Warthur Negura Bunget's OM combines intriguing, experimental music with metaphysical lyrics which avoid the controversial subject matter usually associated with black metal in favour of spiritual speculation. Most of the album takes a progressive black metal direction, but by incorporating quieter (occasionally ambient) moments into their compositions, which often extends to including traditional Romanian instruments in their repertoire, the band create an atmosphere unique to this album. At points it sounds like a particularly stirring movie soundtrack, which I guess is a high compliment when applied to concept albums; either way, it's an intriguing little album which rewards multiple careful listens and an open mind.

Conor Fynes 'Măiastru Sfetnic' - Negura Bunget (7/10)

Negura Bunget is widely regarded to be Romania's greatest metal export, and although I did not always think of them this way, they have been steadily growing on me recently. 'Măiastru Sfetnic' is the band's second album, and although receiving only limited attention, some of the more dedicated followers of the band have since considered it a classic. While now having been re-recorded under the title 'Maiestrit', 'Măiastru Sfetnic' would have been all but lost in time. Luckily, this is a gem of Eastern European metal, and while the odds may have been stacked against it, its quality will keep it going. Negura Bunget creates a convincing and incredbly atmospheric dark metal sound on this second album.

For someone already familiarized with the black metal sound, Negura Bunget does not stray far form three. Instead of focusing on how heavy they can be, Negura Bunget instead aims for atmosphere, the feeling of despair and romanticism I am sure only a Transylvanian forest can evoke. Everything is given a dreamy lo-fi production, which will turn some listeners off, but for me, it obscures the sound just enough to leave a part of 'Măiastru Sfetnic' up to the listener's imagination. Along with fast drumming, raspy vocals and a feeling of decay of sadness, the band is not so far flung from other black metal acts. There is a difference here from Negura and say, the Scandinavian black metal bands however. This difference in style most gets across through the band's moderate use of folk influences here. Folk in metal may not have been a new thing by the year 2000, but there is certainly a different, more haunting vibe that Eastern European folk gives as opposed to its warmer Western counterpart.

The highlight track here for me is the absolutely majestic 'Al Locului'; a slow building monster which ascends the mountain with ambient vocals and a repetitive atmospheric riff that keeps the dramatic tension rising. 'Măiastru Sfetnic' reaches its ultimate point when the music bursts out into nearly inhuman howls in tandem with the melodic guitars. Not all parts of this album have the same memorable feel to them, and I would say that some of these songs (most of which lurk around the ten minute mark) could be cut down a bit in order to keep some of the less melodic moments from growing stale.

'Măiastru Sfetnic' is a great album though, and one that took me a few listens to sink in. The symphonic and folk undertones to this harsh music give it an added dimension that I find very intriguing, and as far as this rehash of the album released a decade later, its difficult to beat this recording's bitter sense of atmosphere.

Any Colour You Like I don't speak Romanian, so it's hardly likely that I can explain to you what Poartă De Dincolo is all about. So I won't.

Instead, here is a collection of words that form sentences, which somewhat describe this latest EP release form Romanian dark metal overlords, Negura Bunget. Mix one part ambient, a dash of folk, a mix of black metal and a pinch of paganism, and you have Poartă De Dincolo. This 27 minute EP consists of four tracks, each of which combines the aforementioned mix of musical parts. The result is relatively similar to 2006's Om, often considered as the band's creative zenith. The cerebral ambience and spiritual content of Negura Bunget's music invokes images of pagan rituals, forest seances and Transylvanian mountain scenes. While still firmly rooted in earthly black metal, Poartă De Dincolo once again delves into dark ambient territory, with crisp percussion, distant guitar tones and gruff wails. It's not exactly re-inventive, but that's firmly missing the point of Negura Bunget. Like Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room and other contemporaries, Negura Bunget is all about creating a spiritual connection to places and temporal planes. Plus, listening to their music gives you, the listener the excuse to prance around in forests, and other cool stuff.

UMUR "Poarta de Dincolo" is a 4 track, 28:35 minutes long EP release by Romanian black metal act Negura Bunget. The EP was released in April 2011 by code666. There´s been a couple of lineup changes since "Vîrstele Pamîntului (2010)" as guitarists Spin and Corb have left Negura Bunget to focus on their own act Syn Ze Sase Tri (who released their debut full-length studio album "Între Doua Lumi " in early 2011). They are replaced here by Fulmineos (guitars, vocals) and Urzit (guitars).

The music on "Poarta de Dincolo" is atmospheric black metal with ethnic folky elements and instrumentation. The vocals are raw, raspy and almost shouting desperate. The tempo is mostly slow or mid-paced. There´s a an earthy and organic atmosphere to the music but also an epic edge created by keyboards. The sound production is equally earthy and organic and make the whole concept work well.

Personally I think that "Poarta de Dincolo" is a step up from "Vîrstele Pamîntului" both in terms of production but also because "Poarta de Dincolo" features less of those almost new age like elements that mared parts of "Vîrstele Pamîntului". It´s a quality release this one and therefore fully deserves a 3.5 - 4 star rating.

Conor Fynes 'Virstele Pamintului' - Negura Bunget (8/10)

2006 saw the Romanian black metal band Negura Bunget make their crowning achievement and major contribution to the metal world; the epic 'Om'. Although I cannot (yet) bring myself to call it the everlasting masterpiece that so many fans claim it to be, it is undeniable how much it stirred black metal; no longer was the scene in the hands of the Scandinavians. After the classic Negura Bunget split with some previous members forming Dordeduh, the more recent incarnation of the band came together to release two new albums. One of these was a redux of their second album, and this- the more successful of the two- was of entirely new material. 'Virstele Pamintului' is not quite as cohesive as 'Om' was, but the grand focus on ethnic instrumentation here makes me enjoy the album just as much. With such a folkish influence in the sound, Negura Bunget brings an added dimension to the realm of black metal.

The sound of folk music is nothing new to metal, but there are few bands out there that do the sound as well as Negura Bunget. To be quite honest, far too many of the bands that label themselves as 'folk metal' use the folk sound as a gimmick and nothing more, but Negura Bunget takes these ethnic instruments and makes them a central part of their sound. Of course, the main focus is still on the black metal elements, but there is still enough of an Eastern European flair and atmosphere to make it all sound convincing. As I have said, the songs here do not flow amongst each other as well as 'Om' did, but taken song by song, 'Virstele Pamintului' is a real winner; there is a greater focus on melodies and highlighting the folkish influences of Negura Bunget on this album, and both traits tend to make it a more enjoyable experience.

Things often sound like Opeth here, but without the same sense of repetition, or contrived heavy-to-light contrasts that Opeth builds themselves around. The music Negura Bunget makes here flows very naturally, and like all music I have heard from this band, it takes several listens for the music to really sink in. Some of the synth sounds that the band employs are a little tinny, but for the most part, things are produced excellently, and the pastoral, spiritual vibe of a Romanian village gets through in the sound here. The vocals- much like the music- alternate between abrasive rasps and cleaner tones, and the clean vocals are the more enjoyable of the two. The harsh vocals here are not bad, and even fairly diverse for a black metal album, but simply never truly standout enough to really grab my attention. The clean vocals on the other hand do a much better job of capturing the nuances of the Romanian language, which consequently helps to give an even more atmospheric experience.

A very good album that really exceeded my expectations. I was looking forward to a fairly good album here, but with a slightly less-than-impressive track record with the band in the past, I was not anticipating listening to this like a regular fan of the band. However, while its clear that I may be coming to the Negura Bunget fanhood a little latter than I should have, 'Virstele Pamintului' has corrected me; maybe it is time to revisit 'Om' after all.