It seems that Thanatology performs quite well on Spotify. Look at those numbers below!
Never forget that YOU made it possible. And please always remember, how grateful I am for your constant support and encouragement! Thank you so much, my friends!
The Italian AllaroundMetal wrote an excellent review on Thanatology. You can either check out the original (Italian) text here, or read the English translation below. Thank you AllaroundMetal for the kind words and encouragement!
Darkwave, instrumental metal not for everyone
“Get comfortable and of the right disposition of spirit, shut out the world from yourself, turn off the lights and let the tide of notes of “Thanatology” – the third album by the Hungarian project called Darkwave – wash over you. Behind the nick name is the guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Zsolt Némethy who started in 2021 with the full-length “Hexapla,” moving on the following year to the second album “Missa Innominata” – all self-produced (like this new record), unfortunately available only in digital versions, and unfortunately unknown to us. Némethy’s music is extremely peculiar, a kind of progressive with a few moments close to thrash, but also with countless references to other musical genres (from neoclassical, to fusion, passing even through some touches of Venetian rondo!), all entirely instrumental; it is as if Mekong Delta (I think the Hungarian musician’s main influence) met Cynic, Voivod and Anacrusis, resulting in a highly alienating, but extremely peculiar and definitely original music. The whole thing, as you may have guessed, is by no means easy-listening, primarily because instrumental metal normally is not, but also and especially because this kind of prog is anything but easy to understand and approach. That’s why at the beginning of the review I recommended you to be in the right state of mind, otherwise it’s easy for this music to blow our brains out because of its complexity and particularity. Certainly, to play in this way, one must have an uncommon technique, but technique alone is not enough because one must also know how to “compose,” one must always have the “song-structure” well in mind – and sometimes the good Némethy lets himself go, probably because of his desire to overdo it. The songwriting, in fact, could be improved and above all be more concise and effective: it is not by chance that the best song (“Legacy of the Worthless”) is also the shortest. Nevertheless, “Thanatology” is a record of remarkable quality, in which the lack of a singer is not even felt (the guitar takes care of it!). The Darkwave project would deserve much more attention, because at this level there are few, very few bands around the world!”
Thanatology has been out for more than two weeks.
While I must admit that 2023 hasn’t been an easy year for me, this release proved to be one of the few highlights. I spent countless hours with composing, recording, mixing and fine-tuning Thanatology – and now that I look back on these laborious times, I feel like each and every hour I spent with this release was worth the effort. Considering all my limitations and the hardships all along the way of creating this album, I’m more than happy with the final result. Also, promotion is going better compared to my previous records – I had the chance to give interviews (you can check them by clicking here or here) and present Thanatology to a wider audience in the metal community. Taken all these results together, I really have no reason to complain.
There is still one thing that bothers me. This one thing always keeps coming up during conversations, and to be absolutely honest, I had been contemplating a lot on it before – regardless the feedback I got. And this particular thing is the lack of lyrics and vocals in my songs. Without the intention to repeat what I already wrote on instrumental music before, I still believe that instrumental compositions have the potential to transmit feelings and emotions without channeling the listeners’ thoughts in one pre-defined direction. Instrumental music leaves place for imagination and free interpretation. Still, at the same time it loses something by not utilizing the power of words that might make the music even more suggestive. As Iris Goessens wrote in one of her Instagram stories: “if the vocals don’t kick ass, your listeners are not gonna care about the heaviest riffs in the universe, and fasterthanmaxverstappenblastbeats you guys came up with“. And this is something that I want to focus on, while meditating on the concept of my next release.
Because I’m already working on that. And believe me, it’s really not that easy: first and foremost I’m a guitar player, and I create music through inventing and playing guitar harmonies, melodies and riffs. Still, I don’t want to let half of the story being untold by narrowing my musical compositions exclusively to guitar riffs and solos. After all, my musical experimentation started with creating lyrics… Thus, finally I came to the conclusion that Thanatology will probably signify the end of an era in my musical journey: it will likely remain my last instrumental album. I can’t promise anything, though: I still don’t know vocalists who could bring my vocal ideas into life. But I’ll do my best to find someone in order to push the next Darkwave release even further, onto a completely new level.
