A number of prominent 'mainstream' metal musicians over the years have expressed a wish to turn their hand to something heavier than their day job. Perhaps the most famous lover of the more extreme is Judas Priest's Rob Halford, but Trivium's Matt Heafy has also made it clear in the past that he would like to branch out - and last month he released Rashomon, the debut album from his new extreme metal project Ibaraki. Being in a band as prolific and as busy as Trivium has likely made it tricky for Heafy to turn his attentions elsewhere, and as such I am not sure of the exact history behind Rashomon. I would not be surprised if the album was put together over a number of years, but equally likely is the possibility that Rashomon was a lockdown project. Heafy and the rest of Trivium have already proved their prolific nature over the past couple of years - releasing What the Dead Men Say (which I reviewed here) in 2020 and following it up with the stunning In the Court of the Dragon (which I also reviewed here) last year - and they have been a part of two huge American tours since the COVID-19 lockdowns started to ease last summer. Trivium have never been a band to take it easy, and the band's members are clearly 100% dedicated to cause - which is partly why Trivium have the large global fanbase that they do. Briefly stepping away from the day job to try something new can be refreshing and good for the mind, though, and Rashomon is Heafy's first significant piece of work outside of Trivium. The time feels right for Heafy to stretch out, too. Trivium have been gradually evolving their sound since the get-go, but with their last handful of albums they seem to have finally settled on what will likely be their 'core' sound going forward. I am sure that the band will continue to experiment somewhat, but it seems as if they are finally starting to solidify their influences - which is unsurprising considering that they have now released 10 studio albums. Rashomon sees Heafy branching out, though, and it is the heaviest overall album that he has created - although there is still plenty of room for his melodic and somewhat more delicate side, too. Whilst Rashomon is essentially a solo album, it was produced by Ihsahn (Emperor; Peccatum) - who also co-wrote some of the songs and contributed instrumentally throughout. Heafy has kept Rashomon in the family, too, as the other three members of Trivium contribute - with Alex Bent in particular standing out thanks to his handling of the drumming duties throughout. Guest vocal spots from Nergal (Behemoth; Me and That Man) and Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) help to add some variety, but in truth the album would still be varied enough without this additional help. Rashomon has often been called black metal, largely thanks to Heafy's wish to explore more extreme sounds and Ihsahn's involvement, but for me the album is a much heavier and more progressive take on Heafy's typical songwriting style. Trivium have had their progressive moments, but Rashomon feels more complex from an arrangement standpoint. There is certainly a strong black metal influence throughout, but the production levels throughout the album are high - and the album as a whole is a real melting pot of sounds that takes Heafy to places that he has never been before with Trivium.
The album opens slowly with the instrumental piece Hakanaki Hitsuzen. All of the album's songs, as well as its title and the name of the band, are Japanese, although the vast majority of the lyrics are in English. There are a few moments of Japanese throughout, as well as a hint of Polish and Norwegian - so the album is accessible for people who generally struggle to connect with songs not sung in English (like myself). Heafy is part-Japanese, and Rashomon sees him exploring that heritage both visually and lyrically. He has done so before with Trivium, too, but Rashomon sees him take that influence further. Hakanaki Hitsuzen is a slow-burning piece, with traditional Japanese instrumentation and wordless vocals setting the scene nicely. It is different to most extreme metal album openers, but it fits the overall tone of the album nicely - before things gets underway proper with the monstrous Kagutsuchi. Kagutsuchi opens with a mid-paced guitar and some busy Bent drumming, which sets the scene early on whilst Heafy screams the first few lines of the song, but the pace is soon upped. A knotty riff kicks in as Bent lays into his double bass drums, and the main verse showcases the overall heaviness of the album. Heafy's screams are more primal here than on any previous Trivium album, and there is an atmospheric backing that allows traditional instrumentation and sounds to sit behind the fast-paced riffing. It creates something of a unique sound, and it does not just sound like a leftover Trivium song. The song's choruses are sung clean, but they are still heavy - and take on a slightly doomy vibe thanks to Heafy's deep singing register and the dense, atmospheric sound. The song also showcases Heafy's love of a progressive arrangement, as around half way through the heaviness totally drops away and a melodic guitar lick kicks in which forms the basis for the next portion of the piece. His Trivium bandmate Paolo Gregoletto adds some busy bass slides and riffs under the guitar melodies, and Heafy sings atop these hooks in a delicate way - whilst some organic keyboards add depth. The song gets heavy again towards the end, with some tremolo-picked riffing and the odd blast beat - and the song is a great representation of Rashomon as a whole. Ibaraki-Dōji follows, and the song takes something of a symphonic path. Ihsahn's work has always sat at the symphonic end of the black metal spectrum, particularly with Emperor, so it is fitting that Rashomon is filled with soaring symphonic motifs. The opening couple of numbers utilised more traditional sounds, however, so Ibaraki-Dōji feels different as a result - as the soaring orchestral arrangements clash with the uncompromising riffing and relentless drums. There are quieter moments here, but overall the song is much more consistently heavy than Kagutsuchi. Even the clean-sung sections generally still feel heavy, thanks to the oppressive arrangement and Heafy's creepy whispers, whilst the blast beats and buzz saw guitar tones that dominate create a vibe of enveloping darkness.
