THY CATAFALQUE have shared the official video for “Cseremisz” today, 29 October 2026. The Hungarian avant-garde metal project, led by Tamás Kátai, presents the song as an imagined folk piece for the Mari people of the Volga, with a male choir and traditional instruments. It previews the album “XIII: Sárga erdő”, which will be released on 20 November through Season of Mist.
A song for the Volga
Kátai wrote both the music and words for “Cseremisz”. The lyrics describe clouds crossing a night-time steppe, a black ship carrying sleeping soldiers along the Volga and a pursuit in which death eventually catches the narrator. The song is performed in Hungarian, with an English translation provided alongside the video.
Anikó Barna plays citera and koboz on the recording. She appears alongside vocalist Bálint Bokodi and the Male Choir of Tiszaföldvár, conducted by Zsolt Szabó. Dario Cei adds flute, Dmitry Karev plays accordion and Árpád Szenti performs drums, while Kátai plays guitar, bass and keyboards.
From studio project to stage
THY CATAFALQUE began as a project formed by Kátai in Makó, Hungary, with its activity later extending to Edinburgh. Its early work drew on post-black metal before developing a broader experimental sound that incorporated Hungarian folk elements, atmospheric passages and extreme metal. The project signed with Season of Mist in 2011.
Kátai originally conceived Thy Catafalque as a studio-only project. After musicians encouraged him to bring the material to the stage, the group performed at Hungary’s Fekete Zaj festival in 2021. That appearance later became the live album “Mezolit - Live at Fekete Zaj”. “XIII: Sárga erdő” is now available to pre-order and pre-save through Season of Mist.
