Like all big things, THY CATAFALQUE come from small beginnings. Back in the late ’90s, Tamás Kátai started the project in his Hungarian hometown as a black metal duo that was never intended to leave the studio. Now, two decades later, the two-time Fonogram winner and his lively band of collaborators are about to release their most imaginative album yet.
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In true prolific fashion, Tamás Kátai hasn’t been mulling over his twelfth album for too long. XII arrives just one year after Thy Catafalque’s previous album. Just like Alföld, once again, Kátai set out to make a straightforward metal record. But A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek – which in English translates to The Beautiful Dreams Are Yet to Come – ended up taking him on another surreal head trip.
“I think of this album as an introspective journey through the night”, Kátai says.
The journey begins with “Piros kocsi, fekete éj”. Meaning “Red Carriage, Black Night” in English, the opening track glides off through a warm mist of piping keys, led by twin engine guitars that crest with reverb. “Time clatters on the rails“, Attila Bakos sings in Hungarian. His voice 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 the recently reissued Róka hasa rádió.
Many familiar faces join Kátai on this journey. A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek features the biggest guest list in Thy Catafalque’s long and storied history. Martina Veronika Horváth — whose band The Answer Lies in the Black Void toured Europe with Thy Catafalque earlier in 2024 — duets with the tender brooding Gábor Dudás for a faithful rendition of “Lydiához”, a 1980 Sebő ensemble classic that sowed the seeds for Hungary’s roots revival.
Violins, cello, clarinet and other classical instruments add to the comforts of home. Still, A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek can be a heavy road – especially during the album’s crushing middle section. As deftly illustrated by the song’s luxurious video, “Mindenevő” is a full bore feast for bloodthirsty metalheads. Blackened chugger “Vasgyár” shares a namesake with the rusted-out ironworks that once fueled Hungary’s economy.
A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek ties back not only to the history of his home country but also Kátai’s own past. In the title track’s surreal video, scenes from the past and present linger along his winding path through the placid countryside. Watching his doppelgänger dig his own grave feels like a living nightmare. “This song comes from a place of desperation”, Kátai says. “Within the afterglow of nostalgia, there’s also the chill of disappointment”.
Ultimately, the progressive flair that has come to define Thy Catafalque shines through the darkness on album twelve. Only this time around, to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, Kátai needed some guidance. “I felt like the production had largely been the same since Geometria“, he admits. XII marks the first time in the project’s history that he worked with an outside producer. Thanks to Gábor Vári’s knowing touch, even the dark waves of synth on “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek” glow with the faint but familiar reassurance of the dawn.
“Even amidst the despair and disappointment, there’s still hope for a future that might offer warmer days after the darkness has ceded”, Kátai says.
On Thy Catafalque’s twelfth album, Tamás Kátai proves that the beautiful dreams are yet to come.
Tracklist:
1. Piros Kocsi, Fekete Éj (4:12)
2. Mindenevö (6:35)
3. Vasgyár (6:18)
4. Világnak Világa (6:28)
5. Nyárfa, Nyírfa (2:53)
6. Lydiához (3:05)
7. Vakond (4:29)
8. Ködkiraly (7:58)
9. Aláhullás (3:48)
10. A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek (3:14)
11. Babylon (Bonus Track – Omega Cover) (3:42)
digital bonus track, not included in physical releases
Total runtime: 49:02
Listen to “XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek”
below:
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