Think of Romania and one gets visions of the immortal first vampire, Dracula and his blood thirsty appetite. And it is from deep inside those dark, dense Transylvanian forests that comes a black fog called NEGURA BUNGET and their version of Black Metal. The band began its sunless odyssey in the year 1995 as a duo and was called WICCAN REDE and they released a demo at the end of the year. Soon they would change their moniker to NEGURA BUNGET, which loosely translates to "dark foggy forest". By 1999, the band had released a second album with 4 tracks and performed at the Open Hell Festival in the Czech Republic. Before the end of 2004, the band had released 2 more albums, a box set and an EP, as well as toured Europe extensively. In the year 2006, the band released "OM", a very well received album and followed that up by an extended successful European tour. The year 2010 was the most intense in the history of the band, as they played over 72 gigs, including HellFest, wreaked havoc over Europe with 2 tours as headliners, drove more than 50,000 km by van and sold over 10,000 CD's. Amidst all the touring and recording (8 full length albums, 3 Ep's, 1 box set and compilation), the band literally crumbled and the only stable member, Negru, nonchalantly, single-handedly resurrected the band, depending on whose version you believe, with a host of new musicians and a new direction. The band has also toured the US and Canada and ZI is their latest full-length album.

The opening track, "Tul-ni-că-rînd", starts out with rustic sounds of a horn, accompanied by woodland sounds, and is chaperoned by chanting. Clocking just less than 6 minutes, it is a mellow song with jackboot sounds as its shadow. Halfway through the song, the melody reaches its crescendo and the main riff roars into life before winding down to a gentle end. This track is heavily backed by organ and some excellent bass work.

"Grădina stelelor" is the second song on the album and it comes to life very sedately with similar chanting and a simple picking and demonic whispers. There is a flute sound incorporated into the track to give it a very earthly feel. At about the 2-minute mark, the track erupts into a heavy riff and a raspy guttural growl tailgating the melody. What follows is a riff straight out of the NWOBHM handbook and some double bass drum action. This one is a slightly longer track and is just over 8 minutes long. The enigmatic melody slows down rather considerably during the middle part of the song and continues at the pace till the song reaches its terminal.

"Baciu moșneag" starts of with a crushing heavy riff and a fast drumbeat for company. It is an almost operatic song and a long one to boot. With chilling, childish hymns mixed with guttural growls, one can only imagine it to be an impassioned plea to some demon overlord. The middle part is an eerie portion with almost choir like chanting.

"Marea Cea mare" is another one of those long songs clocking over 11 minutes in run time and it sets in motion very deliberately and in a laid back manner. It seems like an epic song almost out of this world and has a female voice to usher it onwards to a gentle conclusion.

The album is more Folk Metal with spiritual leanings more than a straightforward Black Metal album. It is sung entirely in Romanian and its entirely innovative and out there. The songs are mixed with traditional Romanian arrangements as well as spacey solemn bits. To a Metal purist, this album will puzzle and confound by its non-traditional arrangement of songs. In fact, this will indeed beg the question about what really the Metal genre is all about. The melodies are strangely haunting and leans more towards World Music, with some heavy riffs thrown in. This is the sort of album that demands the listener to give it a few listens to really understand and enjoy the complicated layers of melodies and instruments.<