Metal that has the word “folk” in its genre description has become stale and tired, if it was ever even anything but. Thankfully there are bands like Thy Catafalque, the Hungarian progressive/experimental metal project of Tamas Katai, to turn our expectations completely upside down.

If you’re looking for something straight out of a renn faire, go find it elsewhere. What’s offered here by Katai — who handles all instruments and vocals — is as true a distillation of Hungarian folk as you’re going to get in metal. The riffs rollick and stomp, gallop and roll, blacken and pummel, soar and glide, highlighted by more traditional folk instruments you don’t often hear in heavy music. How is it possible to combine blackened riffs with Pink Floydian keyboards and Hungarian folk instrumentation? We aren’t sure, but Thy Catafalque has done it. This is not what you’re expecting, in the best way possible. See what we’re talking about in the absolutely epic, 15-minute album track “Oldódó formák a halál titokzatos birodalmában,” below.

Sgùrr comes out October 16th via Season of Mist. Pre-order here. The CD is available as a gorgeous digipak book, of which you can see photos below.