Year: 2024
Total Time: 48:59
Label: Season Of Mist
Tamas Katai, the mastermind and driving force behind THY CATAFALQUE hits again after “Alfold” with the new album “ХΙΙ- A gyönyörü álmok über yönnek”. Ιf we suppose that in “Alfold” he felt the need to take a dive into dark-deadly waters, in “XII” he decided to change direction. But where to? This cannot be defined by Tamas himself, but he surely moves within the dreamy framework he created and continues to create with THY CATAFALQUE.
“XII” does resemble a night carriage journey that begins at dusk, with the rhythmic singing of women and ends shortly after dawn, with Attila Bakos (who we met in “Rengeteng”), providing the necessary dose of nostalgia. This takes us back, to the early creation of THY CATAFALQUE. But the road quickly gets difficult… “Mindenevo” is not joking with its extreme timbre, the tremolo picking, the very fast speeds, the relentless but robust drumming and the evocative vocals. The road remains rough with Black Metal vibes reminiscent of Miscolc (the center of Hungarian Heavy industry until recently), an environmental wound that has been deeply etched in Tamas’ memory. “Vasgyar” will reveal the love that Tamas has for Thrash Metal and specifically SLAYER however, it will also reveal the ease with which he can alternate the style and texture of a song, as is done with the smooth move to the highly industrialized “Vilagnak Vilada”. Breakthrough rhythms pounding on the sternum, a return to the melody in addition to some clear vocals, but also an indication that the road is slowly being clearer…
The transformations are consecutive and the smooth transition from “Nyarfa, Nyirfa” to the socialistic “Lydiahoz” is characteristic. Don’t get me wrong, we are not talking about a socialist sign but for a purely semiological and nostalgic note. The familiar voice by Martina Horvath collaborates with Gabor Dudas in a re-performance of “Lydiahoz” by SEBO ENSEMBLE. A kind of tribute to Hungary’s medieval post-Mongol roots. The road is now wide open, “Vakond” rolls like a carriage in vast meadows and fertile valleys, beginning to carve, dreams become sweeter, they calm down completely with “Kadkiraly”, they go a little “wrong” but then again the calm returns.
Is carving now, the morning kiss finds the self-titled song that badly alienated a lot of people when it was released, but despite its apparent vitality it is actually a way for Tamas to express his pessimism. As is evident in the released video clip, Tamas goes jogging around his home town in the morning hours, meeting old friends, acquaintances, companions, but also seeing one of his doppelganger digging his own grave. The despair is gripping him. The dream and at the same time the journey is over, of course the necessary discharge will be needed with “Babylon” entering in Power/Heavy fields, ideally closing THY CATAFALQUE’s twelfth album.
I won’t hide it from you, I had a fantastic time with “XII”, Tamas succeeded and made me part of his music dream. The production and mixing is crystal clear with Gabor Vari (well-known producer in the Hungarian scene and session guitarist in THY CATAFALQUE) giving the necessary helping hand, managing to fully understand the band’s requirements. Since I mentioned live performances, I imagine you know that they band will be performing live in Thessaloniki this October, as part of Mammoth Festival. Fellow people from Thessaloniki and not only, if you miss the chance to see them performing live, well that’s your problem….
Although “XII” looks like a stitching of older ideas and a dive into introspection, it remains at the same time fresh and modern, being an important THY CATAFALQUE album. Time of course will tell. The bottom line is that there is always hope that the future will be more optimistic, that better and brighter days will follow after the dark and cold ones. Tamas’s most beautiful dreams are yet to come…
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Dimos Karadimos
Related Link: THY CATAFALQUE – Facebook Page
