The impact of Leal’s departure
While celebrating their 25 years of Latin metal, band Ill Niño seemed to have subbed their current vocalist Marcos Leal with Tommy Vext, ex-vocalist of Bad Wolves, for the rest of their tour.
Later in a social media posts, the band would confirm that they have parted ways with Leal, commenting that both parties decided to amicably split and move on separately.
With this news the band has stated that they will still release their “IllMortals” Eps., both Volumes 1 and 2, which will include the vocals of Leal.
With this statement release the band has not confirmed who will be their new permanent vocalist. Fans speculate that Vext will continue to be the vocalist after the tour as a replacement for Marcos. Fans are also using this as a call to action to bring back original front man Cristian Machado, which has been a sentiment ever since the announcement of Leal joining the band. Fans have always been quick to criticize Leal from the get-go, usually with similar statements regarding the return of Machado. In my personal experience seeing the band live, Leal has been nothing but talented and seems to love what he does.
Now that both parties have split, this is not the end of the road for Leal he has now joined the country rock band Swim the Current as the lead vocalist. They have their new single “Stay” released on Oct. 18.
Read Ill Niño’s statement here:
“Hello Ill Niño Familia, we wanted to inform everyone that ILL NIÑO and Marcos Leal both have decided to amicably split, and move forward separately.
“As we appreciate all the support of the ILL NIÑO fans, we owe it to all of you to release both IllMortals EPs Volume 1 & 2, before the end of 2024.”
“The EPs will include Marcos’ vocals, plus some well-known surprise vocalists. Change can often lead to new opportunities and growth, and ILL NIÑO is looking forward to continuing our 25-year legacy.”
“Marcos will be updating you all soon, regarding his next chapter.”
“We are looking forward to seeing our ILL NIÑO Familia representing at the upcoming festivals ‘Louder Than Life,’ ‘Aftershock,’ and ‘Nu Metal Revolution.’”
