Front cover artwork by Dániel Szécsényi and Tamás Kátai
The list of descriptors for Tamás Kátai’s Thy Catafalque is long and varied. Consult any online source, ask any fan, and you’ll be buried in any number of genre tags including metal, black metal, progressive metal, post-metal, avant-garde, experimental, epic, traditional, folk, electronic, synth, atmospheric, cinematic, and ambient. What’s more, that collection is as appropriate as any of its subsets and also inadequate. Kátai has released twelve full length albums and a couple of EPs under the Thy Catafalque banner since 1999 and each album features many and sometimes all of those styles to varying degrees. No matter the focus, emphasis, or combination, a Thy Catafalque record sounds like a Thy Catafalque record more than anything else, even as none sounds so much like another as to be redundant. No surprise then that the new album, XII: A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek, sounds like Thy Catafalque.
It’s rather remarkable, really, how he’s been able to do it. Indeed, discussion of expectations for a new Thy Catafalque album in the places where people talk about such things often include some initial skepticism in light of what these days is a pretty prolific release schedule of at least one per year since 2020 (plus three in the five years before that). Just as often, those discussions turn toward the happy surprise of being met yet again with an album that’s just as fantastic as it is familiar, and A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek is fantastic.
Besides the basic truth that he is a supremely talented artist, Kátai’s consistent success may come down to the simple but crucial notion of balance between focus and diversity, consistent with the anecdotal truth that there isn’t a consensus Best Thy Catafalque album but, rather, any album is as likely to be any fan’s favorite as any other (and it may shift with time). Each of his albums has emphasized a different aspect from among the many styles available to him, most often with a black metal core, interwoven with varied emphases on folk and electronic elements, and what feels like an innate understanding of songwriting to maximize the impact of the hook, the dynamics of progressive styles, or the visceral payoff of dropping the hammer and just getting heavy. At the same time, every album has celebrated the array of influence and inspiration at the heart of Thy Catafalque music, incorporating the other aspects throughout so that, even in the context of a record’s predominant mood, a spirited and sometimes playful eclecticism keeps things engaging and quite often fun, and A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek is a ton of fun.
The full range of the Thy Catafalque experience is contained in XII’s first song alone. Across just over four minutes, “Piros Kocsi, Fekete Éj” features opening chords that could be The Cure playing The Cult, a swinging folk melody grounded in heavy modern prog riffs, and beautiful vocals from longtime collaborators Attila Bakos and Martina Veronika Horváth. It’s a lovely assortment of sounds, if somewhat straight-forward by this project’s standards, and the enthusiastic whoop about a minute and a half in lets the listener know that, even a little pared back, making this music is a joy to be shared.
Again true to form, second track, “Mindenevö” brings a major shift in tone, capping a quietly ominous folk acoustic intro with an explosion of blasts and distorted growls that gets even heavier from there and features some amazing lead guitar work from Breno Machado, not to mention Kátai’s own dungeon synth sounds and a giant chorus. Especially in light of its heavy fucking metal middle minutes, “Mindenevo” is a great example of Kátai’s progressive songwriting, as it incorporates a wide range of instruments, from fretless bass and French horn to clarinet and contrabass, within a structure that celebrates the classical muse that has inspired some of Kátai’s best work.
Much of Kátai’s music reflects nostalgia, love and respect for his homeland of Hungary and the people who live there, passion especially reflected in his photographic work for the covers and inserts of the last several albums. “Vasgyár” remembers Hungary’s now silent ironworks with the power that once ran through its foundries and forges. The song’s ardent love for home recalls Sgùrr, particularly in the spoken word sections and icy wind-driven riffs.
