Negură Bunget was a

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

band from

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, Romania whose atmospheric sound incorporated elements of

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

and

Romanian folk music Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

Biography

Negură Bunget originally formed at the end of 1994 under the name Wiccan Rede, as a duo of Negru (Gabriel Mafa) on drums and Hupogrammos Disciple (Edmond Karban) on guitars, vocals, and keyboards. Both musicians had previously been members of Makrothumia. Wiccan Rede released one demo, 1995's ''From Transilvanian Forests'', before changing their name to Negură Bunget. In a 2004 interview, Negru explained the symbolism of the name:

The band's debut album, '' Zîrnindu-să'', was released in 1996. In 1997, guitarist Sol Faur (Cristian Popescu) joined the group. As a trio, they released a demo, several EPs and three more full-length albums - '' Măiastru Sfetnic'', '' 'N Crugu Bradului'' and '' OM''. The success of ''Măiastru Sfetnic'' (2000) secured the band a three-album contract with the Code666 label. Reaching a wider audience, they undertook their first European tours. ''N Crugu Bradului'' (2002) included four songs spanning a total of nearly an hour. The band described the album as:

In 2006, Negură Bunget released ''OM'', garnering significant attention from the extreme music press; for example, it was ranked as the second best album of 2006 by the writers of the British '' Terrorizer Magazine''. Drummer Negru (also the chief editor of the Central European ideological magazine ''Negura Music'') began a side project, Din Brad (meaning "from the fir tree"), in 2008. although their first (and to date, only) album ''Dor'' was not released until 2012. In 2009, Negură Bunget splintered due to unreconcilable disagreements between the three members. Both Hupogrammos and Sol Faur left and formed Dordeduh, while drummer Negru continued under the name of Negură Bunget with an array of new lineups. The band's first new album since the lineup change, 2010's ''Vîrstele Pămîntului'', was also released in a limited special edition version. Each of the 555 copies, handmade to order, consisted of a handcrafted, roped wooden box with a burned finish containing an undisclosed amount of genuine soil from

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, a poster, pin and deluxe digipack edition of the CD itself. Also in 2010, the band released ''Măiestrit'', a newly rerecorded version of ''Măiastru Sfetnic''. They released an EP, ''Poarta De Dincolo'', in 2011, as well as ''Focul Viu'', a live DVD and album recorded and filmed in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

in January 2008 with the classic trio lineup and backing musicians. Negru reshuffled the band's lineup completely again in 2013. He explained the band's structural arrangement thus:

The band issued a two-song 7" single, "Gînd A-prins", in 2013. Negură Bunget's sixth studio album, ''

Tău Tău may refer to several places in Romania: * Tău, a village in Roșia de Secaș Commune, Alba County * Tău, a village in Zau de Câmpie Zau de Câmpie ( hu, Mezőzáh, Hungarian pronunciation:) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Rom ...

'', was announced in 2013 as the first part of a planned "Transylvanian Trilogy". It was released on 27 February 2015 by

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

sublabel Lupus Lounge. The band's seventh album, '' Zi'', was released on 30 September 2016 by Lupus Lounge. Negru died on 21 March 2017, aged 42, leaving the band without any original members, and effectively ending the group. On 7 December 2018, the band announced on their Facebook page that the third installment of the "Transylvanian Trilogy", left unfinished following Negru's death, was finally going to be completed and released at some point in 2019, as a tribute to Negru. With Negru's leftover drum tracks, the remaining members worked on completing the album ''Zău'', which was released, two years later, on November 26, 2021.

Band members

Former members

*Negru (Gabriel Mafa) - drums, percussion (1995–2017), dulcimer, horns, xylophone (2002–2017) (died 2017) *Hupogrammos Disciple (Edmond Karban) - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards (1995-2009), flute, horns (2002-2009) *Sol Faur (Cristian Popescu) - guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1998-2005, 2006-2009) *Ageru Pământului - percussion, nai, flute, xylophone, archaic instruments, vocals (2009-2012) *Inia Dinia - keyboards (2006-2013) *Gadinet (Cătălin Motorga) - bass, nai, flute (2009-2013) *Spin - guitar (2009-2010) *Corb (Alex G. Mihai) - vocals, guitar, dulcimer (2009-2010) *Urzit - guitar (2010-2013) *Fulmineos - guitar, vocals (2010-2013) *Chakravartin (Stefan Zaharescu)- vocals (2012-2013) *Vartan Garabedian - percussion, vocals (2013–2016) *Mtz (Mihai Neagoe) - sound design (2013–2016) *Tibor Kati - vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming (2013–2017, 2018–2021) *OQ (Adrian Neagoe) - guitar, vocals, keyboards (2013–2017, 2018–2021) *Petrică Ionuţescu - nai, flute, horns (2013–2017, 2018–2021) *Ovidiu Corodan - bass (2013–2017, 2018–2021) *Daniel Dorobanţu - visual design (2013–2017, 2018–2021)

Former live members

*Trunks (Dumitrescu Ionuţ) - bass *Diana Karban - keyboards *Gabi Karban - keyboards, bass (1996-2007) *Daniel Dorobanțu - keyboards (1997–1998) *Ursu - bass (1999–2007) *Necuratul - percussion (2000-2003) *Andrei Popa - bass, guitar (2005) *Iedera - keyboards (2005–2006) *Alin Drimuș - nai, pipes, wooden flute (2006) *Arioch - bass (2007-2009) *Olivian Mihalcea - guitar, nai, wooden flute, pipes (2016)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Zîrnindu-să'' (1996) * '' Măiastru Sfetnic'' (2000) * '' 'N Crugu Bradului'' (2002) * '' OM'' (2006) * '' Măiestrit'' (2010) (re-recording of ''Măiastru Sfetnic'') * '' Vîrstele Pamîntului'' (2010) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Zi'' (2016) * ''Zău'' (2021)

Singles and EPs

* '' Sala Molksa'' (1998) * '' Inarborat Kosmos'' (2005) * ''Poarta de Dincolo'' (2011) * ''Gînd A-prins'' (2013)

Demos

* ''From Transilvanian Forest'' as Wiccan Rede (1995)

Live albums

*''Focul Viu'' (2011)

Box sets

* '' Negură Bunget Box'' (2004)

References

External links

Negură Bunget official website Negură Bunget MusicCode666 RecordsProphecy/Lupus Lounge Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negura Bunget Romanian black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1994 Romanian folk metal musical groups Post-metal musical groups 1994 establishments in Romania Musicians from Timișoara