Avant-garde metal is a weird and sometimes difficult to consume genre but don’t forget that there are many artists that seem they have that kind of magic that they make it
so easy and accessible. Tamás Kátai’s project is a typical example of those unique artists because every time a new album is released under Thy Catafalque it leaves me speechless.
This time the multi-talented Hungarian musician shows his teeth, hence the album is called “Vadak” which represents wild life/nature and yes, indeed the album is more raw than the previous one, “Naiv” (great album also). In general, this one is less electronic and less folk since the dark and aggressive metal side prevails although there is no lack of ethereal spots and female vocals by Martina Veronika Horvtáh but also the use of organs that give the necessary exotic touch. When I mention the metal side I don’t mean of course the early black metal days of Thy Catafalque since on this -10th full length!- release the metal comes from many different ways and paths and the end the music palette is full of many interesting but different ingredients.
Yes, I would like to hear Martina more on vocals but as I said the general work by Tamás is so impressive that managed to take me to a magic trip on many different music landscapes. It felt like I was watching a rare noir film that is filled with jazz references but suddenly you witness numerous plot twists of a post-apocalyptic script (that’s why you will get hit by the futurist elements of the band). Yes, it is an amazing album with great diversity (a blend of tradition, avantgarde and black metal) that doesn’t hesitate to combine epic long tracks like “Móló” and “Vadak (Az átváltozás rítusai)” where you can find everything along with shorter diamonds. The beautiful cover is another example how particularly fine job Tamás did in all fields of this masterpiece.
