I arrived at Oslo Hackney on a Tuesday evening with a belly full of pizza and a chest bursting at the seams with high hopes. It was my first time seeing Thy Catafalque live. I had this date saved for a long time. I waited for months in quiet anticipation, and as I walked into the already packed room I felt the air charged with the same sentiment. If you’ve ever been in a room full of Hungarians who are having a good time, you’ll know the bar is set considerably higher than what happens in London venues on an average night. Singing along, jumping, and snogging, I have witnessed the full spectrum of human experience compressed into a sweaty room in Hackney.
On paper and on record, Thy Catafalque are avant-garde metal with folk flourishes. Live, they are a completely different beast, and nobody warned me it was going to be this fun. The set ran close to two hours and there was a dizzying quality to it, people floating on and off the stage with an ease and assurance that you rarely see in the scene, controlled and intense yet somehow effortless. Whether that’s years of rehearsal (formed in 1998, they had a bit of time) or just some rare synchronicity that’s really difficult to manufacture, it was unlike anything else I’ve seen recently.
Thirteen albums is both a blessing and a logistical curse when it comes to setlists, and I heard some grumblings in certain corners about variety. I respectfully disagree. Opening with ‘Szíriusz’ from 2023’s Alföld was a personal highlight that I will be thinking about for some time. There was something in this set for every dedicated fan in the room, and judging by the amount of singing along I couldn’t partake in, there were many. I felt the depth of affection in that room like an extra layer of atmosphere (you may also argue it was sweat, but I choose to feel past that). At one point there were eight people on stage and yet I kept hoping for a cello moment. The tour bus has its limits apparently.
It took me a full week to properly wake up from this one. Some shows leave a mark but I’m pretty sure I left home with a few extra bruises that night.
Thy Catafalque
Set 1
- Szíriusz
- Néma vermek
- Trilobita
- Vashegyek
- Napút
- Szarvas
- Mezolit
- Embersólyom
- Köd utánam
- Csillagkohó
- Töltés
- Kel keleti szél
- Vasgyár
- Ködkirály
- Jura
- Aláhullás
- A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek
Warming up the stage and audience for Thy Catafalque were UK outfit Æl-Fierlen, a post-black/shoegaze proposition with a strong folk sensibility, and on particularly fine form that evening. There was a real tension to their sound between force and elegance and they handled it with confidence, anchored by ethereal vocals and a stage presence that held the room. Singer Steph was the early revelation of the night: all charisma and control, grace and grit in equal measure. One to add to your “to see” list.
