Three years ago, Ill Nino were celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of their debut album with 2001’s Revolution Revolución 2001, and now it seems there’s a strong strong division within the group. Just yesterday (17th), the band welcomed Shattered Sun frontman Marcos Leal, rhythm guitarist Sal Dominguez (ex-Upon a Burning Body) and lead guitarist Jess Dehoyos as original members Dave Chavarri (drums), Laz Pina (bass), and Daniel Couto (percussion) remained. This reveal led everyone to believe that vocalist Cristian Machado, rhythm guitarist Diego Verduzco, and guitarist Ahrue Luster quit as we listened to the band’s first new song in five years with “Sangre.”
Blabbermouth has reported Machado, Luster, and Verduzco have apparently dismissed reports that they left the band.
Machado issued the following statement to Blabbermouth:
“To all our family, friends, and fans, contrary to what you may have heard, Ahrue, Diego and I have NOT left ILL NIÑO and remain very dedicated to the band and all our fans. We’re excited to be working on new music, partnerships, and opportunities. We will have more info for you all soon.”
Similar to bands such as Entombed, Machado, Luster and Verduzco have filed a trademark application for the Ill Nino name on November 6, 2018. One week after the filing, Pina filed a request for express abandonment. The three alleged former members responded to Pina’s request submission that it meant Chavarri has been trying to gain sole ownership of Ill Nino. Blabermouth has also reported Chavarri had filed shortly after the LLC a separate application for ownership of the name. Machado, Luster and Verduzco have sent petitions to the director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to withdraw the express abandonment and reinstate the LLC’s original application.
With this clear separation, maybe this means we will see two new Ill Nino albums this year?
