Ill Ni–o is a band inspired by rhythm from south of the border. The six-piece outfit has a sound that changes from salsa beats to hardcore metal. The group is the opening band for Kittie on their current tour and brought down the house on Sunday at the Rialto Theatre with its version of "Eye for an Eye" by their label-mates Soulfly. The following is an interview with lead singer Cristian Machado of the band Ill Ni–o.

Wildcat: So you guys just went to Belgium?

Machado: Yeah man, we went to Belgium. That was fucking awesome. The shows there were intense.

Wildcat: Your drummer was just showing me some live footage and people were going nuts.

Machado: You don't even know, man. There were 5,000 kids there and 2,500 kids were going insane. It was flattering and yet unbelievable at the same time.

Wildcat: When did you get hooked up with the Kittie tour?

Machado: We did the first leg of the Kittie tour, but it did not come around to Arizona, I don't think. Then on the second leg, we got through Arizona. We put a bid in for the tour in November. Whether they liked us as people or as musicians, they asked us to be on the second leg of the tour. And we were like "Hell Yeah."

Wildcat: You guys keep coming back with Chimaira and No One. How do you keep getting hooked up with them?

Machado: Chimaira are like our brothers, you know. They are on the same label and our records got released around the same time. They are like family to us. We would like touring with those guys forever. We love their music and they love our music, so it is great to be touring with them. We are just lucky to be hooked up on tours with them all the time.

Wildcat: How was the Fear Factory and Machine Head tour?

Machado: I think the greatest thing about that tour is that we got to meet idols of ours. We got to hang out with Machine Head and they invited us on the European tour. The shows were great and everything was great, but it was a little hard being the first band to go on. We were playing to half-packed rooms. You will notice even tonight that there is a difference between the band that goes on first and the band that goes on right before the headliner. So, you know the crowd is a little bit more warmed up

Wildcat: Who is someone you would like the band to open for? Someone you really enjoy listening to.

Machado: I would love to open for System of a Down or Sepultura.

Wildcat: The new Sepultura?

Machado: Yeah, sure. I mean I would love to open for Sepultura with Max (Cavalera), but I still love Sepultura. Who else? Bad Brains. Legendary bands that we love, you know? Just to say we were on the same stage as them.

Wildcat: Did anything crazy happen in Europe? Any security problems?

Machado: Actually security going out of the country was not really that tight. We flew a month before 9-11 and then a month after and security was pretty much the same except you would see two armed army men walking around. So it was kind of disappointing in a way. And when we came back from Germany and saw how tight security was over there, it makes me wonder why the hell our security isn't as tight as that. What is the problem? I don't think we are really making a conscious effort.

Wildcat: What do you think about Kittie?

Machado: I love Kittie. I love the new record and I love the girls from Kittie. There are some things that happen past the music, but that's the way it's got to be.

Wildcat: What are you guys doing after this tour?

Machado: We are going to go home and shoot a video for "What Comes Around." And there are talks of going to Japan right now, because supposedly the record is doing great over there. But we are leaving March 6th to do a Drowning Pool, Coal Chamber tour. So that is going to be sweet. It is really going to be our first big tour. It's going to be like 2,000 seater, 3,000 seater venues. And hopefully by that time, there will be a big enough buzz about that band that people will come out early to see us.

Wildcat: What are your hopes for the band this year as you're on tour?