THY CATAFALQUE

Each release of Thy Catafalque brings a new flavor and excitement to experience. From the extremely atmospheric Tűnő idő tárlat, to the more overtly progressive Meta. With their 9th studio album, Naiv, the group decided to almost entirely scrap their more black metal sound, and go for a more jazzy side instead.

For a time, I would considered this to be their best record to date, but with repeated listens I soon found it to be a little less of a masterpiece than I initially thought. I still think the record is pretty great, but overtime I have been feeling it to be not as good as some of their other stuff.

I do not like to go too much into negativity, especially this early on with my review, so I am gonna shed some light upon this record. For one, the musicianship here is just as strong as ever. I believe Thy Catafalque's music creates a good balance between intensity and melodically charged music. Many of my favorite progressive metal bands have done these kind of balance acts before, such as Between The Buried And Me and Ne Obliviscaris, but Thy Catafalque's balance feels a bit more unique, with their use of electronic and folk music that intertwine with their more metal driven sound. While admittedly it may not be the most original thing in the world, since other metal bands have utilized folk and electronic elements in their work, I think Thy Catafalque certainly give it their own unique spin, and here they certainly spin well.

I think another thing I like about this record is there are no bad songs. Every song on here sounds great, or even amazing, with a very wide structure that allows the music to breathe and develop into their own ideals. My favorite track on the record has to be Embersólyom, with its very rhythmic and passionate instrumentation, combined with Martina Horváth's beautiful voice, it certainly gives a very lovely experience.

That being said, I do think, while the jazz and prog are certainly on point here, I feel like Naiv does one thing wrong, and that is the actual metal, because it isn't quite all there. I am guessing the band was trying to go with an attempt of being a bit less metal focused, kinda like what Dream Theater did with Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, but I feel like it takes a distracting measure in things, almost practically forgoing the band's more black metal exterior in favor for a bit TOO much prog. It is like the opposite of the problem I had with Alföld, where that album had too much black metal, this record has too much prog. I think what works best for Thy Catafalque is trying to find a middle ground, whilst also trying new stuff. I guess that is why I much prefer past records like Sgùrr or Meta, as they perfectly encapsulates that balance well, whilst also having their own identity to boot.

I also have found this record to be kinda top heavy. The first 4 tracks are very amazing, and would easily make this album a 4.5-5 star rating to me, but after that we get some tracks that feel a bit less golden to me. They are still good, but I think the first half left a lot to be desired, and I do not think that desire has been fulfilled.

While this is a pretty great record, it is also very mixed. It has a lot of great and fun moments, and some stellar musicianship, but it doesn't feel like the Thy Catafalque that we all know and love, and the tracklisting doesn't quite feel all too great upon repeated listens. I think this record should definitely be listened to, but maybe after checking out their other records first to get a better picture of the Thy Catafalque sound.

Aside from Sigh and Ved Buens Ende, Thy Catafalque are one of the only groups I coin as prog black metal. Their music is rich with avant garde qualities similar to that of groups like Kayo Dot and Maudlin Of The Well, with elements of their native Hungarian folk music intertwined within, creating a sonically rich environment that they have been exploring since their third album of Tűnő idő tárlat, and since have been excelling in their own unique ways, reaching some notable popularity with their albums of Rengeteg, Meta, and Vadak, which are all quite great records if I do say so myself. So what does Alföld give in respect to the band's sound?

For the most part, I believe Alföld is a good trip through the band's ever evolving sound. I think the best thing about this album is the more pastoral elements that are showcased throughout the music. While Thy Catafalque are no stranger in the more folk aspects of their music, I believe Alföld does proffer that side of the band a lot more, and I find it to be some of the best folk the band has ever produced, with Hungarian melodies and pastoral beauties.

Not to say this album isn't also a hard hitting wonder, as the band still shows off their eccentric proggy black metal in spades, with tracks like the title track and A felkelő hold országa, which are both really excellent tracks that show off the band's usually unusual sound. They also showcase some of the album's best moments I believe, especially with A felkelő hold országa's keyboards. I don't think I will ever get tired of Thy Catafalque's metal, it is so unique, so innovative, that the fact they aren't more popular feels like a crime.

