Some albums are acquired tastes; they take time to grow and make sense. I think the new one from Thy Catafalque qualifies. I don’t believe it is as strong as their last outing, Vadak, but the more I listen to it the more I like it. The album is called Alföld, and it released on June 16th.
Thy Catafalque is a Hungarian project from mastermind Tamás Kátai. There is a huge lineup of guests that play with him on this record. I’m talking over 20 other musicians help out on a range of instruments, including violin, viola, ney, French horn, guitar, flute, double bass, fretless bass, and more. There are several vocalists, as well.
The project is labeled as experimental metal most of the time. I see it as progressive, but there is certainly an air of crazy experimentation about it that takes it a bit further. The sound is one of driving riffs played up against contrasting textures, so you’ll hear heavy guitars and flute together, or razor-sharp riffs and neo-classical ambience together. This contrast is what makes Thy Catafalque work.
Alföld is a rock solid album. I would say that it isn’t as diverse or interesting as past works, though. Actually, let me restate that. Individual tracks don’t have as much diversity or as many transitions within them. Most of the tracks have a specific sound, and they stick to it. Past albums saw wild transitions within the tracks themselves, but I don’t hear that as much here. Still, the album overall has diversity from track to track.
That said, this is a good album. I love the synth, especially, and the intense violin portions. Those work really well. The album is balanced, too, so one half doesn’t feel better than the other. I will say that the first three tracks are pretty similar; all three are heavy and driving without much in the way of contrast. They are good songs, but I almost feel like they would have worked better had they been separated in the track list.
The title track is where the album begins to shine. Its first half is pretty similar to the first three tracks, but it brings in a huge tonal shift in the middle with female vocals and acoustic guitar. It’s a beautiful song that could have more impact if the first three songs were a little more varied. I love the instrumental “Folyondár” with its folkish flair and powerful violins. It’s one of my favorites overall, I think.
The last four tracks are great, too. “Csillagot görgető” has plenty of vocal shifts, keys, and flute to keep things interesting. “A felkelő hold országa” is another heavy track, but it works better here since it’s been a couple songs since we’ve heard that. The last two songs are a pair, “Szíriusz” being a short yet sort of epic interlude of sparkling keys and sweet guitars, and then the closer “Néma vermek” leans even more into the keys with some fantastic synth lines paired with hefty riffs. I like that the last track is only about 4 minutes long here. It makes sense and I end up savoring it even more.
This is another solid album from Thy Catafalque. The guitar work is obviously amazing, and when the counterpoints to the heaviness are there, the album really shines. Fans will be pleased, I think.
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