bartosso A forest of sounds

Tamás Kátai, the mastermind of Hungarian experimental, post-black metal, eastern European folk... *breath*... industrial, "space rock" metal band Thy Catafalque, as you can see, has an intriguing vision of his music. Having recorded four albums before RENGETEG, it's actually the first one released by a major record label, namely french/american Season of Mist. And well, I must admit that it's one of the most interesting metal albums I have heard lately.

The record is produced in a professional way which means the sound is clear, fairly selective yet not overproduced or artificial. Distortion is heavy, a little bit fuzzy, kind of reminding me of sludge and industrial metal. Same for computer generated drums. Besides heavy distortion, Thy Catafalque uses a whole range of guitar sounds - from soft space rock overdrive to occasional classical guitar nylon strumming. The vocalist is one of the most intriguing aspects of RENGETEG. Mostly clean, folk-influenced vocals with a few shrieked parts here and there are very well performed. However, it's a presence of various synthesizers and space rock sound effects that determine Thy Catafalque's uniqueness in terms of sound and ambiance.

For an avant-garde metal album, RENGETEG is surprisingly accessible. The most prominent element here are Hungarian folk melodic patterns, that pervade the whole with unique atmosphere and provides the listener with unforgettable musical experiences. All the more so because they're combined with otherworldly atmosphere of space rock in the vain of Ozric Tentacles. Experimental approach to composition and general diversity of moods completed the task - RENGETEG is a very successful release and an excellent addition to any metal music collection. Despite having many masterpiece qualities, it's not absolutely flawless though. First of all, some cheap sounding parts could have been avoided. Some artificially sounding synthesizers could have been replaced with real instruments ("violin" part in Kő koppan spoiled it for me). Some underdeveloped ideas could have reached the masterpiece level if developed (e.g.: "Kel keleti szél", "Kék ingem lobogó"). And finally, some songs could have been better composed and cleansed of generic riffing (e.g.: "Vashegyek").

I really, really like that album despite all the things I've just said above. It's a great effort that deserves 7/10 - 8/10 rating, and for its undeniable originality and emotional charge, I'd gladly give it full 4 star rating. I'm an asshole though. Essential for avant-garde, post-black metal, dark folk and atmospheric music enthusiasts. Hell yeah!

TRACKS BY RATINGS: 9/10[fantastic!]: Kel keleti szél; Kék ingem lobogó; Az eső, az eső, az eső|| 8/10[great]: Fekete mezők; Trilobita; Tar gallyak végül; Minden test fű|| 7/10[very good]: Kő koppan; Holdkomp|| 6/10[good]: Vashegyek||

Phonebook Eater 8/10

"Rengeteg" is a must for Avant-Garde Metal fans.

Thy Catafalque have been on the map for quite a few years, yet they’ve been pretty much ignored by a good part of the metal community and had a few but very enthusiastic fans. Personally, this band for me was always one to check out, especially after releasing “Roka Hasa Radio”, easily one of the best albums of 2009. It seemed hard to top that release, however, “Rengeteg” maintains the same high quality.

Frequently labeled as Avant-garde Metal, this band is a lot more than that: being from Hungary, the traditional music of the country is a huge influence in Thy Catafalque’s melodies, and has always been. But we also have Black Metal, Industrial Metal, Folk, Electronic beats and samples, and not to forget Progressive Rock. Their vast amount of influences have made them a pretty impacting band for whoever has listened to their material. “Rengeteg” keeps this same mixture of styles as the previous albums, but there’s somewhat more straight-forwardness here, the songs and melodies being a lot less experimental per se and more focused on the melody. As a consequence the ten songs here are relatively shorter than the other albums, with some inevitable exceptions of course. But the melodies are always clear and easy to remember, even after one sole listen, unlike the tracks featured on “Roka Hasa Radio”.

The previous album, although more experimental and brave, was sort of a one-faced album, meaning that for the great part of it the music was pretty much mellow. “Rengeteg” elegantly mixes the heaviness with the calm parts, creating a wonderful balance that is almost symmetrical. This symmetry is there also in terms of straight-forwardness and quirkiness: the first part of the LP is more easy-going, while the second part is more experimental, even though this division is not at all firm: there are indeed experimental moments in the first part, and there are very memorable ones in the second part. The two distinct sides of the album are clearly separate by the axis of these ten songs, the fourteen minute epic “Vashegyek”, placed obviously in the exact middle of the LP.

Each one of these songs is pretty much a little gem of it’s own: the nine minute intro, possibly the heaviest song here, the extremely memorable “Trilobita”, and the more electronic based “Ko Koppan” are the definite highlights of the first half, while the second part boasts songs like the mind blowing electronics of “Holdkomp” and track number eight, but also more heavy moments like the closing track.

Overall “Rengeteg” is an extraordinary follow up to “Roka Hasa Radio”, which might even outdo it in some ways. Thy Catafalque are a band that should be infinitely praised for the utterly original sound and songwriting abilities, as well as their bold experiments with Hungarian Folk music, Ambient and Electronic. A must for any Avant-Garde Metal/Black Metal fan, in my book.

Time Signature The rain, the rain, the rain...

Genre: catafalque metal

As the cover art suggests, this is dark music with lots of atmosphere and interesting textures. It is hard to pinpoint a core genre, but Thy Catafalque definitely draw on sludge metal, black metal, post-metal, industrial metal, and alternative rock - among others - and all of this is neatly wrapped in a veil of Eastern European melancholy.

While the guitars are crushingly heavy and sludgy at times, while drawing on blackened death metal at other times (the guitars are down-tuned and the distortion is quite brutal), Thy Catafalque are not afraid to add a dose of mellowness in the form of melancholic alt. rock passages and loads of experimentation with keyboards, synths and spacey effects. And this combination works brilliantly in generating a truly unique style of avant-gardish metal which is extremely expressive and darkly melodic. Even at its most brutal moments the focus of "Rengeteg" remains on melody, and the album is rich in lead melodies performed in guitars, synths and more unusual instruments.

There are also several melodies that sound Eastern European to my ears, and with the vocals being sung in Hungarian, the Eastern European feel is just amplified. This folk element, as it were, definitely also contributes to the overall dark and melancholic feel.

Fans of dark experimental music owe it to themselves to check out Thy Catafalque's massive "Rengeteg" album!