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Rating: It's a rather strange situation. It concerns the Romanian band Negura Bunget, one of the most formidable black metal acts (and perhaps in all of metal) of the past ten years, who effectively are no longer Negura Bunget. Many will remember them for their original lineup: Hupogrammos, Sol Faur, Negru, the authors of those two terrifying masterpieces known as ""'N crugu Bradului"" and ""OM";" a formation that fell into crisis due to an internal dispute, leading the three bearded shamans in 2009 to the bitter decision to close up shop.
Unfortunately/fortunately, Negru did not stick to the agreement, and in the blink of an eye, the Negura Bunget project was revived, rejuvenated by a new substantial lineup that, in addition to Negru, included five other members. One thing is certain: despite the drastic lineup change, the soul of Negura Bunget hasn't shifted an inch, and the wonderful "Vîrstele Pamîntului" (2010), too good to be true, is there to prove it. Obviously, the sound has softened significantly (black metal is now a faint reminiscence), the atmospheres are becoming increasingly soft and expansive, but essentially, the 'Foggy Forest' has remained the same, much to the delight of its followers.
What I hope now is that dear Negru doesn't get too big-headed, ending up overreaching. This is the first thing that came to mind listening to the latest EP "Poarta De Dincolo". At best, a mini-CD can be an organically and conceptually structured work, even without the length of a full album; or it can be an interesting collection of some particular/experimental tracks or some rarities, a small digression in which to stuff various curiosities that, although dispensable, whet the fans' appetite. In this case, however, the art of making an EP is reduced merely to a good way to rob you of twenty-eight precious minutes of your life (and maybe some cash from your wallet), given that the four proposed tracks seem nothing more than insipid scraps from the last studio album session.
Beyond the fact that the novelties are virtually zero (something I frankly could not care less about), the quality of these tracks oscillates between barely passable and like a struggling bowel movement: played impersonally, poorly produced, terribly sung. Evidently, the departure of guitarists Corb and Spin hasn't helped the band much, and, moreover, the absence of Corb's sharp scream is noticeable: Ageru now finds himself replacing him entirely with his cave troll-like voice, which, over time, becomes a bit irritating. Meanwhile, let's draw a compassionate veil over the annoyingly muffled guitar sound, and the flat execution by the two new guitarists Urzit and Fulmineos (do they come up with these nicknames at night?!) certainly doesn’t help to uplift things.
"Hotar" and the title track are the ugliest tracks (a trite term, but as summative as ever) that Negura Bunget has ever written, and honestly, they are the only ones I would officially call "ugly". Everything is fine as long as they stick to the now-typical misty ambient/folk (although even this is below expectations), but the more metallic sections are terribly generic, long-winded, muted... Not a disaster, but it's close. "La Marginea Lumii" and "Frig în Oase" cling to adequacy; the former very similar to "Hotar" but slightly more inspired, while the latter is a dark ambient monolith of seven minutes that strongly recalls the folkloric interludes of "OM", without, of course, matching them in expressiveness despite its extensive scope.
In short, as already mentioned, it's a strange situation... On the one hand, I think that Hupogrammos & co. would never have dreamed of such nonsense, on the other, I am starting to be reluctant to consider this group as "Negura Bunget," especially following the continuous lineup changes, which I hope are not harbingers of an imminent (inevitable?) downfall. Meanwhile, the band has already announced they are contemplating a triple concept album about Transylvania, and I'm not sure whether to get excited about this or shelve any expectations. In any case, I hope the EP in question is just a joke and not a new starting point.
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