But this album also kinda has some things I am not a huge fan of. Namely it is the fact this album kinda has some songs and moments that feel a bit straightforward in the black metal camp. While I do enjoy black metal, I feel like Thy Catafalque works best when they aren't going fully into that territory. For me, the best Thy Catafalque songs at least have a bit more in them, and while this album does have songs that do give me a lot more to work with, some songs here either do a bit too little, or just feel like your average black metal stuff.

I also feel like the track listing here isn't quite that good if I am being perfectly honest, and it mostly stems from the final track of Néma vermek. While Thy Catafalque are not quite known for their ending tracks on their albums, they at least try to have some kind of an outro to really cap things off. However, this album doesn't really have an ending, since Néma vermek basically just ends things on an abrupt note, one that I am kinda not all that into. I say to fix the track listing, they should've swap Néma vermek and Szíriusz around, just for a better ending, and maybe also swap A csend hegyei with Testen túl, just for a better intro to what the album has in store.

Whilst I cannot in good conscience say that this is the best Thy Catafalque record, nor the best metal record of this year, I do believe it still contains a good experience within, and I would actually say that this album is a good introduction to what this fabulous band has to offer. Certainly an album worth checking out, especially if you like groups such as Sigh or Maudlin Of The Well.

1. "Csillagkohó" (9:14) the first 6:45 of this is just too one-dimensional for my tastes--plus, it's all very straightforward aggression and black metal. Then there is a brief break, which turns out to be only a little respite before the brutal barrage recommences. Vocal samples thrown into breaks over the final two minutes makes me think we're in an urban war zone listening to the vocalizations of soldiers on the offensive.(17.75/20)

2. "Neath Waters (Minden Vízbe Mártott Test)" (18:43) using the same drum program of the previous song (and same two-chord progression) there is a much more trip hoppy, BEN WATT's Lazy Dog period of deejaying. Female drone vocals sounding a bit like Siousxie and Pat Benatar accompany the music for frenetic Pi soundtrack-like first seven minutes. Then the music stops and is replaced by space synth wave washes as electric piano and, later, violin perform some very classical-sounding music. Two minutes later tribal drums are reintroduced with mounting orchestral instrumental panoply (all computer generated, of course) building to quite a crescendo--taking us on quite the cinematic Anthony Phillips/Hans Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean ride--until, that is, the 12:45 mark when an electronic bomb explosion wipes out the previous sound palette, allowing the presentation and slow-build of an electronic space that sounds like something by electronic geniuses Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, or Klaus Schulze. The weave builds on several levels, which is very cool. This masterful section plays out to the end. Too bad so many of the computer-generated sounds are so dated. (But then, perhaps even today, in 2023, the artist composing these would never change a thing.) My first top three song--a true epic adventure. (37/40)

3. "Bolygó, Bolyongó" (9:47) more fast-paced fully-computer-generated rhythm and melody tracks propel this one along the path of a high-speed French TEE. At the end of the fourth minute a couple ticking clocks appear, sometimes varying the speed of their timekeeping, as the music fades away and voices, some pedestrian, one female monastic/operatic, enter, the music then takes a new, hard-driving trajectory--one that Italian band DAAL seems to have replicated well. At 7:45 Tamás' heavily-effected growl voices enter in the background, fitting in quite perfectly. With the clock ticking like that, somebody's in a hurry to either get somewhere or to get something done. A top three song. (18.75/20)

4. "Kék Ég Karaván" (5:00) sounding like part DEAD CAN DANCE, part MINIMUM VITAL, this is an earworm of a groove, becoming quite danceable while including some nice violin and electric guitar playing in the second half. Another top three song. (9.25/10)

