ABOUT IO:
UK Metal Project IO is the brainchild of The One-Man-Metal-Machine that is Mike Webster.
Conceived in 2019 out of the grey skies of Derby England, Mike presents his own style of metal: the most intense, the heaviest and the loudest music available right now.
From playing extensively with live bands in the past, he decided to experiment with writing on his own without any boundaries. Incorporating blisteringly heavy riffs, intense vocal performances, big grooves, unorthodox song writing and seriously excessive frequency manipulation at the forefront; this is a project that aims to take heavy music to more extreme and unexplored realms.
IO is the result of those experiments. Produced, Performed & Mixed by the Man Himself.
WARNING: THIS IS EXTREMELY HEAVY MUSIC!
After releasing 3 Singles on all major streaming services in 2019, the first (aptly named) Day 1 dropped in late April, quickly followed by We Want It all in mid May and the monstrous Over?! at the end of May all gained him a noticeable amount of attention. From this solid base he released his full-length debut album ‘Out of Knowhere’ in December of 2019 - a 10 track slab of molten, modern metal set to challenge all current understandings of heavy music.
In December 2020 he released the 2 lead singles from his 2nd Full Length Album, Break It and No Forgiveness, No regrets.
Savage, Vicious songs that step up the game both on sonic quality as well as creatively.
Then it finally arrived, the 22nd January came in 2021, and with it, Mike's 2nd Full Length IO Album:
The Suffering & The Aftermath
Another 10 track slab of even more savage, excessive, brutal metal that's taken the metal world by the throat and has been ecstatically well received by IO fans and critics the world over as well as the heartbreaking true stories of Mike's life that inspired it.
“This Album is the next progression in the IO sound, more aggressive, savagely darker and much heavier than my previous efforts. These songs are a combination of chapters from my turbulent life the past 2 years, as well as reflecting on the darker parts of the years that led up to the serious health issues my father endured through 2019 and 2020, going through multiple emergency surgeries for a dual aneurysm in both of his legs which required a large portion of his foot to be amputated.
This took a severe toll on my personal life, my family and my mental state. I felt like I was literally cracking at the seams. I had to, and still do have to maintain isolation from relationships and physical contact with anyone friends, family or otherwise since my father was & still is so high risk in his early recovery stages, especially difficult in the middle of a global pandemic.
The hospital ended up being a second home for him (and me) through majority of 2019 & 2020, and the pain he’s had to endure so far is nothing short of intense suffering which inspired a lot of subject matter as well as the title of this album.
I didn’t know if I’d make it through last year, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one who struggled throughout 2020. So I decided to write this album any spare moment I had, both to vent the pain and frustrations, and to try to keep some semblance of sanity; but more so, to embrace the refusal to give up or be a victim, to keep going and persevere no matter what or who tried to bring me down.
The aspect of this album that makes it so special to me aside from the subject matter and lyrical content, is the fact that lack of finances meant I didn’t know whether I could afford to finish the production of this album let alone get it released. But, due to my fans' overwhelming support streaming my music and buying my merchandise, I was able to get this album over the finish line.
Something I am eternally grateful for and will never forget.
I honestly cannot stress enough how much I appreciate every single one of you.
This album has saved my life I have no doubts about that, it gave me a place to let it all out, gave me a better perspective in general, gave me the strength to keep going; and reminded me why I keep doing what I love.
I hope it can help you overcome any struggles in your life, whatever or whoever they may be.
All the best and much respect as always,
Mike”
With a continuously growing legion of fans across his social media platforms, IO is well and truly on the rise.
Also check out his Facebook and Instagram pages for updates, news, unreleased clips and behind the scenes!
For Fans Of:
Strapping Young Lad, Aphex Twin, Car Bomb, Fear Factory, Static-X, Traitors, Ion Dissonance, The Acacia Strain, Whitechapel, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Frontierer, Hatebreed, Korn, Pantera
LISTEN HERE:
ABOUT "OUT OF KNOWHERE":
Tracklist:
1. GTFAFM
2. IFD
3. Only Kidding Yourself
4. Day 1
5. Over?!
6. Burned Out
7. One Chance
8. We Want It All
9. Have You Seen It?
10. Terminate
Available on all major music platforms, including the following:
Released: December 6, 2019
Ⓒ all rights reserved, IO Music.
With a run-time just shy of 50 minutes, this is a true juggernaut of an album that would take an age to craft for an established band, let alone a debut from one man - no mean feat. And then there’s the music itself; the production is top notch, the performances are as intense as they come, and the sound is absolutely gigantic. The molten riffs and insane double kicks pummel the listener into a grooved out, head banging mess by the end of the epic 10 minute closer Terminate. It’s almost impossible not to get caught up in the groove of every riff and progression, all wrapped up in memorable songs and vocal hooks.
The songs themselves are intensely well thought out, rarely clocking in at less than 5 minutes long, with riffs a-plenty, earth shattering bass and ridiculous drums complimented by a frenzy of harmonics, screaming high pitched leads and Mike’s signature vocal style that brings each song its own flavour. The vocals are a frenzy of long held screams, growls and gutturals encompassed by almost machine-gun fire vocal lines. Though the real separator here, and what sets him apart, is his ability to execute all of these extreme vocal styles with such tight pronunciation, and a unique flow to his lyrics that’s simply undeniable.
The lyrical themes hit every spectrum of the radar ranging from raging anger to pain and despair to inner as well as outer contemplations of society and humanity as a whole; where the listener can actually feel each nuance in his genuine and heartfelt performances, all of which are delivered to perfection. There’s a real flow to the album as it progresses and follows a storyline of self discovery, betrayal and the nature of humanity, hitting the bottom, reaching the brink of insanity and culminating in existential rebirth.
That said, each song stands on its own, songs like Day 1 as well as the album’s openers GTFAFM and IFD are truly memorable with such groove and heaviness that the riffs bury themselves in the listener’s memory. The 6 minute epic One Chance is a real highlight of the album, a full display of song writing ability and rhythmic wizardry with a chorus lead line you can’t get out of your head and ravenous vocal lines that draw focus on internal realizations and refusal to be dictated to or simply run with the herd, but to make a difference in your own life in order to be who you want to be. Burned Out provides a much needed breather after the monolith of heaviness that is Over?! showcasing some disgusting frequency manipulation and destructively heavy riffs throughout, followed swiftly by We Want It All with so much intense groove that it’s almost a relief to be rewarded by the slamming riff at the end of this 3 minute groove-a-thon. Have You Seen It? is another big highlight combining more ‘straight-to-the-jugular’ song writing and lyrics, that takes an unexpected turn to layered lead line combinations that crescendo into one of the heaviest riffs on the album. And once you think you’ve made it through this relentless onslaught, the album closer Terminate is there to finish it.
Staggeringly clocking in at over 10 minutes, it’s a destructive slam fest that crushes you with breakdown after breakdown, groove after groove until a final build into the last section of this monstrosity of a song. With an intricately layered tremolo lead that does not let go until you find yourself head banging ferociously; ending the onslaught with the most intense vocal lines and performances on the album - 'I'm not stuck in here with You, You're stuck in here with Me' - truly satisfying!
One thing is definitely clear, he has no intent of stopping here and as satisfying as this album is, it leaves you wanting more (after some recovery of corse!). Thoroughly recommended to experience for yourself!