In this regard, Thanatology is a serious milestone for me: it signifies both the end of an era, and a new beginning.
Looks like Legacy Of The Worthless, the fourth track of my new album started today on the Re-Ex Pop/Rock Top40 charts, on the 38th place! Please cross your fingers for it!
Update: a couple of days later All Shall Perish climbed up to the 17th place on the same chart!
Another update: today (09.09.2023) Necronym is on the 3rd place!
The first review on Thanatology was published a couple of days ago! You can either check the original entry by visiting the Facebook page of progressor.net, or alternatively you can read the text here, too.
Thank you, progressor.net for the kind words!
“Hungarian band Darkwave are out with the album “Thanatology”, and progressive metal is the style explored on this production. It is an instrumental variety of the form that is explored on this album, and one that by and large resides inside of a more accessible variety of the form at that. More atmospheric laden passages with folk music elements as well as more contemporary sounding excursions where the guitars are mixed with electronic details are both a part of the landscapes explored here, with flowing and atmospheric laden guitar solo runs switching back and forth with more technical and quirky guitar solo runs as other key elements. Shredding and neo-classical runs is a part of the experience too, while other parts focus more on riff patterns, groove and motion. With some dips into the classic keyboard and guitar combinations and a little bit of an orchestral flirt appearing along the way too. If classic era oriented instrumental progressive metal explored with a liberal amount of variations and an accessible edge sounds like your kind of music, this is a production that may be worth a bit of listening time.”
There is a new interview with me on Pete’s Rock News and Views! You can either check out the original post here, or scroll down and read the entire text below!
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
D: “It’s these words and music that keeps me living, keeps me breathing” – says one of the best Life of Agony songs; and although right now I don’t use lyrics for my music, I intend to transmit messages not only through sounds, but also through visual and verbal clues using appropriate cover art, as well as song and album titles. But the overall framework of self-expression for me is always the music – a framework that contains pieces from the essence of my life: feelings, thoughts, emotions, affections, memories, beliefs… and in general: everything. The creative process of this “musical storytelling” keeps me living a wholesome life and breathing healthy air – and if things go in the right way, the listeners of my songs will hopefully understand me through my music: not just the easily digestible superficial information, but also those things that I’m unable, afraid, or simply ashamed to tell in words. Music can transmit the essence of the “real me”. In a world where identity gets a rightfully increasing attention, I identify myself a music maniac, who condenses and presents his inner self in this particular type of art.
If I try to identify the source of this drive to express and share myself, I often end up with Jack Kerouac’s immortal words: “I’m writing this book because we’re all going to die“. I’m writing my book of music, because we’re all going to die – I’m going to die. But before I die, I feel the urge to create something that I think is “really me”. It’s not because I consider myself more talented or better trained than anyone else. It’s also not because I think that my thoughts are worthier to share than anyone else’s thoughts: I don’t feel the need to compete with anyone, except with myself. I just learned the hard way that all my efforts to create something meaningful proved to be (at least partially) dead ends – except this one. Music is my chance to be myself. Music is the backbone of everything I do.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
D: I’m from Hungary and work in Budapest as a neuroscientist. It may sound weird for the first time that a neuroscientist plays metal music: people keep asking me, how is it that someone with such a satisfying profession decides to become an independent songwriter and guitar player at a certain point of his life. While there are no short answers to this question, I cannot deny that it may look strange from the viewpoint of those who doesn’t know me in person. As a music enthusiast, I’ve been playing the guitar since my childhood and I even participated in ad hoc formations earlier – however, these efforts never really succeeded, due to lack of motivation, dedication, and time. I always had various other duties, therefore playing the guitar in a band was never a real option for me. Not that I’m antisocial or something like that (I’m an introvert, but I do love the company of like-minded people) – I just never had the chance (or courage…?) to come forth with my own compositions and ended up losing my interest in realizing someone else’s musical ideas. I always wanted to bring forth my own ideas, work on them and show them to others, but I had so many doubts, insecurities, and fears. The world is full of excellent artists who compose excellent music and play the guitar in a virtuoso way – and in this context it really needs some explanation, why I finally came to the decision to start composing and recording music. The question is always somewhere around one’s identity. Oscar Wilde once wrote: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” – and I think, this is the basis on which I built my musical project. I slowly became aware of the fact that I don’t need to compete with anyone: it’s impossible and I also don’t want to do so. I just need to be myself: I want my music to genuinely reflect the person who I am. And I hope that there is still a place for genuine music and honest musicians in the music market, no matter what genre or subgenre they belong to.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
