IO is an Extreme Doom/Sludge band from Rome, Italy.  They formed in 2015 and "Fire" is their full length debut...and what a debut it is! Often times sounding like what I assume would play in the background if you're burning in hell, "Fire," is an album with a very rough exterior and I mean that in a good way.  These type of songs wouldn't sound as good with a nicer, cleaner production.  The overall atmosphere and vibe from the album is very grim and apocalyptic.  The vocals alternate between a hell infused blackened scream to a growl that sounds like it has been ran through gravel.  The music is often times just as edgy, with a searing combination of sulfuric sludge and acidic doom.

"Third Eye," begins with simple but disturbing clean notes before thick fuzz drenched bass and riffs that scrape the very ground, like a lumbering beast with long claws, hit the senses.  Despite how dark and heavy the song is, I'll be damned if those riffs aren't catchy.  I love how the riffs change when the vocals go from high screams to low growls; it gives the feeling the song is alive and crawling along the ground like a serpent. Around the 5:14 mark, the bass comes alive, popping out into the front with superb tone—and complimented by the drums.  The riffs afterwards are just brutal and unrelenting, behemoth like.

"Fire Walks With Us," has a trippy and even a little hazy beginning.  The guitar echoes the bass that comes before it, the song adding layer after layer as the song builds up like a mountain.  I swear this song sounds like an ultra heavy version of old school doom.  The vocal assault adds in that much needed extreme portion for a decidedly deadly mix of different styles of doom. The drums roll off the riffs with effectiveness and their use does wonders for the atmosphere.  This song is over ten minutes in length but it kept my attention all the way through...which isn't hard to do when the song is a sludgy doomed out riff fest. Around the six minute mark there is a surprising twist that injects psychedelic tendencies into the extreme assault and it sounds so goddamn good.

"Loki Patera," is perhaps my second favorite from the album.  I love the bass that buzzes underneath the clean notes.  The drumming is light but hits all the right spots to match the quiet but growing music. When the song kicks in, those riffs hit hard and the blackened vocals don't allow a minute to recover.  The drumming is really impressive and is all over the place yet focused and razor sharp.  Around the four minute mark the song slows down to a slow jam and it just proves why doom metal is the ultimate music.

The final track "Poseidon (In Lava Sea)" is without a doubt the best song on here and sixteen minutes of doom that goes through several changes and smartly uses every second of its long run time to full effectiveness.  The first few minutes are a laid back dirge of beautiful bass and guitar.  But there is a darkness lurking behind these seemingly innocent notes. At the four minute note, that darkness comes alive with guitar riffs wide as a mesa.  It is a slow, lumbering assault on the senses and the death growls make it even better.  The tempo moves up slightly at the 10:50 mark that does nothing but make the trepidation higher.

With "Fire" being such a solid debut, IO is on firm ground to continue their assault and they are definitely a band to keep an ear out for within the Doom scene.  Another great surprise for Doom this year!