IBARAKI

Ibaraki biography
Ibaraki is the extreme progressive metal project of American musician Matt Heafy in collaboration with Emperor's Ihsahn, formed in 2012 under the original name of Mrityu. A side venture of Heafy's main band Trivium, Ibaraki is animated by a life-long love of black metal groups like Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, Ulver, Satyricon and especially Emperor. Particularly inspired by Ihsahn's 2012 LP Eremita, Heafy's style blends symphonic black metal with folk and metalcore touches, reminiscent of later Emperor, Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris and Enslaved.

The global coronavirus crisis granted the house-bound musicians time and opportunity to complete the project, with Ihsahn easing Heafy out of writer's block by encouraging him to lyrically focus on the folklore of his Japanese heritage. With newfound inspiration, Heafy changed Mrityu's nom de guerre to Ibaraki in early 2022, issuing three singles prior to releasing its debut LP, Rashomon, via Nuclear Blast. The album featured drumwork by Heafy's Trivium bandmate Alex Bent along with guest contributions from Behemoth's Nergal, My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way and Ihsahn himself.