The trio from Atlanta, USA came up with their second album, Gotten Gains. Although the singer, Ryan Waters is better known through the band Sade, the two bands are worlds apart. Where Sade is smooth and jazzy, iLL -as the name implies- is dirty, raw rock. It leans a bit towards Stoner Rock and occasionally a bit psychedelic and has a very creepy interlude.
The music itself is very atmospheric and takes one in really well. All of the band members master their instruments well and together they create strong, quick beats as well as smoother sounds. The band is a trio, but occasionally it sounds like there could be five people playing. The opening track, “One Time” is quite brilliantly executed; the fat bass riffs get your head nodding and hips swaying and Waters´ voice switches between raspy, lower levels to higher notes without getting on your nerves.
One could point out several similarities between iLL and Soundgarden, but I always found Chris Cornell´s voice very forced, whereas Waters and the rest of his band play a lot more naturally. If you find Alice in Chains, Queens of the Stone Age, or something in that general direction in your collection, you should definitely look into this album. The only real minus points anyone could give would be if this wasn´t their genre as well as the fact that I did not go apeshit after hearing the album.
