Ibaraki announce debut album ‘Rashomon’

February 20, 2022 James Weaver

Matthew Kiichi Heafy’s IBARAKI project have announced their debut album!

Titled Rashomon, the upcoming album from the TRIVIUM frontman is his debut album from his black metal project and is scheduled to be released in May this year, via Nuclear Blast Records.

Kiichi, a fan of black metal before he even started TRIVIUM, reached out to label reps for Ihsahn of EMPEROR, and the artist personally responded. He recalls, “it was so cool to get that nod and it inspired me to start checking some of his solo stuff. He’d just released his own solo record and I’d never heard anything like it – saxophones, clean singing, jazz chords. It was incredible to me. He’s this non-stop inventor. So I started writing in a totally different way.”

The exposure to Ihsahn‘s solo work that would inspire the gradual craftsmanship that would eventually become Ibaraki. It was also the beginning of a friendship and creative collaboration that would eventually compel Ihsahn to take a leap of his own into a newfound role as producer on the project. While much of the material for IBARAKI was assembled over those months and years – as much a songwriting process as an exchange of ideas between friends – it wasn’t until the pandemic that the space was created and the idea could really flourish. “It was very loose,” says Ihsahn. “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.”

The creative interactions between the pair are the result of a deep trust borne of a commonality of their experience. “We both started our respective bands when we were 13,” Ihsahn says. “We got signed when we were 16. That’s young, and in essence we both found our path in life at an early age. We’ve talked a lot about that and our different experiences with that, because it’s like we know nothing else.”

Alongside the announcement of the debut album, the project have released a new music video for a new song lifted from the upcoming debut album; Akumu. The new song features a guest appearance from BEHEMOTH‘s Nergal and is the second single to be released from the debut album, following on from Tamashii No Houkai which was released last month.

Speaking about the new song and its accompanying music video, Heafy says, “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.”

Watch the official music video for Akumu here: