Negura Bunget
Maiestrit

What officially was supposed to be a simple reinterpretation of an album released ten years ago ("Maiastru Sfetnic") has in reality become an essential compendium and the definitive artistic expression of the Negura Bunget project after over a decade of career. If we then consider that this "Maiestrit" is also the last official release featuring the original lineup of the Romanian band (the powerful trio Hupogrammos/Sol Faur/Negru), one could also speak of a spectacular swan song followed by a surprising, unexpected (not to say "betrayal-like") rebirth of the group with "Vîrstele Pamîntului," boasting an almost entirely new lineup.

"Vîrstele Pamîntului" and "Maiestrit" were both released just fifteen days apart: such a short gap between the two works only accentuated the gap between the old lineup and the current one, even though the spirit of Negura Bunget miraculously remained intact in ideas - perhaps a little less in expressive forms, but let's proceed in order. A comparison would be somewhat trivial, although inevitable, and it's precisely the first thing that comes to mind when listening to the two works; but I don't want to be too tedious on this.

As already mentioned, Negura has always remained Negura: stern, taciturn, mysterious, with a vaguely shamanic air, indissolubly tied to their land and its folklore, its traditions. All of this, ça va sans dire, reflects in their music which, now as ever, is rather distant from the canonical and dry black metal of their beginnings in "Zîrnindu-sa"; anyone familiar with the band knows that works like "OM" and "'N Crugu Bradului" go well beyond the extremism of the genre, while still having their roots in it: that blend of progressive and atmospheric black, folk, ambient, and a certain "psychedelic" spirit has become an unmistakable and personal trademark of the group (as well as a true reference point for the avant-garde scene) in a short time, up to the near-complete abandonment of black metal shores with the aforementioned "Vîrstele Pamîntului," characterized by a soft, muffled, contemplative sound, with a touch that is spiritual as never before.

And "Maiestrit"?

"Maiestrit" is its counterpart, more fierce and impetuous. No frills, no compromises: "Vremea Locului Sortit" explodes in a storm of abrasive and substantial riffs and ever-changing rhythms, Hupogrammos engages in feral and scratchy vocalizations, somewhere between passionate screams and primordial chants. Put like this, it may seem like yet another cacophonous junk thrown there to violate the auditory system. Nothing could be further from the truth: behind the whirlwind wall of distortions that will occupy the stereo for almost an hour, immense sound tapestries will parade, imposing melodic openings with a folkloric flavor, intense passages marked by epicness, evocative autumn mountain landscapes, and more of the same. In short, creativity on the rampage.

We won't be dealing with the eclectic attitude of an immense "OM," and perhaps we are also distant from the sulfurous and foggy poetry of "'N Crugu Bradului". "Maiestrit" does not aim to shine for experimentalism or avant-garde, but for the passion and inventiveness with which each song is genuinely imbued, and in this, it sounds 100% Negura Bunget. "Bruiestru" and "Plecaciunea Mortii" give ample space to the band's folkloric soul before venturing into tortuous guitar incursions; "A-vînt în abis" captures, drags, and ravages without a moment's respite; "Al Locului" opens up on Hupogrammos' ancestral chants and continues along a trail of disturbing mysticism. For those who wish to savor the group's more intimate side without overly disturbing the eardrums, acoustic/instrumental versions of two tracks are offered at the end of the album, and here the atmosphere is abundant by the truckload. The inevitable cherry on top.

Certainly, the true potential of the group has been magnificently expressed elsewhere ("OM") not so much for the musical quality as for the expressive variety, but this is a detail that holds little relevance in the context. The pride and austerity that shape "Maiestrit" leave no room for doubt: these are the essential and primary Negura Bunget (the real ones) reclaiming and asserting their origins; this is the worthy synthesis of a group that, with a few albums, has indeed given a lot, and hopefully will continue to do so despite the recent controversies.