It is a project that has been in the works for over 11 years. Matthew Heafy, Trivium guitarist and vocalist, has had the dream of a black metal band for a long time, and now, it is finally happening. Rashomon, the debut album for Heafy's new band Ibaraki, will land on May 6 via Nuclear Blast.

Eagle-eyed fans will recognise Ibaraki as being Trivium's mascot. We first saw the Ibaraki image on the cover of 2015's Silence in the Snow, and the horned demon cemented his place in the band's history, serving as the antagonist of many of the tracks on the album.

Heafy has teamed with Adam "Nergal" Darski of Behemoth and Ihsahn of Emperor to work on Ibaraki's album, which, as if the band name wasn’t enough of a hint, will have a heavy Japanese influence. 

Heafy was born in Japan, his mother is Japanese, and the culture is such a critical part of his identity. Trivium has explored many Japanese themes in their work, but Ibaraki affords Heafy the opportunity to dive even deeper. And that is exactly what he has done as he revealed on The Jasta Show last year:

"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… and the entire project is Japanese-themed. The art, the lyrics, I'm actually singing in Japanese."

The lead single, Tamashii No Houkai, first dropped in January of this year, and is, to put it mildly, stunning. Heafy and Ihsahn come together to give us a glorious combination of heavy riffs, sense of rage and passion, clean and dirty vocals, driving bass lines and thundering drums that will have your heart listening to the track as much as your ears. 

Author: Harley Houghton

Harley Houghton is a writer and blogger, based in Melbourne, Australia. Her passions include music, especially metal, gaming and comics. Check out her blog www.harleysmadhouse.com and follow her on Twitter.