D: My main inspirations are first and foremost those visionary musicians who substantially formed the world of rock music. First of all, the late Jon Lord – founder, keyboard player, composer and music mastermind of the hard rock pioneer Deep Purple – has always been my main source of inspiration. He was a real musical visionary with the primary aim to build bridges between “old” and “new”, traditional, and modern. If you give a quick listen to one of his earliest classical compositions incorporated in the song “Anthem” (1968), you may catch a glimpse from his early genius that peaked in Purple’s giant collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969 (Concerto For Group And Orchestra). At that time, it was considered an artistic abomination or even blasphemy to marry the “sacred” classical instrumentation with the “immature” and “impure” rock music. The example of Jon Lord taught me to avoid any sharp distinctions between “classical” and “modern” music: there are no unbreakable walls between them, as he demonstrated in so many magnificent ways. This kind of synthesis is exactly what I would like to achieve in my own songs. Also, I find Tony Iommi’s down-tuned, slow, and thundering riffs amazing and inspiring. When I first heard the brutal, depressive, and unique sound of the opening riff of Black Sabbath’s Electric Funeral, it was like a revelation to me. It was… let’s say, different: melancholic and sad, and at the same time, brutal and heavy. It made me think – which is a quality I value the most in any piece of art. I also find the harmony world and complex dual riffs of the Sherman-Denner duo of Mercyful Fate fascinating. Their songs like “The Oath”, “Nightmare” or “Satan’s Fall” were not only complex with their 7 to 10 minutes of playing times, but the perfect cooperation between the two guitarists is also clearly impressive, especially that they always brought up constant and unexpected harmonies that simply blow the listeners’ minds.
Besides music, I also find inspiration in literature. I have always been a bookworm and all the books, poems, and novels (or even song lyrics…) that I’ve ever read have clearly put their marks on my way of looking at things. Books with a touch of sadness or tragedy were always the ones that inspired me the most. Although it’s extremely hard to pick only a few from such a wide spectrum, my favorite authors include novelist and writer giants like Erich Maria Remarque (Three Comrades; Arch of Triumph) or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Night Flight; Wind, Sand and Stars), but also less known and painfully underrated writers like Marguerite Radclyffe Hall (The Well of Loneliness). My affection towards all things melancholic can also be caught in my enthusiasm for early horror pioneers like Bram Stoker (Dracula), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) or Edgar Allan Poe (The Fall of the House Usher; The Cask of Amontillado). Apart from them, Gilbert Keith Chesterton (Heretics) always impressed me with his clear reasoning and brilliant paradoxes, Jorge Luis Borges (The Aleph; Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius) and Gustav Meyrink (Golem, The Angel of the West Window) enchant me with their unique and sometimes haunting dreams, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) helps me to imagine a better world, and Jack Kerouac (On the Road) takes me to a never-ending journey to see hidden places and meet extraordinary people.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
D: It’s an extremely good question, because it helps me reflecting on how I envision myself and my future in the world of music. First and foremost, I value the fact that I am an independent musician: it’s a great privilege and a responsibility at the same time. The downside of being independent is that I don’t have the whole day (or at least most of my time) to compose music, practice guitar skills, or promote my albums. However, there is also an unlimited freedom to operate in being an independent musician: I can always create whatever I feel like good, interesting, or inspiring. I will keep on walking this path: I will follow my instincts towards a continuously evolving realization of my musical ideas. The possibilities are endless: I’m thinking about incorporating vocals in my future albums, and I will definitely continue my experimentations with orchestration.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
D: I am extremely proud of my albums: I put so much effort in them like nothing else in my entire life. I still remember the feeling when Hexapla, my first release came out two years ago: it was an indescribable feeling of joy, relief and pride. Also, it makes me proud that my albums were well received: they appeared on SoundCloud’s RepostExchange charts and one of them was even featured in the “New and Notable” section of Bandcamp’s homepage. But the most heartwarming thing for me is that my music made me friends with people whom I otherwise would have never met.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
