Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Avant-garde project THY CATAFALQUE will be releasing its latest opus ‘Alföld,’ via Season of Mist on June 16, 2023. In celebration, THY CATAFALQUE is now releasing the very first track “Néma vermek,” along with a dark and thought-provoking music video. The video can be found at THIS LOCATION.

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.”

Pre-orders for ‘Alföld’ are now available HERE, while the album can be pre-saved HERE

Track-list:
1. A csend hegyei (4:10)
2. Testen túl (3:56)
3. A földdel egyenlő (5:25)
4. Alföld (9:24)
5. Folyondár (4:06)
6. Csillagot görgető (5:25)
7. A felkelő hold országa (5:23)
8. Szíriusz (1:28)
9. Néma vermek (4:13) [WATCH]
Total: 43:30

Mixed by: Tamás Kátai in Budapest, Hungary 
Mastered by: Imperial Mastering, Austin, Texas, U.S.A., Colin Davis

Recording line-up:
Tamás Kátai – guitar, bass, keyboards, programs, vocals
Martina Veronika Horváth (The Answer Lies In The Black Void, Mansur) – vocals
Lambert Lédeczy (Ahriman, Mörbid Carnage) – vocals
Bálint Bokodi – vocals
Gábor Veres (Watch My Dying) – vocals
Gábor Dudás (Reason) – vocals
Breno Machado – lead guitar
Daniele Belli – acoustic guitar, double bass
Dario Cei – flute
Chris Lyons – violin, viola
Ido Romano – ney
Samuel Chacon – fretless bass
Austris Apenis – French horn

Guest musicians:
Martina Veronika Horváth – Track 4
Lambert Lédeczy – Track 1, 4, 6
Bálint Bokodi – Track 2, 3
Gábor Veres – Track7, 9
Gábor Dudás – Track 6
Breno Machado – Track 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Daniele Belli – Track 5
Dario Cei – Track 5
Ido Romano – Track 6
Samuel Chacon – Track 3
Austris Apenis – Track 4, 7

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.