise his harsh vocals, which brings about a great technical nous of Ill Ninos ability to, again, write a song that stays in your head long after the albums finished and long after the suns gone down. Invisible People ends the album solidly and abrasively. Machados ending screams of Ill die alone, coupled with the feel of the rest of the track which is uncompromising and stubborn, really ensures the listener has urges to slam into every pit and allows their anger to rise to the surface. The stomach-busting, low riff which fluctuates and fills your ears with dread and the vice-like grip the drumbeat has on the track ensures and ending that old Ill Nino fans, and new ones alike, will enjoy. With this album, Ill Nino have taken their established sound, twisted it around in a contemporary barbed-wire and have created one of their most intriguing and possibly strongest albums to date. A great addition to their already impressive career.