ten56. drop devastating sophomore album ‘IO’

Speaking on the release of the album, the band shares:
“We are both excited and, let’s say, relieved to deliver this record. It explores yet uncharted territories for us as a band and encapsulates a period in time for us all on a personal level; a period of difficulty and resilience, hardships and growth. We hope this transparency comes through in these tracks, and touches our listeners but old and new.

“We’ve put so much of ourselves into this record and it only exists thanks to those who have taken the time to dip their toes into our universe. This is IO. We love you, and we will see you all soon, wherever you are.”

To celebrate the release of the LP, the band have shared a music video for their new single ‘Snapped Neck‘. The track is one of the most melodic that the band has ever written, weaving vocalist Aaron Matts‘ haunting vocal melodies with the band’s signature heaviness to create an impactful yet unsettling atmosphere. Watch the music video here.

On the new single, Matts comments:
“This track is particular, in the way that it bounces back and forth between confrontational, almost egotistical anger and total vulnerability; we knew that in order to portray this inner battle, that we needed to explore new sounds and vocal atmospheres. This track does a good job of portraying the mental gymnastics that IO tries to encapsulate. We hope you guys feel it.”

Visceral and unrelenting, yet richly layered and skillfully crafted, IO hides grinding groove and gnarled melodies in every one of its shadowy, labyrinthine corners, which descend deeper and deeper into a story of deteriorating mental health and crumbling attachment to society and self. “I’m falling off the edge into the pitch black nether,” a tormented Matts screams on ‘Snapped Neck’. IO digs in its claws and pulls you down into the abyss with him.

“The reason why I started ten56. was to talk about these things that I have on my mind, and unburden myself of them,” nods Matts. “For a long time in my career I wasn’t able to sing about the way I was actually feeling. I don’t know how to write positive lyrics. I have to be going through something to really be inspired. I’ve always liked extremely heavy music, and this was my way of getting these thoughts off my mind.”

Describing the album as “a journey that starts from being taken advantage of by certain people, through feelings of revenge and questions of self doubt, before closing with self-reflection and revelation,” IO is an album in which Matts invites listeners to explore the darkest corners of his mind. Nightmares await at every turn, and yet there are fractured moments of humanity and vulnerability, too.