Trivium vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy has finally unveiled his long-gestating Ibaraki side project. Today (January 21st) sees the arrival of a first single, “Tamashii No Houkai“, from that undertaking, which was co-written by Ihsahn of Emperor. Originally announced years ago as a collaborative project between himself and Ihsahn dubbed Mrityu, a lyrical shift towards Heafy‘s own Japanese culture saw a name and direction change for the project.
Heafy commented of this first taste:
“‘Tamashii No Houkai‘ means ‘the breaking of the soul’ or ‘soul collapse. It’s a Japanese term that didn’t exist before, but one we forged to reflect the song’s meaning. ‘Tamashii No Houkai‘ is co-written by Ihsahn — the legend behind Emperor and a musician who has been a longtime influence and mentor to so much that I do in music. The writing of this song was the turning point for Ibaraki — it summarized everything from the past, present, and future of what I thought black metal was, is, and could be. ‘Tamashii No Houkai‘ is the perfect summary and representation of everything that Ibaraki is… and will be.”
This revised final vision for the project finds Ihsahn largely involved in a production and songwriting capacity. The inspiration for the name of the project refers to an ancient Japanese demon who has also been adopted as Trivium‘s mascot. In addition to Ihsahn, Behemoth vocalist/guitarist Nergal is also expected to guest on Ibaraki‘s eventual debut effort.
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