D: To be honest, I’m one of those musicians who put a lot of energy and money to build up a small but functional home studio. I always wanted to have this freedom to record my own stuff, because I find it way easier to work alone, without time and budget limitations. Having such a facility in the reach of my arm is an enormous help for me. However, promoting myself is a strikingly different issue. While I’m perfectly aware that self-promotion is a prerequisite of becoming a successful independent artist, it’s a well-defined profession which I’m not familiar with. It’s extremely hard – if not practically impossible – for an independent artist to break through this so-called “glass ceiling” and reach potential listeners without professional help – and it has serious consequences. The lack of effective routes for artists to reach their potential audience results in a distorted situation, where both artists and fans exist in isolated bubbles, and the odds of finding each other are very low. I try to get every chance to promote my albums on social media and streaming platforms – I even have a website that serves as a hub that connects these fragmented pieces of information. But I’m sure that there are lots of potential fans out there whom I will never be able to reach – exactly because of these technical limitations. It’s almost impossible to find each other in the overall noise – and that’s why I consider each and every person who listens to my music a miracle. I’m extremely grateful for their presence in my life.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
D: Darkwave is a one-piece musical project, meaning that all the duties from songwriting through playing the guitar and bass to programming, recording, mixing, and mastering lay on my shoulders (Zsolt Némethy). Being a solitary musician with no companions or bandmates, right now it’s impossible for me to play live. Of course, I want to find a solution to this issue in the near future: music is some kind of a form of interpersonal relationships, and I do want to share it with everyone, who’s interested in it.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
D: While I’m grateful for each and every download, I also feel that an mp3 file on someone’s hard drive or cell phone has nothing to do with the holistic feeling of discovering the cover art and booklet of a CD or a vinyl. I can’t deny that streaming sites are gold mines, but I still collect CDs: partly to support the artists and partly to have that special feeling of holding a complete artwork in my own hands.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
D: Firstly, I wish I’d written Lacuna Coil’s Veneficium. According to Cristina Scabbia, Veneficium is “the painful and fierce scream that rises from the darkness” – and this is something that resonates within my soul. It touched me so deeply that I even let the ancient Latin words of this song inked on my left arm. Also, I wish I’d written Cynic’s Box Up My Bones, more or less out of the same motivation. But I could mention a couple of other songs from Nevermore, Mekong Delta or Voivod, too.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
D: Right now, I live in a pretty much isolated bubble, where I don’t have much interference as a musician with the so-called music industry: I compose, record, mix, and master my albums by myself, alone in my little world. But from a very different angle I have at least a limited overview on the whole business, being a team member of a Hungarian metal webzine where we do interviews, write concert reviews and album critics. From this point of view, I see the enormous machinery of the music industry, of which bands are just small parts. Being a professional musician looks extremely demanding these days: touring is exhausting, royalties are limited, so bands must rely on selling merch. I wish bands could have more financial independence in order to have a chance to dedicate themselves exclusively to songwriting, recording and performing.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
D: At the moment I’m taking a very short break. It’s not easy to compose, record, mix, master and promote an album alone – especially when you have a regular 9-5 job. Despite all these hardships, I find it an extremely rewarding activity. Still, sometimes it’s useful to distance yourself from these things in order not to let them become monotonous. But I have great plans for the future. Firstly, I want to release all my three albums in hard copy CD format. For this, I first want to remix them in order to achieve a better, thicker and more mature sound. Secondly, I already have ideas for my next release, and this time I don’t exclude the possibility of incorporating vocals and lyrics in it. Nothing is certain at the moment, but I feel like working with vocals would add something valuable to my future songs.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
D: I have a website (https://darkwavemetal.com) that’s updated frequently. The visitors can find everything there, including the links to my social media, streaming services and Bandcamp. I try to keep my listeners as informed as I can: the website contains background materials, stories and in general, everything. If someone wants to buy my albums, then the easiest way is to visit my Bandcamp page (https://darkwave-metal.bandcamp.com/), where all my releases are available.
