Conor Fynes 'Om' - Negura Bunget (8/10)

Widely considered to be the holy grail of Romanian black metal, Negura Bunget's 'Om' has a reputation that precedes it. Although widely unknown to those outside of black metal circles, the band's brand of 'spiritual metal' leaves an impression, and I would go on record saying that this is the best album the band ever made. Although somewhat more challenging to appreciate than much of the atmospheric black metal out there, Negura Bunget's 'Om' does reveal its grandeur over time, and while still not amounting to the genre's crowning achievements, 'Om' delivers on all counts.

The band is sure to face some debate as to what particular style of music they play here is, but it can be held to reason that Negura Bunget do not ever stray far from the sound of black metal. As one might tend to expect then, the heavier aspect of this music is dominated by higher register growls, atmospheric guitar riffs, and the abrasive drum techniques that define the genre. Negura does this style with some great skill, always sounding professional and letting the dynamic ebb and flow naturally. What makes 'Om' an excellent album though is the fact that there is a wealth of changes in the sound here; there is more than black metal at work here. A listener would be hard-pressed to find a segment of heavy riffing and metallic darkness that lasts more than a few minutes without the more mellow and introspective side of the band coming into play. It is in fact the mellow, ambient side of Negura Bunget that I prefer, as they seem to paint a vaster sound with it.

Long sections of ambiance and mellow interlude tend to drag on for a while, but they do sound incredibly beautiful. Every now and then, some pleasant folk instrumentation will pop up, giving a more authentic feel, but much of the 'pretty' side of Negura Bunget is left up to a keyboard, which is commonly heard as well during the heavy moments of the album. The band plays their compositions very well, and are clever to make added nuances over the abrasive guitar textures. Whether its the quiet sound of a bell harmonizing with the melody or changing keyboard chord, Negura Bunget has left plenty of easter eggs to hunt for on this dark, spiritual journey.

Negura Bunget have found an excellent album here with 'Om', although it does feel a little longer than it should have been. Nonetheless, a wholeheartedly recommended album for the more atmospheric and introspective side of black metal.

Phonebook Eater 10/10

OM” is one of the best Black Metal albums ever recorded.

Romania. Black Metal. Now, thanks to Negura Bunget, I can easily this country and genre analogy that otherwise I would have never even dreamed of doing. This band has been around for awhile, but only in 2006 they got recognized and praised. “OM” is now, after only five years, considered to be one of the best Black Metal albums ever recorded. I’m not a big expert of the genre yet, but so far this seems to be THE best. I’m not exaggerating. This blew me away completely in every way.

Everything a Black Metal fan loves about the genre is here: harsh vocals, lo-fi production when it comes to the metal parts, tremolo picking. But there is so much more: the band, since they come from a country like Romania, absorbs a lot of traditional instruments, such as and incorporates them in the music, even in the more intense moments. But what makes this band and this album extremely interesting is their atmospheric and more progressive side: Many ambient moments, played with synths, can be found in this album, and they have an incredibly lush and clean sound, creating this gloomy and eerie atmosphere that I’ve never heard in a Black Metal album. The musicians are great, and their knowledge of traditional Eastern European music is pretty hearable.

Even though the songs are all in Romanian, as well as the title of the songs, it’s pretty obvious that OM is a concept album; knowing that “OM” means “human”, and the album has in the beginning “Primul Om” (the first human) and at the very last track “Al Doilea Om” (the second human). The album is extremely solid and consistent, with a majority of metal moments over the ambient ones, which is another reason for BM fans to love this album. I honestly can’t think of a bad song here: the three minute intro sets up an eerie and very creepy atmosphere, immediately after that the twelve minute epic “ Tesarul De Lumini”, one of BM’s best songs, with plenty of time and mood changes that perfectly flow one into another. The already mentioned “Primul Om” sets another stage for the rest of the album, still creepy but much more progressive sounding, with two fundamental changes in the three minutes. From there a bunch of masterpieces: “Cunoasterea Tacuta” is probably the most haunting song here, especially in the second part, where it gets much more experimental. “Inarborat” makes another great addiction, and “Dedesuptul” is one of the most guitar based songs off the album. Another interlude follows, this time an instrumental non synth based. “De Piatra” is the most in your face and harsh song of the album, “Cel Din Urma Vis” is a ten minute epic that has a first, more BM part, then gets really ambient, then again turning into the first part. “Hora Soarelui” too starts with a strong riff, but then becomes a sort of homage to Romanian folk music. The outro “Al Doilea Om” closes the album magnificently.

