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A rip off the (quickly getting old) nu metal block, with a Latin twist, that's what "Ill Nino" seems like at first glance (listen, whatever). But their full length debut, "Revolution.Revolucion," deserves better than that. For one thing, drummer Dave Chavarri's production lends well to a breathable wall of sound. When the full out guitar/bass/drums assaults come (and do they ever come), you can take it one of two ways. Either you can sit back and let the roar overtake you, or you can listen to the interplay of the various parts that are surprisingly easily audible within that wall of noise, which isn't always the case with bands that tread the same path as Ill Nino.

Secondly, the Latin part of their game is readily apparent, breaking out at times in Flamenco-inspired acoustic guitar bits, and other unexpected directions, but it is also surprisingly subtle for the most part. In other words, it enhances their basic sound, rather than overwhelming it, or coming off as a gimmicky, "we're doing Latin because Latin's cool these days," ploy. They're doing Latin because they ARE Latin (South American heritage, anyway, even if they hail from New Jersey), and they do it pretty well.

Any discussion of the band's components has to begin with frontman Cristian Machado, who does a good job both singing, and screaming in English and (grammatically suspect) Spanish. He comes across as a mix between the guy from Slipknot and Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly) at times, but also has the ability to drop into a surprisingly smooth lower gear. The contrast is readily apparent throughout the album, as in the chorus to "Liar," where he shifts from his singing voice to a screech in a split second.

Chavarri is also a big part of the band's sound, what with his sneaking in a few booty shakin' beats from time to time. The best song on the disc is, "What Comes Around," a radio-ready, Linkin Park-like tune that has Machado jumping around from urgent spoken word passages, to soulful Spanish lines to his aggressive screams. The highlight of the song, though, are Chavarri's syncopated, Latinesque drum lines dancing below the track's semi-industrial grooves.

Another highlight comes with the song "Predisposed," which is built around a barely disguised "Tool" riff. Featuring Jardel Paisante's stuttered, chunky rhythm guitar, it's the song that best showcases all sides of "Ill Nino," smoothly flowing between the high powered aggression and more measured deliveries. There's a languid segment about two and a half minutes in that especially warrants notice for the way they gradually slow the tempo down to a haunting near pause, before erupting again in a song-closing rush.

The album closes on a, "where did this come from?," note with the track, "With You." The only track on the album to really hold the same mood throughout, it's a soft love song spotlighting Marc Rizzo's flamenco style playing. It's completely different from anything else on the album, more Paco de Lucia than the "Soulfly" the remainder of "RevolutionRevolucion" sounds like, but it works. And even though a lot of the songs on the album tend to start sounding the same after a few listens, that sentiment pretty much sums up the disc as a whole. It might not be all that groundbreaking, but it works.