Thanatology is featured on the Breathing The Core webzine! I briefly summarized my thoughts there on each tracks of the new album. You can either check out the original post here, or scroll down and read the entire text below!
“Thanatology is a scientific discipline that examines death from many perspectives, including physical, ethical, spiritual, medical, sociological, and psychological.”
Despite its title, this album has nothing to do with depression or sadness. This album doesn’t even intend to transmit negativity. On the contrary: Thanatology is an instrumental diary with six “inner snapshots” of a deeply spiritual journey starting with the realization of existential transience towards a glimmer of optimism. “Everybody is going to be dead one day, just give them time” said once Neil Gaiman – and indeed, death puts the big question mark upon our whole existence. Still, Thanatology tries to transmit feelings on a wide scale ranging from sadness and bitterness to joy and positivity that emerges from the realization that acknowledging life’s ephemeral nature can lead to a profound appreciation of the present moment and the beauty of existence.
(1) The Last Wasted Dawn
The opening track – with a title referring to the realization of the fragility and brevity of life – starts with an oriental guitar theme that subsequently melts into a flute solo. I am a big admirer of Devon Graves of Psychotic Waltz, therefore the involvement of flutes in a metal song has always been something fascinating to me. Here, the eerie sounds of the flute intend to paint pictures of a distant “inner desert” – a landscape that represents everything that we should abandon, leave behind. Then we arrive at the main body of the song that starts with an energetic part with even more flutes and jazzy-sounding piano harmonies (another amazing instrument in a metal track – look, what Francesco Ferrini does in a Fleshgod Apocalypse song!) combined with heavy riffs and guitar solos. Then comes the second – initially slower, then increasingly faster – part of the song with numerous multi-layered guitar harmonies and solos. In these parts I tried to incorporate feelings of bewilderment, bitterness and confusion that culminate in a fast, thrash metal-like part towards the end of the track (thrash metal has always been one of my major influences, therefore it’s almost inevitable that most of my songs have such parts…). Then the track ends with slowly calming down, by returning to the original oriental motif (however this time without a flute).
(2) Stepping Through The Shadow Line
The second song of the album is somewhat intentionally Janus-faced – just like the situation I tried to depict in the title: a paradox compendium of uncontrollable joy and happiness together with immense frustration and sadness. In other words: the duality of everything that’s left behind, vs. the coming future. The song starts with outbursts of happiness and energy that melt into richly orchestrated melodies, while bringing back the oriental feeling of the previous track (you’ll see later that these oriental parts have a somewhat cohesive role in the context of the entire album). Then we arrive again at a thrash-metal based fast and furious part colored with church organs that culminates in some kind of a “chorus” (I tend to like unconventional song structures – but if we want to make analogies, then I would call this particular section of hectic, disturbing keyboard melodies accompanied with subsequent guitar harmonies a “chorus”). Then the song immediately slows down to become a kind of “marche funèbre”, before the return of the initial thrash metal-like part and the chorus, to wrap everything up with the original energetic and joyful theme.
(3) Necronym
A necronym is a name of or a reference to a person who has already died. Therefore, this song is an obvious recollection of those deserted “personal landscapes” that I already left behind in the first two songs (before “crossing the shadow line”, if you know what I mean…). The jazz-like guitar themes in the beginning of the song are accompanied by slightly unconventional harmonies played on an acoustic guitar. In contrast, the main body of the song is based on a monotonous, pulsating, and rough riff, which tries to dig deep into the mind of the listener, creating a recurring pattern like a continuously returning, unpleasant memory. If you ever wandered in your apartment sleeplessly, haunted by memories from your past, then you’ll understand the motivation behind this section. The piano-based, gloomy middle part is then followed by a bridge section that shows some resemblance to the dissonant harmonies used by the late Piggy of Voivod. The song ends up with the original riff enriched with synthwave fills.
