Step into the realm of avant-garde metal with Tamás Kátai’s visionary project. For over two decades, THY CATAFALQUE has masterfully pioneered left-field extreme metal music, and Season of Mist is proud to announce the reissue of the band’s first four groundbreaking albums.
Thy Catafalque
Avant-garde Metal - Hungary
THY CATAFALQUE is a metamorphic entity that’s constantly evolving, showcasing musical ingenuity that’s as limitless as it is daring. Meaning “The Great Plains,” ‘Alföld’ is grounded in the Avant Garde project’s heavy beginnings. While the record takes a cue from THY CATAFALQUE’s early days, mastermind Tamás Kátai’s modern progressive instincts shine through, elevating the record beyond the realm of metal as-you-know-it and once again creating a cutting-edge sound that’s far ahead of its time.
“‘Alföld’ is the most straight forward and classic extreme metal album the project ever recorded,” says mastermind Tamás Kátai. “This time I just wanted to do metal without any innovation or progression, focusing on songs and riffs rather than experimenting and breaking new grounds. Had to let the old ideas out, so I did it with enjoyment. Alföld means The Great Plains, a massive flat part of South-East Hungary where I was born and raised and we shot the video for ‘Néma vermek’ in the middle of the barren lands, in Makó-Bogárzó.”
Originally, THY CATAFALQUE emerged as a black metal band founded by singer/keyboard player Tamás Kátai with the aid of guitarist/bassist János Juhász. Following their joined debut ‘Sublunary Tragedies’ (1999), the Hungarians evolved into quite different directions, but steadily gaining more followers in the process through the following albums, ‘Microcosmos’ (2001) and the self-released ‘Tűnő idő tárlat’ (2004).
On their fourth full-length, ‘Róka hasa Rádió’ (2009), THY CATAFALQUE invited Ágnes Tóth from neo-folk outfit THE MOON AND THE NIGHTSPIRIT and Attila Bakos to add their haunting vocals. With fifth album ‘Rengeteg’ (2011), Tamás Kátai finally went solo with the help of guest musicians that again included Ágnes Tóth an Attila Bakos. Dubbing his eclectic musical amalgamation avant-garde metal, the Hungarian explored new sonic possibilities with ‘Sgùrr’ (2015). The sixth full-length turned out to be slightly more complex than its successor, ‘Meta’ (2016), which returned to a more direct approach without losing the steadily growing sonic diversity. In 2018, THY CATAFALQUE continued this path with the release of ‘Geometria’. THY CATAFALQUE delivered another spectacular musical mosaic with their ninth full-length entitled ‘Naiv’, inspired by the “Naïve Art” movement.
In 2021, THY CATAFALQUE return with ‘Vadak’. Meaning “Wildlings” in Hungarian, the album title is a deliberate clue to the exotic and feral essence of ‘Vadak.’ Like seedlings scattered throughout the forest by the mere forces of nature, THY CATAFALQUE’s imaginative sound grows with an organic sense of whimsy, cultivated within the vast influences of our megacosm. Thematically, ‘Vadak’ is a foreboding lesson in mortality. Emphasizing the fragility that is shared by man and beast alike, the record explores our Freudian life instincts, in which we inherently fear and run from the ultimate goal of existence: death.
Now, the visionary is looking to the past as it journeys onward and upward with its latest opus, which is just as familiar as it is forward-thinking, certain to mesmerize a vast swath of metal enthusiasts across all genres.
Line-up:
- Tamás Kátai : guitars, bass, synths, programs and vocals
Date | Venue | City | Country | Info | Ticket |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 29th, 2024 | Szene Wien | Vienna | Austria | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
March 30th, 2024 | Kasárna Karlín | Prague | Czech Republic | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
March 31st, 2024 | Backstage | Münich | Germany | Dark Easter Metal Meeting | |
April 1st, 2024 | Le Grillen | Colmar | France | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
April 2nd, 2024 | Kulttempel | Oberhausen | Germany | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
April 3rd, 2024 | DVG Club | Kortrijk | Belgium | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
April 4th, 2024 | Effenaar | Eindhoven | Netherlands | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
April 5th, 2024 | Baroeg | Rotterdam | Netherlands | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
April 6th, 2024 | Spillestedet Stengade | Copenhagen | Denmark | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void | |
April 7th, 2024 | MarX | Hamburg | Germany | w/ The Answer Lies In The Black Void |
For more than two decades, THY CATAFALQUE was a studio-only project. That changed in 2021, when Tamás Kátai and a rotating cast of heavy hitters performed at the Fekete Zaj Festival, which was captured on the live album Mezolit.
THY CATAFALQUE are streaming their new album on the Season of Mist YouTube channel. Listen to all nine tracks HERE.
Avant-garde act THY CATAFALQUE is now unveiling the third offering from the upcoming album ‘Alföld’. The new track “Testen túl” can be found on the official Season of Mist YouTube channel HERE!
Avant-garde act THY CATAFALQUE is now unveiling the second offering from the upcoming album ‘Alföld’. The new track “A csend hegyei”, which again comes in the form of a dark-art music video, can be found on the official Season of Mist YouTube channel HERE! The link may be freely spread throughout your channels.