Negura Bunget

Negura Bunget is a Romanian black metal group from Timișoara, active from 1995 to 2017. Its music is described across black metal, atmospheric black metal, folk metal and progressive metal, with a strong emphasis on Romanian and Transylvanian themes, spirituality and local nature.

Formation and early releases

The band forms in 1995 as Wiccan Rede, with Hupogrammos on guitars, vocals and keyboards and Negru on drums. Its first live performance takes place in Buzău in June 1995, before the first demo, From Transilvanian Forests, is recorded in Bucharest later that year and released under the original name. The band then changes its name to Negură Bunget as its concept shifts towards ancestry, the universe and spirituality.

The debut album, Zîrnindu-să, appears on Bestial Records in 1997. This is followed by the mini-album Sala Molksa in 1998, which introduces Spurcatu on guitars and bass. Măiastru sfetnic, released in 2000, becomes a major turning point for the group and leads to a contract with the Italian label code666 Records.

Development on code666 and Prophecy Productions

In 2003, Negură Bunget release 'n crugu bradului, their first album for code666 Records. The record is built around a seasonal concept and helps the band gain a wider international profile. The limited-edition EP Inarborat kosmos follows in 2005, and Om appears in 2006 as a CD/DVD release. The title refers both to the Romanian word for human being and to a contemplative spiritual state used in several religious traditions.

The band signs with Lupus Lounge / Prophecy Productions in 2007, with early albums reissued in special digipak editions in 2008. A live DVD, Focul viu, is later issued by Prophecy Productions in 2011. In 2010 the group releases both Măiestrit, a reinterpretation of Măiastru sfetnic, and Vîrstele pămîntului, a studio album completed in isolation in the mountains.

Line-up changes and later work

In spring 2009, founding member Hupogrammos and longtime member Sol Faur leave the band, and a new line-up forms with Corb on guitars and vocals and Spin on guitars. Negură Bunget continues touring widely across Europe, with appearances at festivals including Open Hell, Under The Black Sun, Wanted Festival, Wacken Open Air, Summerbreeze, Artmania, Kaltenbach Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting, MetalCamp, Brutal Assault, Hole in the Sky, Hellfest, Exit and Party San.

After the line-up change, the band develops The Transilvanian Trilogy, a combined musical and visual project. The EP Gînd a-prins appears in 2013 as an introduction to Tău, released in 2015 as the first full album in the trilogy. The final studio album, Zi, appears in 2016.

Style, language and themes

Negura Bunget’s work centres on Romanian heritage, Transylvanian landscape, spirituality and a conceptual approach to black metal. Its lyrics and titles use Romanian, and the band presents much of its catalogue as linked albums rather than isolated releases. The name itself is explained as a dark, elusive presence connected to the local spirit and to a black fog rising from a deep forest.

Final years and members

Drummer and co-founding member Negru dies in 2017, and the remaining members end the group. Over the years the band includes members and contributors such as Hupogrammos, Negru, Spurcatu, Sol Faur, Gădineț, Inia Dinia, Fulmineos, Urzit, Ageru Pământului, Corb, Spin, Tibor Kati, Adrian “DQ” Neagoe, Petrică Ionuțescu, Ovidiu Corodan, Vartan Garabedian, Mihai Neagoe and others in live and studio roles.