Jigoku Dayū opens slowly with some acoustic guitar melodies, which are soon joined by a clean electric guitar and some percussion to add extra depth. These melodies form the basis of the early portion of the song. Heafy sings the first section of the song clean, and as such it really stands out from the first handful of tracks here. It is a pretty atmospheric piece, and the opening sections showcase what a great singer Heafy is. His clean singing has improved hugely over the years, and his emotional and rhythmic delivery here really fits the slow-burning guitar build up - and the contrast when the heavy section of the song kicks in is great. The lengthy intro only makes the heavy section sound heavier, though, and the song is well-arranged as a result. Once the song kicks in, though, there is little let up. Heafy screams his way through the story of the daughter of a murdered samurai forced into a life of servitude. Instrumentally the heavy section of the song remains interesting, though. The riffing is tight and furious, but there are short instrumental interludes that include pulsing keyboard stabs - as well as the occasional clean-sung section that inject more emotion into the piece. Tamashii No Houkai, which opens with noises that sound like they have come from an old 8-bit Nintendo game, continues the heaviness of the second half of the previous song - but the arrangement is such that Heafy switches back and forth between screams and clean vocals throughout. His screams dominate, but the short melodic interludes help to break up the relentless riffing. There is a lot going on throughout the song instrumentally, though. Parts of the song are blast beat-led and very fast, whilst more mid-paced sections allow a traditional instrumental backing to shine through - and an effects-heavy guitar solo from Ihsahn provides some additional spacey, progressive vibes to the piece. There are not a lot of guitar solos throughout Rashomon, but when they are deployed they are effective. Ihsahn's effort here is more about creating an atmosphere than showboating - and it works well in the varied context of the song. Akumu, which features Nergal, is very much a pure symphonic black metal piece - at least at first. It is perhaps less furious than some of the songs here, but the mid-paced blast beats and tremolo picked riffs are pure black metal - and the symphonics remind me of Dimmu Borgir's recent work. The pace slows down further for Nergal's section, sung in Polish, which showcases the deep bark of the Behemoth frontman perfectly. The backing for his section is atmospheric and progressive - and the song's main riffing style kicks back in afterwards, when Heafy starts screaming again. The final third of the song is perhaps the most progressive part of the track, as it features a lot of different riffing styles and lots of atmosphere thanks to Ihsahn's production. It also features the first clean-sung section of the song - which kicks in after a lengthy instrumental riff-fest that showcases Heafy's talents as a guitarist perfectly.
Komorebi slows the pace somewhat, and opens with a big guitar lead that sits atop a big slab of guitar rhythms and pounding drums. Lead guitar moments are not common throughout the album, but Komorebi makes good use of them - both for traditional melodic purposes as well as to create atmosphere. There are slow-burning clean-sung sections here which are filled with spacey guitar leads, and these sections sound nothing like the rest of the album - further showcasing the overall diversity that Heafy has cultivated here. With the exception of the album's closing number, this is easily the least-heavy of the album's cuts. There is a huge focus on Heafy's clean vocals here, and the subtle drumming of Bent really adds a great groove for him to sing atop - with symphonics and acoustic guitar melodies generally providing the backing. Heafy's Trivium bandmate Corey Beaulieu contributes a guitar solo, too, and it is probably the most traditional-sounding lead guitar moment on the whole album. It is perhaps not as furious as his Trivium solos, but it is melodic and full of nifty phrases that lift the song overall - which is general is a great showcase for many different guitar styles. Rōnin follows, and it is arguably the album's crowning achievement. It is the most progressive and complex song here - but it also contains some of the hookiest vocal moments Heafy has ever written. Way is featured here vocally, too, and he puts in a performance unlike anything he has committed to tape previously. If you expecting something like My Chemical Romance then you will be disappointed, as Way unleashes a number of memorable black metal-esque screams throughout the track. He dominates the heavier sections, whilst Heafy focuses on the clean vocal-led sections - and the contrast between the two singing styles is great. Ihsahn adds a rather jaunty guitar solo to the song too, which starts and ends in a poppy rhythm but soars in the middle. This is part of a wider progressive instrumental section that mixes plenty of riffs and rhythms together nicely - and then slows down for an acoustic guitar-led section with wordless vocal hooks. The song then ends as it started, with Heafy's hooky clean vocals and a strong atmospheric backing. Susanoo No Mikoto, which includes some Japanese lyrics and vocals from Ihsahn, is the last heavy track on the album - and it opens with lots of mid-paced black metal riffing and screams. The song is not as heavy as many of the tracks here, though, and even many of the screamed sections are very atmospheric. There are moments of riffing early on, but the song in general is very melodic - despite the dominance of screams. There are clean vocal sections throughout, which enhance the overall melodic nature of the piece, and I like the general approach taken throughout - which helps the song to stand out in the wider context of the album, which tends to be much heavier. The album closes with the short and jaunty Kaizoku, which is a very strange song lyrically. The lyrics are so graphic that I am not sure if they are supposed to be a joke or whether something has got a bit lost in translation - either literally or culturally. Musically the song is quite jaunty and nothing like the rest of the album - so things end on a rather strange note. Overall, though, Rashomon is a great album from Heafy. He has really pushed himself here, and the album sounds very different to his work with Trivium. The experimental nature of the songs here showcase a different side of his songwriting, and I would certainly like to see more from the Ibaraki project going forward.
The album was released on 5th May 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Kagutsuchi.
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