Ill Niño

One of metal's more interesting and versatile (if frequently overlooked) acts, New Jersey sextet Ill Niño merges blistering, Slayer-like riffage with front man Cristian Machado's wide-ranging vocals delivered in both English and Spanish (he can scream like Sick Of It All's Lou Koller or croon like Linkin Park's Chester Bennington), and regularly bisects its crushing attack with flamenco guitar, Afro-Latin rhythms, or a Santana-esque jam. Always a powerhouse live act, Ill Niño is still touring behind last year's One Nation Underground -- which the band tried to make a little less "nu-metal" than previous recordings (and mostly succeeded) -- and it's bringing four modern metal peers with them: brutal and increasingly political thrashers God Forbid; shrieking blast-beaters Bleed the Sky; very Hatebreed-like newcomers Silent Civilian; and proggy doomsayers Eyes of Fire, a Neurosis-inspired outfit that definitely makes it worth getting to this gig early.