Band:	Negură Bunget
Album:	Tău
Style:	Black metal, Folk metal
Release date:	February 27, 2015
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

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?.