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Negură Bunget - Tău review




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Reviewer:
6.0

82 users:
7.28
Band: Negură Bunget
Album: Tău
Release date: February 2015


Disc I
01. Nametenie
02. Izbucul Galbenei
03. La Hotaru Cu Cinci Culmi
04. Curgerea Muntelui
05. Tarim Vilhovnicesc [feat. Sakis Tolis]
06. Impodobeala Timpului [feat. Rune Eriksen]
07. Picur Viu Foc
08. Schimniceste

Disc II [artbook bonus]
01. La Hotaru Cu Cinci Culmi [alternate version]
02. Impodobeala Timpului [alternate version]

Disc III [DVD] [artbook bonus]
01. Nametenie
02. Curgerea Muntelui
03. Schimniceste

For those who didn't write the band off following the departure of Sol Faur and Hupogrammos, and their subsequent formation of Dordeduh, Negură Bunget are back in action. But while Vîrstele Pămîntului may have been a good return to form for the band, 2015's Tău unfortunately feels more like a step backwards.

Vîrstele Pămîntului saw Negură Bunget somewhat easing up on their black metal personality and tapping into their more folky, ambient-oriented nature, and for the most part Tău continues along this path. The music at times is epic, highly atmospheric, and, as usual, creates a very powerful feeling of the band's Romanian homeland."Curgerea Muntelui," with its dark folk feel, sounds almost like it could've come off of a Wardruna album, and the somewhat circus-y feel towards the end of "Impodobeala Timpului," while a bit of a rough transition, is certainly interesting. While these elements may not be up to par with the grandiosity they see on OM, there's still little denying that Negură Bunget know how to work them quite well.

The problem, however, is the black metal. With Negură Bunget, there was always a question of what the black metal to folk ratio was on their albums. With Tău, it's about 40/60, and while there's nothing wrong with this, the way that the black metal blends into the folk here, and vice versa, feels nowhere near as seamless or well thought out as it has been on the band's previous albums. The shifts from one to the next feel rather uninspired, and the best way I can put it is that the black metal feels as though it never really has any sort of crescendo, but rather that it's there.... just to be there, really. Ideally, one would think that the black metal should help build to folk climaxes, or vice versa, but this isn't what's going on with Tău at all. There's a big feeling, listening to this album, that Negură Bunget focused way more on developing the folk side of things here than they did with their black metal, and Tău honestly would probably be much better as a purely folk album.

If there's one thing that listening to Tău has convinced me of, it's that (as many have already suggested) Sol Faur and Hupogrammos really did put a signature edge on Negură Bunget's composition, and that their absence has altered the band's sound considerably. The band can obviously continue without them, but they're also proving, with Vîrstele Pămîntului and Tău, that it's becoming increasingly difficult for them to complement their folk and black metal personalities. While this album is certainly not a complete disappointment, and does have a few notable standout moments, it also leaves a lot to be desired, and may leave many fans questioning the band's future.

Maybe you'll be more impressed?.





Written on 23.03.2015 by Metal Storm’s own Babalao. Comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable since 2013.


Comments

Comments: 10   Visited by: 157 users
23.03.2015 - 22:13
Rating: 7
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Good review, though i enjoyed the album after a listen or two enough that I'd call it "good."

Negru Bunget is not as good as Negura Bunget was, but at least I still find the music interesting, even if not as fulfilling as the last couple proper, original NB albums.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

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23.03.2015 - 22:59
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by BitterCOld on 23.03.2015 at 22:13

Good review, though i enjoyed the album after a listen or two enough that I'd call it "good."

Negru Bunget is not as good as Negura Bunget was, but at least I still find the music interesting, even if not as fulfilling as the last couple proper, original NB albums.

I really wasn't expecting all that much of it to be honest. I could probably give it a few more points here, but not very many. Though it's far from terrible, listening to this at many points just makes me that much more eager for Dordeduh to drop a new album, which I'm sure will more than likely blow this one out of the water when it comes.
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I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.

~ II. VII
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23.03.2015 - 23:19
Rating: 6
flightoficarus
Stamp Tramp
I concur.
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Listen to the Trench Talk podcast.
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24.03.2015 - 10:16
These guys are on of my favourite bands. I even liked Virstele Pamintului. This, however, is just mediocre. The sound is synthetic, and the song patterns don't really make sense. I'm really dissapointed, but hey! I can always go and listen more to OM instead of whining on their Youtube videos.
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24.03.2015 - 12:28
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by GabrielGheorghiu on 24.03.2015 at 10:16

These guys are on of my favourite bands. I even liked Virstele Pamintului. This, however, is just mediocre. The sound is synthetic, and the song patterns don't really make sense. I'm really dissapointed, but hey! I can always go and listen more to OM instead of whining on their Youtube videos.

To expect anything else on par with OM or 'N Crugu Bradului from these guys anymore is just unrealistic. I too enjoyed Virstele Pamintului, and it convinced me that the band could go on strong without with the Dordeduh guys. This, however, definitely raises a lot of doubts.
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I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.

~ II. VII
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24.03.2015 - 15:21
roeder

Written by Auntie Sahar on 24.03.2015 at 12:28

Written by GabrielGheorghiu on 24.03.2015 at 10:16

These guys are on of my favourite bands. I even liked Virstele Pamintului. This, however, is just mediocre. The sound is synthetic, and the song patterns don't really make sense. I'm really dissapointed, but hey! I can always go and listen more to OM instead of whining on their Youtube videos.

To expect anything else on par with OM or 'N Crugu Bradului from these guys anymore is just unrealistic. I too enjoyed Virstele Pamintului, and it convinced me that the band could go on strong without with the Dordeduh guys. This, however, definitely raises a lot of doubts.

I think the fact that the complete lineup was changed again after Virstele Pamintului explains a lot. I saw the current lineup live two years ago, and they performed the older songs perfectly well, but it seems that they just can't produce new stuff that is on the same level. It also led me to believe that Negru is only the manager/drummer of the band, and that he doesn't really contribute to the writing process. At least this would explain why the albums sound so different after each lineup change.

During my first listen the album sounded quite boring. As you mentioned in the review the transition between the metal and folk parts feel really awkward. I will give it another chance, maybe it's a grower, but i don't have high hopes.
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24.03.2015 - 16:37
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Band what seems to me from line up changes, more goes from Black metal and folk metal to folk metal and Romanian folk music ... or I am wrong, last MS news videos, I hear folk sound not BM anymore
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
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I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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27.03.2015 - 21:20
Rating: 10
BlackgateGallows

Negura Bunget is always trying to do something different, something new. As a really huge fan of the band I love every album including "Tau". N.B. is one of those bands which are not easy on first listening but when you enter their dimension there's no way out.
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13.09.2015 - 18:45
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
How the hell did this end up on my hard drive Che? I must have been browsing the internet and saw a "post" tag on this somewhere. No other explanation. I am listening to the first song right now. It isn't bad, although their isn't one iota of post in this anywhere.
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rekt
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13.09.2015 - 21:38
Rating: 6
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
Written by tea[m]ster on 13.09.2015 at 18:45

How the hell did this end up on my hard drive Che? I must have been browsing the internet and saw a "post" tag on this somewhere. No other explanation. I am listening to the first song right now. It isn't bad, although their isn't one iota of post in this anywhere.

you only listen to post metal?
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"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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