It has been five years since Negura Bunget’s well-received album, Vîrstele P?mîntului. The newest album, Tau, marks the beginning of a trilogy, namely the “Transylvania Trilogy” and pays tribute to their home country of Romania. The beginning of this trilogy traverses the Romanian landscape, and vividly paints picture of the nature found within. The journey’s early stages are an atmospherically rich one, sometimes filled with a bit of ridiculous folk, but it is yet another great album from a brilliant band.

The opening track, Namentenie, is the longest of them all, clocking in over ten minutes in length. It begins slowly and quietly, down a desolate path. The creepy clean guitars and wind instruments fade behind the distortion eventually, and then the true giant emerges. Keyboards give the sound a darker, more menacing feel, over the double bass of the drums and guitars. Folk moments are infused extremely well, as the following track Izbucu Galbenei proves; starting off with a familiar folk sound, but boasts with an abundance of atmosphere, and a sinister attitude eventually envelops the mood.

La Hotaru Cu Cinci Culmi really propels the album over more beautiful landscapes, with vocals at the songs end that have the ability to take your breath away. Curgerea Muntelui follows suit, but this time vocals are harsher in some areas and the song’s tone drastically changes from the previous more uplifting track, to a more barren sound. The album’s folk side really jumps out in a more ludicrous fashion within the track Impodobeala Timpului. It may be hard for some black metal fans to digest, but this song is hardly a reason to stay away from enjoying this outstanding album.

Tau is a fitting start to the Transylvania Trilogy, and I am very excited for what is in store after this one. Negura Bunget remain a terrific black metal band, although to some, this band can present itself as a difficult one to become accustomed to. It’s good to see black metal bands, like Negura Bunget, providing a more innovative sound to the mix that is definitely hard to ignore.