5. "Hája-nász Az Avaron" (5:50) a nice, raunchy FEN- or ALCEST-like three-chord is made even more like the two bands mentioned (neither of which had yet appeared on the music scene at the time of the release of Tűnő Idő Tárlat) by the calm, straight-forward growl vocals. The song, however, does little in the way of change or development despite its engaging sound. (8.75/10)

6. "Zápor" (4:34) THE CURE or DEAD CAN DANCE come to mind with the electro-pop music put forth on this one--from the opening notes through the cheesy drum programming and 1990s cheap keyboard sounds. Despite her being listed as only the "backing vocals," the lead vocals are provided by Nikoletta Gerzanits. The song is pleasant enough-- and memorable for its "dated" sound and brief appearances by some quirky instruments in solo capacities. (8.75/10) 7. "Az Ősanya Szól Ivadékaihoz/A Medveős" (9:32) droning hum is eventually joined by muted industrial bass drum, a tribal pattern of tom-tom drums, and other odd percussive, synth, and treated-guitar melodic riffs, all packaged into an ever thickening wall of sound that chugs along at the speed of the Orient Express as Tamás takes turns singing in a monotone and growling in a toneless, ghost-like sound. The music is very dance-oriented--like something from Ibiza or other dj mix-master rave parties. I quite like it! In the sixth minute, there are a couple of stops and changes in direction (or changes in drivers) in the music--especially as the violin introduces a traditional Hungarian folk melody that continues to play along with the chugging rhythm section, even through Tamás' growl vocals. In the eighth minute, there is another stop and shift in instrumental palette as the Hungarian folk (and classical) melodies pour forth from the synths, violin, and heavily-treated guitars--all the while being propelled along by the insistent and very fast tribal drums. (A runaway train?!) (17.875/20)

8. "Varjak Fekszenek" (6:18) eerie horror movie sound palette presents and fills the sonic field until Tamás' treated whisper enters at 1:06. A second voice (also Tamás' in a whisper) joins in, making this a conversation, as gentle electric guitar arpeggio accompanies them. The pitch of the eerie baseline synth chord steps up a couple times unexpectedly but the, when Tamás' auto-conversation stops, treated piano, synth, and electric guitar begin a slow interplay of calming chords, some arpeggiated, some strummed; some intermittent, some repetitive and constant. The voice of a small boy (and later, adults, and other family members) begins speaking as if we are observing them through an apartment window while the music continues to feed the dream-like mood. Excellent! An alternate for a top three song. (9.25/10)

Total Time 68:58

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of wonderfully creative Experimental Post Metal.

In recent years THY CATALFALQUE has been very close to jettisoning its black metal roots altogether with more focus on the Hungarian folk melodies and progressive rock gently teased into the world of metal through the classic distorting riffing and occasional growling vocals but ALFÖLD opens immediately with a return to the world of black metal with the track "A Csend Hegyei" harkening back to the earliest days of the band's inception. But of course it wouldn't be a proper modern THY CATALFALQUE if the album didn't start to zigzag in various directions creating a bizarre tension between competing factions that somehow walk the tightrope act together and in the end perform a stunning circus act unlike any other in the entire metal-verse. This newest release does so with seeming ease.

At a classic album's running time of 43 1/2 minutes and 9 tracks, ALFÖLD delivers the perfect THY CATALFALQUE recipe of mixing its black metal bombast with the expect folk music and electronic wizardry. At this point Kátai is a cult hero and has attracted a loyal following as well as the respect of many musicians who admire his work. While still the primary writer as well as guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and vocalist, Kátai has employed the talents of 13 guest musicians for the entire album with another 11 making cameos on only one or two tracks. Even though the black metal elements have always been present, on the last few albums the growly vocals have diminished giving the albums a more folk dominant feel but on ALFÖLD the raspy metal rampage is back in full vengeance. That's not to say there aren't plenty of those softer moments with subdued guitars and clean vocals but there is definitely a more upbeat kick ass feel to this album as opposed to anything of recent years.