(4) Legacy Of The Worthless
I was around 15 or 16, when I first heard Deep Purple’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra – and in that very moment I realized that there aren’t any substantive differences between the artificially divided “classical” and “modern” music genres. To me, these genres appear nothing else but different expressions on Art’s beautiful face. That’s why I love playing with orchestration, even in the most brutal songs. And this is definitely one of the straightforward ones, trying to transmit feelings of despair and anger, and of being in the bottom of the hole from where one can only proceed upwards. Most of the time I used to play the guitar in standard tuning, but this song was written in drop D, which renders it a deeper, and more robust sound than the other tracks of the album. My enthusiasm for piano harmonies and synthwave fills is evident here, too.
(5) All Shall Perish
The fifth song of Thanatology intends to be some kind of a recognition of our own mortality, signified with the tolling death bells in the intro. After haunting piano sounds and guitar harmonies we arrive at a part of slow brutality supported by the accompaniment of a brass orchestra. Then the jazzy middle part with pianos precedes one of the fastest moments in the whole album: a good old-school thrash metal riff. This is the song of burning bridges: the checkpoint, where we finally realize the transient nature of our own existence – and this recognition triggers us to take a big step forward.
(6) Farewell Before Sunset
The last song of the album is again a thrash metal-based track. The initial section with an almost nu metal-like riff is followed by the ultimate thrashing madness of the album colored with the sounds of a Hammond organ, that somewhat soften the harshness of the fast riffs. Then comes a melody that I find particularly meaningful and emotional – if I should name a single riff that I’m most proud in the entire album, I would mention this one. For me, it’s like the wrap up of the whole record’s essence: it’s extremely sad but still, full of hope, like in that old Virgin Black song with Rowan London screaming in his haunting, tortured voice: “All is lost but hope…”. Then the oriental motif from the first track comes back, taking the whole album structure into a frame, with fading out at the end, leaving the big questions concerning our own existence open.
It seems that today Thanatology has a great day on Soundcloud! The second track (Stepping Through The Shadow Line) of my recent album is killing on the Re-Ex Pop/Rock chart and it’s on the second place right now, while appearing on the 11th place on the cumulative Rex-Ex Top40! Meanwhile The Last Wasted Dawn is still on the 28th place on the same Pop/Rock chart!
The first song of Thanatology just landed on the 18th place in the ReEx Pop/Rock chart! Wish me luck, friends – I hope it will rise even higher!
The third full-length Darkwave release, Thanatology, is an intensely emotional journey into the depths of formative memories, emotions, and experiences – those silent forces that shape the spiritual essence of a person. Harnessing the expressive power of instrumental progressive metal, the album paints vivid inner landscapes, translating these emotional currents into six distinct movements, each carrying a title that serves as a guidepost along the way.
“Memento mori.” The phrase echoed throughout medieval Christianity as a stark reminder of life’s impermanence: “Remember that you must die.” Humanity has always grappled with the weight of its own finiteness, responding in countless ways to the unsettling reality of mortality. Thanatology offers its own contemplation on this eternal theme, resonating with Jack Kerouac’s poignant words: “I’m writing this book because we’re all going to die.” (Visions of Cody).
In essence, the six tracks of Thanatology – released on August 3, 2023, precisely on the second anniversary of Hexapla – form an intimate soundtrack to a spiritual pilgrimage. A passage through time, memory, and the inevitable recognition of life’s transience. As an instrumental work, Thanatology does not seek to provide definitive answers to the existential questions that haunt us. Instead, it aims to evoke emotions – subtle, profound, and deeply personal – that might serve as a guide through this introspective and transformative journey.
With this in mind, Thanatology stands as both a continuation and culmination of Hexapla and Missa Innominata, weaving the first three Darkwave albums into a deeply interconnected narrative.
Track listing
The links below will lead you to the respective tracks on my Bandcamp page, where you can stream or download the songs. Alternatively, you can explore Hexapla on various streaming platforms, including Spotify, AppleMusic, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
Total playing time: 37:31