Cristian Machado, former lead singer of Latin hard rock band ILL NIÑO, has premiered the video for his new single "Die Alone". Watch it below.
"Every video I've been in before, I'm headbanging and jumping around like a maniac," says Machado. "'Die Alone' is unlike any video I've ever made. It features me as a songwriter and musician, it includes some very close friends, and it's a dance of emotions. It's likely a different side of me some may be surprised existed all along."
The song, penned by Machado himself, will appear on the artist's debut solo album "Hollywood y Sycamore", due out September 25 on Chesky Records' sub-label Coconut Bay. Overall, the album finds Machado moving away from the guttural screams and screeching guitars that defined his previous work in favor of flexing his creative muscles and expressing his eclectic Latin influences through transcendent bilingual songwriting. "Die Alone" is also a departure from the single mic-style, live recording Chesky Records is known for, and combines elements of live recording with the added impact layering provides, all captured in digital high resolution.
"'Die Alone' is a song of hope for anyone faced with unimaginable challenges," Machado said. "Out of all suffering can evolve monolithic personal growth, and I seek comfort in that. If we let go of the painful past, we don't become the suffering. Shedding skin is sometimes the hardest part but it is why we're here — to love, to hurt, to feel, to adapt, and, most importantly, to evolve and not make the same mistakes we made in the past."
"Hollywood y Sycamore" includes completely new original songs, new arrangements of some previous ILL NIÑO songs ("How Can I Live", "Numb"), and covers from PINK FLOYD ("Welcome To The Machine"), LIFE OF AGONY ("Weeds"), and a spell-binding take on Post Malone's "Blame It On Me".
"Hollywood y Sycamore" track listing:
01. Say Hello Again
02. Die Alone
03. Better You Know
04. Blame It On Me
05. Bring You Home
06. Good Mother
07. Weeds
08. Pase Lo Que Pase
09. How Can I Live
10. Welcome To The Machine
11. Corazon En Un Cajon
12. Numb
This past March, Machado, lead guitarist Ahrue "Luster" Ilustre, rhythm guitarist Diego Verduzco, drummer Dave Chavarri and bassist Laz Pina announced that they "have reached a mutual, amicable and binding agreement" that will allow Chavarri and Pina to continue with ILL NIÑO while Machado, Verduzco and Ilustre will move on with new projects. According to a joint statement release by the five musicians, "No party has admitted fault and there has been no court judgment on the merits. The parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement."
Back in January 2019, Chavarri and Pina said that they had recruited vocalist Marcos Leal (SHATTERED SUN), lead guitarist Jes DeHoyos (SONS OF TEXAS) and rhythm guitarist Sal Dominguez (UPON A BURNING BODY) to be in their new incarnation of ILL NIÑO. The Chavarri-led ILL NIÑO also issued a new single, "Sangre". A day later, Machado, Ilustre and Verduzco dismissed reports that they had left ILL NIÑO and vowed to continue with their own version of the band. Two months later, the trio filed a lawsuit against Chavarri and Pina, accusing the drummer and bassist of failing to pay the band's tour rental company and engineers, slandering Machado by spreading rumors that he has a drug problem, collecting and spending the band's money without consulting in all of the members and refusing the members access to the group's financial records.
In a statement announcing the launch of his new version of ILL NIÑO, Chavarri said about the split with his former bandmates: "Being in a band is much like being married, and sometimes people grow apart, and no longer see eye to eye, and a separation becomes inevitable."
