''OM'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

Negură Bunget Negură Bunget was a black metal band from Timișoara, Romania whose atmospheric sound incorporated elements of progressive metal and Romanian folk music. Biography Negură Bunget originally formed at the end of 1994 under the name Wiccan Rede, ...

, released on October 20, 2006, on the Code666 label. It was recorded in Negură Music Studio and produced, mixed and mastered by the band. A double LP of the album with a bonus track was released by Enucleation Records in 2008. Another double LP edition, remastered but without the bonus track, was released by Blood Music in 2014.

Critical reception

The album received wide critical acclaim from metal critics. Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Eduardo Rivadavia called ''OM'' the band's "opus" and cited its "breathtaking range and imagination", while

Heathen Harvest Heathen Harvest was an Internet blog devoted to music criticism, music news, and interviews. It focused on underground and post-industrial music, including ambient, heavy metal, gothic, and industrial music. The site, which was established in 2 ...

's Conor Fynes said that the album "had one of the most original and otherworldly atmospheres ever committed to the black metal artform". MetalStorm stated, "''OM'' is nothing short of a masterpiece...A divine album with a unique style and its own trademark, this album is one of 2006's best efforts".

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

's Dean J. Brown gave ''OM'' a perfect 5 "classic" rating and retrospectively noted the album's major impact, saying, "Cinematic in its orchestration and flawless in its execution, Negură Bunget’s ''OM'', at the time of its release, tore apart the confines of what constituted black metal and re-imagined it in line with the band's own morbid visions; which were entirely unique to their Romanian surroundings...It’s a masterpiece of art, not just music". He went on to list in the album among the black metal genre's most important records: "When the annals of black metal are finally written - twill sit at the pantheon alongside classics such as

Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leadin ...

's ''

Transilvanian Hunger ''Transilvanian Hunger'' is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 17 February 1994 by Peaceville Records. Recording ''Transilvanian Hunger'' was the first Darkthrone album to be recorded as a duo (N ...

'',

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

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De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'' is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's ...

'' and

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In the Nightside Eclipse ''In the Nightside Eclipse'' is the first studio album and fourth official release by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. ...

''".

Track listing

*All songs written and arranged by Negură Bunget.

CD/2LP

# "Ceasuri rele" – 3:07 ("Dark Hours") # "Țesarul de lumini" – 12:49 ("Weaver of Lights") # "Primul OM" – 4:22 ("The First Human") # "Cunoașterea tăcută" – 7:13 ("Silent Knowledge") # "Înarborat" – 6:22 ("Rooted") # "Dedesuptul" – 6:39 ("The Underneath") # "Norilor" – 3:00 ("Of the Clouds") # "De Piatră" – 5:36 ("Of Stone") # "Cel din urmă vis" – 10:04 ("The Last Dream") # "Hora soarelui" – 5:56 ("Sun's Circle Dance") # "Al doilea OM" – 2:04 ("The Second Human") # "Văzduh" – 5:58 ("Air") onus track on Enucleation Records vinyl only

DVD (limited edition)

# "Cunoașterea tăcută" – clip – (filmed in Retezat,

Bucegi The Bucegi Mountains (Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, the ...

and Făgăraş Mountains) # "Norilor" – clip # "Primul om" – slideshow # "III" – live clip (filmed in Barossel) # "Văzduh" – clip (remixed/remastered) - (filmed in

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in Romanian. Their name translates from Rom ...

) # "Bruiestru" – live in Studio Rock,

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 ...

, May 2003 # "IIII" – live in

Zella-Mehlis Zella-Mehlis is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 5 km north of Suhl, and 20 km east of Meiningen. The town of Zella-Mehlis is the site of the original Walthe ...

, Shadow from the East Tour, April 2004 # "Wordless Knowledge" – live in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, OM Tour, November 2005 # "Negura Bunget" – interview, February 2006

Personnel

* Hupogrammos Disciple – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, nai, flute,

tulnic The ''bucium'' (, also called ''trâmbiţă'' or ''tulnic'') is a type of alphorn used by mountain dwellers and by shepherds in Romania and Moldova. The word is derived from Latin '' bucinum'', originally meaning "curved horn", an instrument ...

* Sol Faur – guitars, keyboards * Drimus –

pan pipes A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

* Ermit – bass guitar * Negru – drums, percussion,

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

toacă The semantron ( el, σήμαντρον) is a percussion instrument used in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox monasteries to summon the monastics to prayer or at the start of a procession. It is also known as a semandron, semanteriom (σημαντ� ...

Production

*Executive producer: Code666 *Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Negură Bunget at Negură Music Studio *Dan Florin Spataru (Encoilmark) – artwork, art direction, design, cover design, photography

References

External links

Review for OM on BestBlackMetalAlbums.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Om Negură Bunget albums 2006 albums Concept albums