What amazes me about THY CATALFALQUE is the consistency in creative reworkings of an established sound but always slightly askew so that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what's different. Kátai's oft angular compositional writing skills are laced with comprehensible grooves but the contrapuntal effects of the electronica and vocal parts often sound startlingly off yet somehow complement each other perfectly. There is no sign of THY CATALFALQUE losing any steam with ALFÖLD and in fact it sounds like this collective has gotten a new burst of energy as it creates one of the heaviest and metal sounding albums in years. As with all albums since 2004's "Tűnő idő tárlat," the lyrics are entirely in Hungarian which continues to give this band an even stranger alienating sound since Hungarian is not even a Indo-European language with absolutely no similarities to virtually any other language. Another winner for THY CATALFALQUE. Longevity is apparent with this top act.

Thy Catafalque is a one-man project based out of Hungary, and Naiv is this act's ninth full-length album. By the way, this is a catafalque; I'd never heard that word and needed to look it up. On it, sole full-time bandmember Tamás Kátai blends black metal, electronic elements, and Hungarian folk music into something distinctive.

"A bolyongás ideje" ("It's Time to Wander") opens the album with a charging, infectious rhythms. Harsh male vocals and clean female vocals harmonize to create an effect reminiscent of a vocoder, and the fact that this is sung in Hungarian adds a unique character.

The instrumental "Tsitsushka" has a misty, post-punk feel to its guitar tones, though the song soon enough veers out of metal territory altogether. There's an infectious slap-bass interlude complemented with a brass arrangement that segues into an unexpected series of jazzy solos. By the time we reach the song's end, synthesizer and saxophone are trading the lead over an anxious backing track.

That high-octane instrumental is followed by the quiet piano, flute, and synthesizer opening of "Embersólyom" ("Man-Falcon"). It's on this track where the folk elements of Thy Catafalque's music are most evident. Airy flute lines cut through big walls of distorted guitar, and multi-parted vocal arrangements contrast beautifully against the song's metallic backbone. Obvious folk motifs continue on "Számtalan színek" ("Countless Colors"). This brief instrumental gives the lead to a string arrangement and contains more textural shifts than would normally be anticipated in a song this short.

"A valóság kazamatái" ("The Dungeons of Reality") closes the first half of Naiv in a manner very similar to how it opened. After a brief synthesizer introduction, the song bursts forth into surprisingly catchy metal. The guitar soon cedes the spotlight to a speedy oud solo that fits right into this album's metallic sensibilities. The song's second half features an extended clean section that draws from post-rock and math rock, though it closes on a reprise of its opening fury.

Side 2 begins with "Kék madár (Négy kép)" ("Bluebird (Four Pictures)"), with a solitary, fluttering flute, followed by compressed strings. Tight, energetic drumming enters, pushing it along as the flute reenters with a speedy, lilting solo. This song's second half veers off into some of the most blatant electronic influences yet. Gentle synthesizers gradually bring this piece down from its energetic heights.

"Náput" ("Sun") continues with gentle quiet tones in its opening moments, but black metal?augmented by Wakemanesque synthesizer embellishments?soon takes over. Smooth female vocals once more add brilliant contrast with folk melodies.

"Vető" ("Sower") opens with the heaviest metal of the album. Apocalyptic blackened death metal weaves with more vocal folk melodies in its first couple minutes. The midsection of "Vető" once again ditches guitar altogether, with synthesizer and organ taking the lead in a jumpy, nearly danceable movement. Spare post-rock is visited briefly before closing out on a revisitation of the opening metal theme. "Szélvész" ("Tempest") is a fitting closer. It features all of Thy Catafalque's usual eclecticism while also being one of the most accessible songs on the whole album.

