TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy has released the song “Ronin” from his IBARAKI project which features MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE vocalist Gerard Way guesting. You can check it out below.
IBARAKI features production and input from EMPEROR‘s Ihsahn and currently holds a May 6, 2022 release date for the debut album “Rashomon”.
The album also finds BEHEMOTH vocalist/guitarist Nergal guesting on the previously released “Akumu“, while Ihsahn appears on “Susanoo No Mikoto“.
IBARAKI — the name for a terrifying Japanese demon taken from feudal legend — is the end-result of Heafy’s continued journey to find his voice. It’s personal, it’s deep, and its inspirations include everything from an adoration for the extremes of black metal and beyond.
It was Heafy’s 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 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.