Thy Catafalque
Hungarian avant-garde metal project
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Thy Catafalque is a Hungarian avant-garde metal project formed in Makó in 1998 by multi-instrumentalist Tamás Kátai and guitarist János Juhász. Initially influenced by black metal, the project gradually incorporated electronic music, Hungarian folk music, progressive rock, jazz and other styles. Since Juhász's departure in 2011, Thy Catafalque has primarily operated as Kátai's solo studio project, supported by numerous guest musicians.[1][2]
Thy Catafalque | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Makó, Hungary |
| Genres | Avant-garde metal, post-black metal, progressive metal |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Label | Season of Mist |
| Members | Tamás Kátai |
| Past members | János Juhász |
| Website | thycatafalque |
History
Formation and early recordings
Kátai and Juhász founded Thy Catafalque in Makó in 1998, having previously played together in the Hungarian group Gort. The project's early recordings were rooted in black metal, but its sound became progressively more experimental through the addition of electronic, atmospheric and folk elements.[1][3]
The first two studio albums, Sublunary Tragedies and Microcosmos, were released in 1999 and 2001 respectively. They were followed by Tűnő Idő Tárlat in 2004. By that album, the project had moved away from conventional black metal toward a more varied combination of extreme metal, electronic music and atmospheric passages.[4]
The fourth album, Róka Hasa Rádió, was released in 2009. It combined atmospheric instrumentals, Hungarian folk elements, electronic passages and black metal.[5] The album placed second in the album category of the 2009 HangSúly Hungarian Metal Awards.[6]
Solo project and Season of Mist
Thy Catafalque signed with the French record label Season of Mist in July 2011.[7] The fifth album, Rengeteg, was released later that year and was the first Thy Catafalque album created without Juhász. Kátai performed the principal instruments and vocals, while Attila Bakos, Ágnes Tóth and cellist Mihály Simkó-Várnagy appeared as guests.[8] A group of Hungarian music publications subsequently selected Rengeteg as the Hungarian rock and metal album of the year in the HangSúly awards.[1]
During part of the 2010s, Kátai lived in Edinburgh, Scotland. He said that the landscape of the Scottish Highlands influenced his work, alongside memories and musical traditions associated with Hungary.[2] The sixth album, Sgùrr, was released in 2015. Metal Hammer described its sound as combining traditional instrumentation, Hungarian folk music, electronic passages and black metal.[9]
Meta followed in 2016. Its musical range included black metal, electronic music, doom metal and cinematic passages.[10] The project continued this stylistic variety on Geometria in 2018 and Naiv in 2020.[11][12]
Live performances
Thy Catafalque was conceived primarily as a studio project and did not perform live during its first two decades. In 2021, a group of musicians assembled to perform the project's material at the Fekete Zaj festival in Hungary. Kátai joined the ensemble for part of the performance. A recording of the concert was released in 2022 as Mezolit – Live at Fekete Zaj.[13]
The studio album Alföld was released in 2023 and marked a deliberate return to a heavier, more extreme-metal-oriented sound.[14] The project's twelfth studio album, XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek, followed in November 2024. It featured more than twenty guest musicians and combined metal with folk, electronic and acoustic instrumentation.[15] The German edition of Metal Hammer selected it as its album of the month for December 2024.[16]
Musical style
Thy Catafalque began as a black metal project but developed an eclectic style drawing on progressive metal, Hungarian folk music, electronic music, jazz, ambient music and experimental rock.[2][10] Critics have noted that the project frequently shifts between extreme-metal sections and quieter electronic, folk or atmospheric passages.[9][11]
Kátai is the project's principal composer, instrumentalist and producer. Although Thy Catafalque is commonly described as a one-man project, its recordings regularly feature guest singers and instrumentalists.[8][2]
Members
Discography
Studio albums
- Sublunary Tragedies (1999)
- Microcosmos (2001)
- Tűnő Idő Tárlat (2004)
- Róka Hasa Rádió (2009)
- Rengeteg (2011)
- Sgùrr (2015)
- Meta (2016)
- Geometria (2018)
- Naiv (2020)
- Vadak (2021)
- Alföld (2023)
- XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek (2024)
Live albums
- Mezolit – Live at Fekete Zaj (2022)
Compilations
- The Early Works (2015)
- Köd Utánam (2020)
Extended plays
- Zápor (2020)
Demos
- Cor Cordium (1999)