Thy Catafalque
Thy Catafalque is the Hungarian avant-garde metal project led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Tamás Kátai. Founded in Makó in 1998 with guitarist János Juhász, it has grown from a black metal studio project into a distinctive musical world where extreme metal, Hungarian folk, electronica, progressive rock and classical instrumentation meet. Hungarian-language lyrics and recurring images of nature, memory and passing time give its diverse catalogue a deeply personal identity.
Following the early albums and the breakthrough Róka hasa rádió, Rengeteg marked Kátai’s first release for Season of Mist in 2011 and the beginning of Thy Catafalque as a project under his sole creative direction. Working with an expanding network of guest musicians, he continued to develop its sound through Sgùrr, Meta, Geometria and Naiv. Vadak and Alföld each earned a Fonogram Award for Best Hungarian Hard Rock/Metal Album.
The 2024 release XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek brought further international recognition: Album of the Month in Metal Hammer Germany and Rock Hard France, Album of the Week in Rolling Stone France, and Best Avantgarde/Experimental Metal Album at the Metal Storm Awards 2024. In 2025, Loudwire included Thy Catafalque among its “11 Best Progressive Black Metal Bands of All Time.”
After more than two decades as a studio project, Thy Catafalque made its live debut at Fekete Zaj in 2021. Its concert history now spans 64 shows in 19 countries, including European headline tours, a UK tour and performances in Brazil. Festival appearances include Hellfest, Brutal Assault, Rockstadt Extreme, Alcatraz, Dark Easter Metal Meeting and Kilkim Žaibu, alongside returns to Brutal Assault and Fekete Zaj.
The thirteenth album, XIII: Sárga erdő (“Yellow Forest”), arrives on November 20, 2026 via Season of Mist. Across twelve tracks, it explores loss, distance and memory without following a single narrative. For the first time, performed drums replace programmed rhythms. The recording features 34 musicians and vocalists alongside a twenty-voice male choir, with folk and classical instruments used more selectively. Gábor Vári returns for engineering, mixing and mastering, helping shape an album that opens another chapter in Kátai’s evolving musical language.
