Trivium’s Matt Heafy and Emperor’s Ihsahn complete their collaborative album

Matt Heafy from Trivium and Ihsahn of emperor have officially announced the completion of their new collaborative album, which stems from their Ibaraki project. The duo initially started the project as Mrityu but eventually changed their minds.

Ibaraki’s next release, which premiered mostly during the lockdown last year, will be their debut album. While there is no release date or exact title for the album, it is believed to drop in mid-2022.

“During that (lockdown), I was finally able to finish my black metal record with Emperor’s Ihsahn. He’s been producing and co-writing this with me for about 11 years, and it’s finally coming out in the middle of next year, which should be fun. said Heafy during his appearance on The Jasta Show.

Heafy also announced that Behometh’s Nergal will be featured on the album. “There isn’t really a group that writes about Japanese folklore or Shinto gods and goddesses and fictional stories in Japanese history. So I changed the name of the band to Ibaraki, which is actually the mascot of Trivium – an Easter egg in there – and the whole project is on the Japanese theme. The art, the lyrics, I sing in Japanese, Ishahn is on the record, Nergal is on the record.

Discussing the name of his project with Ihsahn, Heafy explained the meaning of Mrityu, how he gets his name, and a bit of derivative culture. “Previously his name was Mrityu, which I received from Ashtanga yoga, it means the concept of life and death, the same as ouroboros, the same as the Japanese Enso, the idea that life and death are always in symbiosis with each other. I didn’t really know what to write on the lyrics, and I was talking to Ihsahn because I have always loved Scandinavian mythology, Norse mythology and mythology Swedish, I wish I could write about Thor and Jörmungandr, I love these stories.

heavy went on to explain how it was brought to his attention that he knew his own history and culture incredibly well, which allowed him to tap into his Japanese side throughout. Heafy then realized that he would have to write about Japanese stories because of its history and exclusivity.

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat