Review Summary: The Thought Becomes The Body
Negura Bunget gave consistency to the Romanian black metal scene, finding a resonance that lacked in the country’s music. I am conscient that Romania doesn't have a great deal of importance in the universal musical décor. It gave a brilliant classical composer, some classical pianists, and a number of mediocre classic rock bands. This "classical" charade represents an anchor in an out-of-date part of Romanian culture, despite the fact that the country's testimony doesn't mean much, even for Eastern European musical currents.However, without a real motive, I wouldn’t be here writing this review of one of the brilliant gems of folk and black metal, the concept album "Om", a magnificent work enriched by fascinating traditional motifs.
"Om" means "human". The music centers around the phases of our life and experiences, analyzed from the ancestors’ prism of view. The sound presents a definitive archaic touch, which gives profoundness to an atmospheric definition of a mystic life. The word "human" is connected with the meaning of the band’s title, translating as "Dark Forest" with an accent on the "dark" word, perceived as "nightmarish." The album, which is esoterically charged and has a wild affirmed core, feels like a journey through the heart of an eternal forest, an inescapable place that possesses you with an occult force. This ethereal image of blackness and fear is exposed by a mysterious music, oscillating between folk soundscapes and black metal screams.
Like an interior expression of darkened seclusion, "Om" has the character of an ancient prayer, not feeling like a canonic album, but more like a journey to the hidden soul of a disappeared man. Every sound seems a step forward in this universe dominated by a cry of atavism to the depths of someone who knows a truth that faded along with the evolution of man. This incursion into an unknown time reigns over the first moment, an ambigous vibrant work followed by "Tesarul De Lumini". The moment represents a metaphysical incarnation of the thought in the body.The lyrics "In arc de vant, trezesc un gand/Din ceata-nflacarata un trup" mean "In the trembling winds, I am awaking a thought/And from the dense fog, I’m creating a body". This key lyrical construction represents the birth of a word and its raising to the level of material presence. I, the listener, felt the same way. My mind was absorbed and converted into a new flesh living in another epoch. This force of suggestion, this incantation, creates a new space, the mind being transported to an old Romanian village, even if the listener doesn’t know any hint of Romanian history.
The next moments will punctuate the idea of metamorphosis. "Primul Om" ("The First Man") marks the beginning of the human race, presenting an androgynous spirit of purity. It’s an entrance to a concealed world, the secret of this space knowing a definitive expression in "Cunosterea Tacuta" ("The Silent Knowledge"). "Inarborat" ("Arbored") accentuates with its versatile approach the complexion of the created universe. "Dedesubtul" ("The Downside World") portrayals the primal idea of hell, the sentiment of heaviness finding a contrast in the following moment, "Norilor" ("To The Clouds"), a weightless ode to the sky and its infiniteness. The track "De Piatra" ("From Stone") emphasizes the sentiment of roughness, its abrasiveness constructing a bridge to the elaborate character of "Cel Din Urma Vis" ("The Last Dream"), an ample portrait that encompasses the fusion between the reality of the archaic world and the validity of the place created by Negura Bunget. The keyboard ascensions blended with choral elements create the atmospheric peak of the entire record, highlighting a magnificent black metal orchestration spread over almost inaudible folkloric nuances. The shy touches will become fully developed in "Hora Soarelui" (The Sun’s Dance"), the point where the Romanian traditional influence drives the entire musical realm to a distinct musical discourse. The end, "Al Doilea Om," feels, with its keyboard construction, like an anticipation of the forefathers' descendants' destiny, juxtaposing the predecessor’s spirit with the image of the contemporary man.
Negura Bunget creates a symphony of human existence. Having an exuberant concept, "Om" unveils a homogenous black metal sound, magnified by the atmospheric nuance offered by the keyboards’ integration. Surprisingly, the synthesizers have force and dynamism, avoiding that shallow sound very common in atmospheric black metal records. Negura Bunget, as a group and conceptual entity, proves its singularity and unique approach, making a masterful oeuvre that doesn’t feel like a record, working at a higher level in the listener’s mind. It conceives a pilgrimage to a black and sacred era, encapsulating an inexistent but impressevely realistic time.
