by Eduardo Rivadavia
Romanian black metal act Negura Bunget perform authentic vampire black metal! Boasting a mere four tracks clocking in at over twelve minutes each and symbolic of the four seasons, the group's fourth album 'N Crugu Bradului convincingly combines atmospheric ambient music passages with all-out black metal aggression. Just as fascinating is the band's headlong immersion into Romanian culture, folklore and legend, resulting in a complex vision of Transylvanian spirituality they call 'Zsalamolkxisa.' Majestically laid out across the disc's multi-faceted four movements, this ambitious endeavor will offer hours of discovery and study for the discriminating extreme metal listener. In other words, this album is not fit for amateurs, but rather committed metal fans who usually can't resist a good yarn to back up such musical excursions. For those fans, Negura Bunget's utmost dedication to every aspect of their craft makes this release even more interesting to explore.