Naiv is a fantastic, unique record. The music is incredibly ambitious and packed with an impressive amount of ideas. Black metal, electronica, progressive rock, and Hungarian folk somehow fold together into a brilliant blend of unexpected influences. Despite the diversity of this album, it feels focused and well-structured. Never does the music drag or feel disjointed. Every twist and turn on Naiv has purpose.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/09/07/album-review-thy-catafalque-naiv/

Thy Catafalque's eclecticism can occasionally be a bit of a barrier - the deliberately obscure vocals, samples, drum machine loops and overall aesthetic does make you compare them to wackier and more gimmick-centric bands on a surface level. But throughout an album like this in particular, Tamas manages to squeeze in moments of genuine inspiration, and even though I wouldn't call it a thoroughly great album - there isn't a single track that doesn't have a "wow, that's kinda neat" moment. Perhaps because of this, Rengeteg is their best album, but at this point I'd struggle to be able to tell any of them apart.

6.8 (4th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

There's an argument to be made for this as Thy Catafalque's best record. Tamás Kátai has been working within similar lines for well over a decade now, playing off-kilter, drum machine-led blackened prog metal of various forms, and although every album from that period was good, none were outstanding. I would hesitate to call Vadak outstanding either, but it does have enough of a range of sounds to make it the most wholly enjoyable album I've heard from the project - Kátai's work is well known for lengthy repetitive sections which don't add an awful lot, as well as tracks that only have one genuinely good idea and seem to loop around ad infinitum on it. This one is surprisingly varied - the folk metal undertones which dot other records come out in full force in certain tracks here, as do the synthwave and prog electronic bits he developed on side project Neolunar . What results is a surprisingly diverse album with pretty much everything you expect from Thy Catafalque, and a few things you don't.

7.4 (6th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

VADAK is the Hungarian word for "wildlings" and also the tenth full-length studio album from THY CATAFALQUE which has been released on the Seasons of the Mist label. Once again Kátai crafts a batch of wild experimental tracks that remain unclassifiable with elements of various metal styles, jazz, pop, prog, folk, techno, electronica and anything else that fits neatly into the scheme of things. While serving as head honcho in chief and musical director as well as playing guitars, bass, synths AND vocals, Kátai includes an amazingly large and diverse group of 16 session musicians that add large numbers of vocal styles, guitars, saxophones, trombones, trumpet, repipes and tons of ethnic instruments such as the Armenian durum, tablas, dumbeks, the riq, violin and cello.

While some of the last albums have been a little parsimonious as far as the metal creds go, VADAK seems to have gotten the memo that the metal fans are getting a little tired of the "other" influences dominating and therefore it seems a greater effort has been made to crank up the heavy guitar riffs, the quickened tempos and all the other more energetic attributes that make metal so freakin' awesomely cool! But don't worry non-metal leaning folk, ALL those other elements are still here in great abundance. While THY CATALFALQUE projects are quite diverse, the main emphasis seems to be on focusing on the same ingredients with different proportions. It just so happens that THIS time around the metal got a bit more teaspoons in the overall recipe. OK, maybe we can upgrade to tablespoons!

What's really amazing is that Kátai has done something seemingly impossible and that is writing his lyrics and singing in his native Hungarian language which by the way NOBODY understands outside of Hungary unless you are in the state department or something! But the beauty of THY CATAFALQUE is that it really doesn't matter. In fact the compositions are structured in such a way that it actually adds an exotic even alien disconnect while being lured in with familiar rhythms, tones, timbres and musical motifs but just never put together in such a way. In fact i would easily classify Kátai as a musical genius for his prolific output of product that manages to keep each album sounding utterly unique yet connected to the rest of the canon. VADAK is absolutely no exception to this rule and i would even say that i personally prefer this album to the last several ones that have been a little light on the metal aspects.

For anyone interested in the theme (i'm not really), it is about dealing with the fragility that is shared between man and beast with Freudian overtones. OK, whatever, right? I know, i love a good themed concept album and all but when it comes down to it, metal music is about the compositional fortitude and i don't speak enough Hungarian to understand anything anyway. In fact i don't understand most of metal lyrics in English due to the vocal styles employed! HA! Another amazing thing is that THY CATAFALQUE albums are almost always over 60 minutes in length which for most artists would leave me cold but somehow Kátai masterfully keeps me enthralled for over an hour's length of listening time. Now THAT is an accomplishment considering this project has been around for over 20 years. All i can say is that THY CATAFALQUE seems like it is in no danger of sputtering out any time soon. This album may not be the pinnace of its existence but is of equal value to almost every album of its existence. Kiváló munka és éljen a TE KATAFALVA! Great job and long live THY CATAFALQUE!

