After a decade-plus gestation period, the black metal project featuring Trivium vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy and Emperor frontman/guitarist, etc. Ihsahn has finally been made a reality. That project was previously known as Mrityu, but has since been renamed Ibaraki. The debut album from the undertaking was completed during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and Behemoth vocalist/guitarist Nergal has been confirmed as a guest. Current plans have that record dropping in mid-2022.
Heafy explained his progress with with the record and the decision to shift focus with it during a recent appearance on Hatebreed, etc. frontman Jamey Jasta‘s ‘The Jasta Show‘ (see below.) He said of that:
“During this (lockdown) I was able to finally finish my black metal record with Ihsahn from Emperor. He’s been producing and co-writing that with me for about 11 years, and it finally comes out in the middle of next year, which should be fun.
It used to be called Mrityu, which I got from Ashtanga yoga, it means the concept of life and death, same thing as the ouroboros, same thing as the Japanese Enso, the idea that life and death are always symbiotic with each other. I didn’t really know what to write about lyrically, and I was talking to Ihsahn because I’ve always loved Scandinavian mythology, Norse mythology, and Swedish mythology, I wish I could write about Thor and Jörmungandr, I love these stories.
He’s like, ‘Yeah, but Matt, those have been done a lot, and you have your own rich history to tap into with your Japanese side…’ And then a lightbulb went off, I was like. ‘I need to just write about that.’ I started writing all the lyrics about Japanese stories because that’s something that hasn’t really happened.
There isn’t really a band that writes about Japanese folklore or the Shinto gods and goddesses and fictitious stories of Japanese history. So I changed the band name to Ibaraki, which is actually Trivium‘s mascot – an easter egg in there – and the entire project is Japanese-themed. The art, the lyrics, I’m actually singing in Japanese, Ishahn‘s on the record, Nergal‘s on the record.”
Long before the arrival of Ibaraki‘s debut album will be the October 08th release of Trivium‘s tenth full-length album “In The Court Of The Dragon“. You can catch them out touring on that record now at the following shows:
with Megadeth, Lamb Of God and Hatebreed.
08/29 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
08/31 Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
09/01 Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
09/02 Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
09/04 Portland, OR – Moda Center
09/05 Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
09/06 Garden City, ID – Revolution Center (Trivium only)
09/09 Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago
09/11 Danville, VA – Blue Ridge Festival
09/12 Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
09/13 Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
09/15 Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
09/16 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
09/18 Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
09/19 Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
09/20 Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion
09/22 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
09/24 Mount Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle Casino Amphitheatre
09/26 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis
09/28 Minneapolis, MN – Armory
09/30 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
10/01 Laval, QC – Place Bell
10/02 Quebec City, QC – Centre Videotron
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