Tamás Kátai never dreamed that Thy Catafalque would ever go beyond the recording studio. But over the past two decades, Kátai and his frequent band of collaborators have expanded far beyond not only Hungary’s borders but also the prickly boundaries of extreme metal. With each album, they’ve brought the world’s most vile art form into further conversation with the avant garde.
Thy Catafalque’s upcoming twelfth album is the most sprawling release yet. The latest single off A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek does signal a surreal change in direction, as far as the actual production goes. And yet -“Piros kocsi, fekete éj” hauls Kátai back into the distant past, where he’s greeted by many familiar sights and sounds.
Watch the wistful animated video for “Piros kocsi, fekete éj” on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
Thy Catafalque’s new album XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek comes out November 15, 2024 on Season of Mist.
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Having won two consecutive Fonogram awards, Thy Catafalque is now recognized as Hungary’s leading thinker in the field of progressive metal. In true prolific fashion, Tamás Kátai didn’t dwell over his upcoming twelfth album for too long. XII arrives just one year after the heavy and haunting Alföld. It isn’t a concept album, but A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek does take you on a serious head trip.
“I like to think of XII as a dark night of the soul”, Kátai says.
This introspective journey begins with “Piros kocsi, fekete éj”. In English, A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek‘s opening track and final advanced single means “Red Carriage, Black Night”, though you don’t need a translator to enjoy the ride. The song shows off this album’s slick new paint job, gliding off through a fresh mist of piping hot keys.
“I felt like the production had had largely been the same since Geometria“, Kátai admits.
He does play every instrument on “Piros kocsi, fekete éj”, including the twin engine guitars that rev with enough reverb to carve through the Hungarian mountainside. But for the first time in the project’s long and varied history, A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek had Kátai seeking some help from an outside producer. Granted, Gábor Vári is no stranger to Thy Catafalque. Banging heads on stage during the live album Mezolit gave him first-hand knowledge as to how its mastermind turns the gears.
“Gábor was the perfect co-producer”, Kátai says. “He helped me give this album a somewhat different, more modern sound while still making it feel familiar”.
A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek can be a rocky road. Just as those keys are about to lift off into deep space, “Piros kocsi, fekete éj” breaks down into skull-crushing death metal that recalls Kátai’s more devilish early recordings. In the song’s picturesque animated video, symbols from Thy Catafalque’s discography flash behind the towering cover art that graced Sublinary Tragedies.
But of course, Kátai is not alone on this journey. No Thy Catafalque album would be complete if he weren’t accompanied by many familiar faces from in and outside of the Hungarian metal scene. Martina Veronika Horváth – whose band The Answers Lies in the Black Void joined Thy Catafalque’s first-ever European tour earlier this year – positively glows on “Piros kocsi, fekete éj”. Her wordless chorus is as enchanting as all the soothing comforts of home.
“Time clatters on the rails“, a familiar voice answers her beck and call. Attila Bakos beams over the airwaves with the same clean force as 15 years ago, when he helped lift Thy Catafalque out of the Hungarian underground on Róka hasa rádió.
“Attila also sang on Rengeteg”, Kátai remembers. “‘Piros kocsi, fekete éj’ has the same sense for melody. It opens the album with a feeling of nostalgia that I’ve always associated with Thy Catafalque”.
More praise for Thy Catafalque
“…a one of a kind experiment that have never played by traditional rules or boundaries” – New Noise
“…yet another testament to the musical genius of Tamás Kátai” – No Clean Singing
“A monstrously entertaining, tightly diverse band” – Everying Is Noise
“…will delight metlaheads of all stripes” – Echoes and Dust