Early on in 2020, avant-garde metal band THY CATAFALQUE releases its ninth album NAIV. After the interesting changes of the doom metal drenched "Meta" and the overly abundant use of electronica and lack of metal on "Geometria," NAIV returns with a nice mixture of all the disparate elements that makes THY CATAFALQUE so utterly unique even within the vastly populated universe of modern metal. While long ago drifting away from any sort of black metal orthodoxies, this act has nonetheless never strayed too far from its roots by keeping a finger or two on the pulse of the primordial pools from whence it sprang forth. NAIV doesn't necessarily jettison the abundance of electronic effects and noises as heard on the previous album but rather returns some of the metal dominant bombast however any fan of this unique band should know by now, track by track, THY CATAFALQUE delivers the unpredictability of a schizophrenic seance.

Once again eschewing genre labels, NAIV like previous albums creates a unique fusion of the Hungarian folk melodies with black metal riffs, electronic atmosphere and also includes some surprising jazzy touches that remind me of bands like Norway's Shining. Kátai handles the expected vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and other exotic instruments such as the citera and darbuka while a huge cast of characters joins him for this musical treat. In addition to the excepted bass and drums there are also two guest vocalists with the feminine charm of Martina Veronika Horváth (ex-Niburta, SallyAnne, Nulah) finding its way throughout most of the album. There are many classical instruments such as the cello, viola, violin and even classical guitar as well as many ethnic sounds from a quena flute, out and other Eastern European instruments. On the jazz side of things there are occasional outbursts of saxophone and even a trombone.

Starting out with black metal buzzsaw guitar effects, "A bolyongás ideje" launches NAIV straight into the realms of the metal universe unlike the rather tame predecessor "Geometria" which seemed to lounge in the chill electronica section of the music store for far too long. Despite the heavy bombast of the guitar riffs, the sensual female vocals and folk melodies craft a pacifying folk metal vibe with occasional outbursts of proggy keyboard runs that are straight out of the 70s symphonic prog playbook. While sounding a bit like an 80s AC/DC riff at the beginning, "Tsitsushka" actually takes on a cool atmospheric cloud cover while the guitars clammer away more akin to a caffeinated surf rock band than black metal but it gets even more estranged from the opener with the inclusion of a horn section. "Embersólyom" calms things down quite a bit with dark ambient sounds shrouding a mysterious flute emerging and then breaking into an electro-folk-rock groove which takes on a tango type of rhythmic drive.

"Számtalan színek" continues the ethnic flavors only sounds more like it's rooted in Balkan gypsy folk only with blistering black metal guitar accompaniments that when dropped out sounds more like a movie soundtrack. In many ways this style of black folk metal reminds me of Greece's Rotting Christ on some of the newer albums. The violin and viola presence on this one really sets it apart from the other tracks. "A valóság kazamatái" begins with a jittery computer generated sounding keyboard intro before bursting into hefty black metal bombast but it's accompanied by the folk melodies emerging from the keyboards. When the guitar parts are dropped the folk instruments stand out and the percussive drive begins to sound more like a bigbeat techno album. The layered effects are perfectly mixed and the sounds that come and go add the proper contrast at the exact perfect times.

"Kék madár (Négy kép)" takes the ethnic influences to the most extremes as this one sound like a gypsy wedding somewhere deep in Bosnia but then picks up with a bizarrely contrasting flute run that sounds more like 70s Focus than Jethro Tull along with electronica drumming styles and with no metal guitar sounds to be heard sounds like the project went Opeth on us and abandoned the metal altogether, at least temporarily. Actually they abandoned the rock altogether on this one as the track starts to sound like a heartbeat with flute. Luckily "Napút" brings back the metal heft but trades off with a more techno sound. It then gives the mic to Martina who add the ethnic touches. Nice beefy guitar sounds but at this stage of the game it's obvious that the metal guitars play a subordinate role to the ethnic and electronic sounds. However just as i say that "Vető" comes along and delivers the heaviest guitar sounds of all with thrashy palm muted beefcakes pounding away while Martina sings her little heart out. It's a nice contrast between the hyper-masculine and sensual feminine. Beauty and beast of a different name.

