Ill Niño had a stop-and-go 2024. Vocalist Marcos Leal left the band publicly, while guitarist Marc Rizzo’s exit was silent after only having rejoined the Latin outfit in 2021. Former Bad Wolves singer Tommy Vext stepped in for their remaining tour dates, while Jes De Hoyos wielded the ax after a hiatus. The biggest letdown, though, comes in the duo of EPs known as IllMortals, which have yet to be released despite being promised within the year.
The band’s former record label Godsize attributed the delay to “unforeseen issues with physical production” in a statement put out in July of last year. New dates were announced but have since come and gone. There is speculation that the band have since signed to Cleopatra Records, but given that label’s propensity for reissuing classic material from legacy acts, it is unclear what the deal would consist of, assuming there has even been a deal reached. Neither the band nor Cleopatra Records have issued any sort of statement on the matter.
Now Leal has issued his own statement on the IllMortals kerfuffle in a post to his social media pages on Monday:
Here are the big takeaways from Leal’s rant:
- The EPs were alleged to have been planned for release since 2022
- Leal performed with the band three days after his father’s funeral, after he passed away from a nearly year-long battle with cancer
- Leal feels as though the record, if it ever is released, “will just be thrown up without any kind of promotion or any of the things that were promised to the fans or the band members and producers who worked their ass off on it and believe in it”
- In an addendum, Leal points out that Godsize has since fully refunded the fans who pre-ordered the EPs
Ill Niño are currently slated for Alcatraz Festival in Belgium in August 2025, and are lobbying to open for System of a Down on their South American leg of their Wake Up! Tour this April and May.