Among the many things Tamás Kátai has mastered for his music, the transition may be foremost. “Világnak Világa” illustrates this beautifully. It is a big song made with what seems like an impossible assortment of styles and accoutrements. Giant, heavy electric guitar, of course, and keyboards, but these keys are tuned to sound like bagpipes (or more probably, the Hungarian duda) in the pre-chorus and chorus, connecting traditional heart with modern sentiment for both artist and audience. It’s clearly heartfelt, very serious, and also somehow becomes an arena-ready anthem with complementary clean vocals in the Nordic style favored by late Borknagar and Amorphis. Likewise, “Ködkiraly” begins with apocalyptic reverberations, like the opening of an 80s horror sci-fi flick, and plaintive female vocals from Ivett Dudás, begging for something. Peace maybe. The beautifully harmonized chorus is hopeful, though. The album’s longest song, at 7:58, “Ködkiraly”shifts that gossamer melody about halfway through to a deep, dark death-doom as if to emphasize the futility of that hope against the dark, the natural order of coming night.
Several of the songs on A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek are relatively brief—in the three to four minute range—and yet no less elaborate or dynamic than the longer ones. Mostly they celebrate folk melodies and traditional styles filtered through Kátai’s sieve to represent both homage to and unique perspective on his homeland’s musical art. It’s important to note that, while Kátai has always been Thy Catafalque’s creative core and driving force, he has surrounded himself all along the way with a cast of amazing musicians, and XII features the largest group of them yet, at 27. On “Vakond” alone, the supporting cast contributes oud, bouzouki, baglama, and mpaglamas, flugelhorn, trumpet, and trombone, and narration, in addition to Kátai’s electric guitars, keyboards, and programmed drums. It’s a wildly eclectic song that features no heavy metal and yet sounds absolutely at home among the metal surrounding it.
Finally, yes, these are ten wonderful songs that span just over 48 minutes, but they comprise a much better album, thanks in large part to one well-honed practice and one unexpected change. First, as simple as it sounds, albums are what Tamás Kátai makes. A look at runtimes, sounds, themes, and dynamics of the songs across the album suggests it was conceived and constructed with much the same thoughtfulness and ingenuity as the songs themselves. Second, Kátai recruited an outsider for the first time to help with production. Gábor Vári, who also plays guitar on Thy Catafalque’s 2022 live album, Mezolit, helped imbue A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek with fresh energy to celebrate the project’s past even as it maintains its forward focus.
A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek is heavy, progressive, catchy, eclectic, energetic, and fun. Ultimately, it’s simply a Thy Catafalque album, which is to say it is a uniquely wonderful album that sounds like other Thy Catafalque albums, but not just, and otherwise like nothing else at all. Of course, it remains to be seen whether Kátai will be able to maintain the current release clip but, given the consistency with which he’s created at heavy metal’s vanguard from the beginning, and if his twelfth album is any indication, the smart money is on high quality no matter the pace.
On this recording, Thy Catafalque is
Tamás Kátai – guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, programs
with the following performances by guest musicians:
Martina Veronika Horváth – vocals in track 1, 6
Ivett Dudás – vocals in track 8
Helga Kreiter – vocals in track 4, 10
Gábor Dudás – vocals in track 2, 5, 6, 10
Bálint Bokodi – vocals in track 2, 4, 9
Gábor Veres – vocals in track 3, 8
Attila Bakos – vocals in track 1
Zoltán Kónya – vocals in track 3
András Vörös – vocals in track 4
Breno Machado – lead guitar in track 2
Zoltán Vigh – lead guitar in track 3
Krisztián Varga – lead guitar in track 4
Daniele Belli – acoustic guitar in track 2
Miguel Velasquez Matija – fretless bass in track 2, 6
Edu Giró – oud, bouzouki, baglama in track 2,7
Grigoris Mitropoulos – bouzouki, mpaglamas in track 7
Sanja Smileska – violin in track 3
Jo Quail – electric cello in track 8
Issar Shulman – contrabass in track 2
Cal Rustad – French horn in track 2, 8
Manuel Domenech – cor anglais in track 8
Khachatrian Lernik – clarinet in track 2
Gergő Bille – flugelhorn, trumpet in track 7
Joakim Toftgaard – trombone, trumpet in track 7
Fabian Hernandez – saxophone in track 5
Viktória Varga – narration in track 3
Annamari Sánta – narration in track 7. 8
Front cover artwork by Dániel Szécsényi and Tamás Kátai.
Illustrations by Orsolya Pintér.
