Tamás Kátai maakt avant-garde metal, oftewel pseudo-intellectueel geneuzel voor zij die zich beter vinden dan de rest. NOT! Ten eerste zitten zijn nummers knap in elkaar en zijn ze - ondanks de complexiteit ervan - heel toegankelijk en goed in het oor liggend. Daarnaast is het een feit dat ik een simpele ouwe knar ben, an ordinary man, helemaal niet beter dan de rest van het gepeupel op deze aardkloot.
Wat wil ik nu eigenlijk zeggen? Doet er niet toe, gewoon naar deze nieuwe song luisteren... en mij gelijk geven natuurlijk!
Alföld verschijnt op 16 juni 2023 via Season of Mist.
Luister ook naar: The Marauders
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Mastermind Tamás Kátai comments: "Alföld is the most straight forward and classic extreme metal album the project ever recorded. 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."
Thy Catafalque’s humble genius Tamás Kátai abandons any and all prenotions of tradition. Intertwining elements from a vast swath of unrelated genres, from jazz to pop to folk, and everything in between, Thy Catafalque masterfully crafts an eclectic sound that breaks down any generic barriers or borders. Following the massive success of 2021’s critically-acclaimed ‘Vadak’ the entity returns with ‘Alföld’ another esoteric monument in its already storied catalogue.
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.
At its core, ‘Alföld’ expresses the familiar hallmarks that are unique to only Thy Catafalque, and yet, it is an unpredictable magnum opus, returning to the raw side of Kátai and his esteemed co-conspirators. The album puts forth an elegance that cannot be matched or rivalled by any musical contemporary, taking fans on an adventure that is rife with excitement, drama, and unbridled craftsmanship.
