Ill Niño is an American heavy metal band formed in New Jersey in 1998 by founder/drummer Dave Chavarri. Ill Niño developed their own unique style known to fans of the band as "Latin metal". They have released seven studio albums, two EPs, and one greatest hits album, selling over 2million albums worldwide.
History
On September 18, 2001, Ill Niño released their debut album, Revolution, Revolución. The album's single, "What Comes Around", received significant airplay on MTV and topped the Mediabase Active Rock radio charts for five weeks. Revolution, Revolución went on to sell over 450,000 albums worldwide. In early 2003, just before Ill Niño was set to record the follow-up, the band parted ways with guitarist Marc Rizzo and percussionist Roger Vasquez. Confession was recorded in mid-2003 and released on September 30, 2003. It debuted at No. 37 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, "How Can I Live", was their first single to break into the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 26 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The album has sold more than 550,000 copies. The band's third effort, One Nation Underground, was released on September 27, 2005. It debuted at No. 101 on the Billboard 200 charts, and its first single, "What You Deserve", became the most added track at Active Rock radio, and reached the Top 20 on the Active Rock charts. On July 15, 2006, Ill Niño parted with Roadrunner Records and signed a new deal with the recently formed Cement Shoes Records. Roadrunner released The Best of Ill Niño on September 29, 2006, as a contractual obligation to the label, and without the band's consent or involvement. Through Cement Shoes Records they released The Under Cover Sessions, an EP featuring various covers and outtakes, and Enigma, their fourth studio album, released in 2008 after multiple delays. In March 2010, they signed with Victory Records. Dead New World, was released on October 25, 2010 and production was shared by Sahaj Ticotin and Clint Lowery of Sevendust. Epidemia, was released on October 22, 2012. Their seventh full-length studio album, Till Death La Familia, was released on July 22, 2014. On January 15, 2019, Dave Chavarri announced that Cristian Machado, Ahrue Luster, Diego Verduzco, and Oscar Santiago "departed the band". Dave Chavarri announced the band had a new lineup despite ongoing legal correspondence. Chavarri claimed that Machado, Luster, Santiago and Verduzco had "departed the band" and asked for "privacy" during the member changes. One day later, amidst Dave Chavarri's claims to fans that 4 of the 6 members had "departed the band", Machado, Luster, Verduzco, and Santiago dismissed Chavarri's public statement claiming they had left the band. The four members instead assured the band's fans that they have "not departed" the band. Cristian Machado, Ahrue Luster, Diego Verduzco, and Oscar Santiago then vowed to the fans to continue with on as "Ill Niño". On March 21, 2019, MetalSucks acquired a copy of the lawsuit paperwork filed by Machado, Luster and Verduzco accusing Chavarri of "shady business deals" such as using his status as Ill Niño's manager to scam the band into taking a financial loss while repaying a personal loan for himself, falsifying financial documents in order to keep tens of thousands of dollars for himself, pocketing show guarantees and tour advances for himself, sometimes even cancelling tours and then refusing to return the promoter's advance and refusing the band members their legally owed access to financial records among many other accusations. In March 2020, Machado, Luster, Verduzco, Santiago, Chavarri and Pina reached a mutual agreement, allowing Chavarri and Pina to continue with the Ill Niño bandname.
