ALFÖLD

The brainchild of Tamás Kátai,THY CATALFALQUE has been cranking out one amorphously mysterious album after another since 1999 with each release shapeshifting into something completely new and unexpected. While launching the band in the spirit of second black wave metal with the debut release "Sublunary Tragedies," THY CATALFALQUE quickly broke the mold of sticking to any orthodoxies and instead was steered into a world of its own making. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Kátai is back with THY CATALFALQUE's 11th release ALFÖLD, Hungarian for "lowlands" and is depicted on the album cover art which happens to be the terrain from where Kátai spawned and developed his most bizarre mix of black metal, progressive rock, experimental electronica and Hungarian folk music.

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.

I have said this many times before, but metal this year has been really good. I mean, the albums that I have considered to be masterpieces, or close to being as such, have been mostly metal. Us metalheads are eating well, and our feast doesn't quite end, especially when there is so much more to explore, and through our exploration we find ourselves in black metal territory with Thy Catafalque's 2023 release of Alföld.

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.