Lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, has unleashed some truly haunting vocals for Matt Heafy’s black metal project. If you only know the lead singer of My Chemical Romance from the band’s emo days, you may not be prepared for what you’re about to hear.
Way is part of Matt Heafy’s new record Rashomon. The Trivium frontman’s black metal project, called Ibaraki, sets out to provide a captivating take on black metal; pulling from Japanese folklore and Heafy’s own personal life, Ibaraki looks to be a unique take on the infamous subgenre.
You may have already heard the first two singles off the album, being “Tamashii No Houkai” (featuring Ihsahn) and “Akumu” (featuring Nergal of Behemoth). Today though. Heafy has released the third single off the Ibaraki album Rashomon. “Ronin” features the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, and while some may assume that Way’s feature might be just some clean vocals – those folks would be very, very wrong.
In fact, Heafy is the one providing clean vocals alongside Way’s thrilling, and at times, haunting shrieks. This is the lead singer of My Chemical Romance in a musical light you’ve never heard before. Think of a higher pitch scream that is a cross between Darkthrone and Abigail Williams.
“Ronin” is one of the many tracks that establish the Ibaraki album Rashomon as one of the most exhilarating and heartfelt records of the year. You can check out the “Ronin” music video, featuring the lead singer of My Chemical Romance Gerard Way, below:
Speaking of Ihsahn, the sometimes Emperor vocalist recently shared that the Weeknd singer is more “edgier,” “darker,” and “experimental” than most new metal acts today. In his words, referring to the Weeknd’s new album Dawn FM:
“It’s really cool of him to want to join that,” says Ihsahn of Way’s involvement with Rashomon. “I wasn’t aware that he’s into that style of music so I think it’s really cool. I think it’s something he and Matt had been talking about. I think he did a really great job. He comes from a different world – screaming is not his natural way of singing.”
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Words by: Michael Pementel
