Trivium vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy has announced a May 06th release date through Nuclear Blast for the debut album, “Rashomon“, from his long-gestating Ibaraki project. Originally revealed roughly a decade ago under the name of Mrityu, the since rechristened black metal-inspired project finds Heafy paired with Ihsahn of Emperor fame. The latter is predominantly involved in producer/contributor role. After a suggestion from Ihsahn that Heafy lyrically explore the mythos of his Japanese heritage, the project dropped their initial moniker and focus and Ibaraki was born.
Heafy and Ihsahn aren’t the only players involved in this upcoming effort though, as Heafy‘s Trivium bandmates Paolo Gregoletto (bass), Corey Beaulieu (guitar) and Alex Bent (drummer) all helped flesh out his vision here. Also guesting on the record is Gerard Way, vocalist of multi-platinum emo outfit My Chemical Romance, and Nergal, vocalist/guitarist for Polish black metal mainstays Behemoth, who appears on the newly debuted single “Akumu“. A music video for that single can be seen below.
Addressing that single, Heafy stated:
“‘Akumu‘ translates to ‘nightmare’ — and with this piece, I encourage the listener to work to find their interpretations of what they feel from the lyrics, music, and the haunting visuals of the music video. I have always been fascinated by Sagazan’s ‘Transfiguration,’ and for years, I have wanted to pay homage to his works with a performance art piece; to finally be able to immerse myself in his style was an intense experience.
Having Nergal guest in this Ihsahn co-written piece allowed me to combine many of my long-time influences; and when I presented with Nergal of the challenge of translating my lyrics into Polish, it brought the song to another level.”
Speaking of the origins of Ibaraki, Ihsahn offered:
“It was very loose, We just had rough demos for a very long time because we’re arguably pretty busy people, but suddenly, everything was cancelled and we had time on our hands for the first time, so it was like, ‘OK, let’s do this.’ We never got to work in the same room; he’d track guitars and send them to me, I’d run them through my studio and send them back. It was a new way of working, but it was like he was there on the other side of the glass. Matt is a very, very positive energetic and passionate music fan — we have similar attitudes to music and open mindedness. We hit it off, and it’s been really rewarding to me.”
“Rashomon” track listing:
01 – “Hakanaki Hitsuzen”
02 – “Kagutsuchi”
03 – “Ibaraki-Doji”
04 – “Jigoku Dayu”
05 – “Tamashii No Houkai”
06 – “Akumu” (feat. Nergal)
07 – “Komorebi”
08 – “Ronin” (feat. Gerard Way)
09 – “Susanoo No Mikoto” (feat. Ihsahn)
10 – “Kaizoku”
Pre-orders for the record are available here.
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