“OM” is an essential album for any metal fan, one of those gems that are a definite must-listen. Rarely I am this impressed.

The T 666 It's amazing that a genre that started with so low standards for musicianship (black metal) has spurred a sub-genre of such an outstanding level of quality. Norwegian black metal was meant to be the most painful experience for the ear, with its high-guttural vocals, its lightning-fast tremolo picking, its deliberately-atrocious recordings, and its inhuman blast beats. But somehow there were a few bands that managed to shine through the chaos with their musicianship, like IMMORTAL or EMPEROR (other outfits like DARKTHRONE or GORGOROTH have managed to shine WITHIN that chaos, but that's another story right now.) And it's from the seed of these bands that other musicians decided to build a whole new thing around the basic ideas of the classics of the genre. Eventually, ENSLAVED evolved into a great progressive-oriented band, Ihsahn from EMPEROR started two side projects, both full of radical, advanced ideas for the genre. Finally, the influence has reached Romania, and has given us one of the most daring yet most true-to-roots progressive-oriented black metal bands around: NEGURA BUNGET.

"Om", the latest opus from NEGURA BUNGET, is much more "black" than many of the albums in this subgenre. We have a little more fast sections here, we get a lot more high-guttural vocals (probably 80% of the disc), and, to add to the "black" flavor, the recording is rawer, less-polished than in other albums. The sound of "Om" at times borders on the unintelligible, very much in the true spirit of traditional Norwegian black metal.

Such a recording would be detrimental in other kinds of music but here, somehow, it works. When NEGURA BUNGET is not blasting away with massive violence, they build enormous walls of sound with texture after texture, using keyboards and instruments like the panpipe to create a truly depressive, dark, ominous atmosphere that really belongs in the most obscure areas of the mind. When the music is not fast, it is slow, very slow, moody, and very sedative. It makes one feel insecure, as the keys the band chooses and the harmonies they prefer are always very effective in producing unrest and utter lack of hope. As with ENSLAVED, but much more so here, the music has a distinct "post metal" sound to it. I would venture myself to say that, were it not for songs like "Inaborat", which has plenty of sections of pure black-metal evilness, this album would very perfectly fit in the same genre as recordings by bands such as AGALLOCH. But in "Om" the healthy diversity of tempos and moods make the experience a completely manageable one.

The individual skills of the members of the band are evident, yet never in-your-face. This is not a band that allows for unnecessary displays of virtuosity. What is more important for NEGURA BUNGET is the sound of the ensemble as a whole, as one big integral unit. One never leaves this album with a very high impression of any particular musician in the band, but one always does with an excellent impression of the art of the group. None shines here except for the band. As with most black metal outfits, the members have chosen not to put in the booklet their real names; instead, they use pseudonyms, fantastic names, probably taken from the black arts or stories of demons and witchcraft. And there's no need to know their individual names. They are one big thing. What we know is that NEGURA BUNGET plays some of the most original type of metal around.

It takes quite a few tries to get a real picture of "Om". The long songs, the instrumental-only passages full of dissonance and perverted noises, the erratic structures and the lack of catchiness don't make for an easy first listen. But after a few sessions the magic of the album starts to become apparent, till in the end it is a devastating, definitive fact.

A masterpiece of progressive-oriented black-metal, I give it 4.5 stars. Get "Om". Now. And be ready to immerse yourself into a magnificent world of dark, evil music.