Lions at the Gate (Ex-Ill Niño) Release Debut Single “Not Even Human”

Lions at the Gate, the new project featuring former Ill Niño members Cristian Machado (vocals), Ahrue Luster (guitar) and Diego Verduzco (guitar), have released their debut single, “Not Even Human.” And while a lot of us kinda naturally assumed that the band was gonna sound Ill Niño-esque, the track, at least, is considerably more in the vein of 2005-era metalcore. Like if you played this for me and said I saw this band on the Ozzfest second stage years ago in-between A Dozen Furies and It Dies Today, I’d probably believe you.

This being the case, your appreciation for the song will obviously depend on whether or not you wanted Ill Niño Dos. Personally, I prefer this sound, generally speaking — “Not Even Human” would be downright tolerable if not for the auto-tuned-all-to-fuck chorus.

You can check out the track via the below music video.

Says Machado about the release:  

“I feel so blessed to be in Lions at the Gate. We’ve all been making albums for a long time but I think it was time for us to make something special and memorable again.

“This album is exactly that. Take away our musical history, take away our long hair, take away our personal feelings, just make believe we were never there. This Lions at the Gate album is amazing. We finally made a modern metal album that metalheads will enjoy beginning to end. It’s deep, it’s memorable, I can’t wait for everyone to hear it, I can’t wait for everyone to hear the featured female artist on one of the songs!”

Verduzco adds:

“I’m beyond proud and excited to announce our new band Lions At The Gate. Life is all about change and I feel that this music is the most dynamic and honest that we’ve ever written. I feel a sense of freedom and am completely reinvigorated and even anxious (in a good way) to be a part of something that pulls influence from so many directions . Each member brings a unique set of talent and tools. It’s quite frankly some of the best music we’ve ever written. 
Organic, honest, and true.“

Luster concludes:

“I’m more excited about Lions at the Gate than anything that I’ve been a part of since I started my musical career.”

No word yet on when the band plans to release a full album or play live or any of that stuff, but presumably it will be sometime in the not-too-distant future.