"Szélvész" ends the album on a more folk than metal note but the guitar heft does deliver. It's obvious at this stage of THY CATAFALQUE's lengthy career that the metal isn't the most important element of its sound and that it's all about juxtaposing disparate genres with the Hungarian folk elements being the most prominent. The magic of NAIV is in the production values and how well all these melodies are crafted into nice smorgasbord of sounds. While not substantially different than previous albums, this one seems to have catchier hooks, greater contrast between bombast and sensual touches and is just more satisfying than the lopsided feed of "Geometria" as all the elements unfold in an organic manner and nothing seems forced. Overall THY CATAFALQUE creates the perfect recipe where the gritty metal aspects sit well next to the timeless folk melodies and futuristic electronic and ambient sounds. Although this isn't primarily a metal album, the last track adds some of the only raspy black metal vocals to be heard. This is a solid album from beginning to end if you dig this sorta thing.

While Kátai has incrementally increased the sophistication of THY CATALFALQUE and thus earning the project the highest plaudits within the world of extreme metal for its sheer intensity and experimentation, the band began more or less as a second wave black metal band with symphonic and orchestral touches much in the vein of early Emperor only with a unique paprika fueled Hungarian twist that included a touch of the avant-garde. This debut album SUBLUNARY TRAGEDIES displays the band at its rawest and primeval with ferocious black metal riffs engaging in breakneck tremolo picking, explosive blastbeat drumming frenzies all drenched in Hungarian folklore and rhapsodies on fire. While the black metal aspects are perhaps the most fiery and frenetic of the project's lengthy career, the more diverse elements emerge from the extensive use of keyboards that not only provide the darkened frigid atmospheres but also includes industrial heft as well as danceable electronica.

SUBLUNARY TRAGEDIES is a powerhouse of seven tracks that creates the ultimate Jekyll & Hyde musical scenario. On the black metal side, this is frenetic uptempo fury that is unleashed and sounds like a rabid dog on fire much like the first Possessed album however there are slow contemplative atmospheric brooding sessions as well as middle of the road mid-tempo variations. While the atmospheric black metal tones and timbres are fairly standard, the underpinnings of Hungarian folk music that is infused in the musical scales gives an eerie and exotic flair that allows the compositions to feel more epic than say the standard Darkthrone or Immortal albums. The metal is brutal and raw yet the album comes off as if it were a Bartok sort of classical album in many ways. The two aspects are at war with no clear resolution as to which side actually prevails. It is the dance of darkness and light much like the universe above and around. While the metal stampedes like a standard second wave band from Scandinavia, the time signatures and progressive touches take it somewhere else completely.

While THY CATAFALQUE has become world renowned for the exemplary releases that peaked from "Tűnő Idő Tárlat" to "Rengeteg," these earlier recordings are just as compelling provided you can appreciate the lo-fi DIY efforts of an ambitious avant-garde black metal band during its nascency. While many metalheads either love the lo-fi no nonsense approach or prefer the more polished sounds of a production job, i actually embrace both sides of the equation. Black metal is one of those genres that can sound really outstanding either way and in the case of THY CATAFALQUE i think that these early lo-fi albums resonate just as well as the slicker accomplishments that followed. After all, it's the compositional skills that really win me over with this band and in that department THY CATAFALQUE hit the ground running with its unique folk fueled orchestral black metal sound. After all is said and done, i find SUBLUNARY TRAGEDIES to be an outstanding slab of experimental black metal that shouldn't be missed if you have already checked out the later albums.