Presa Pub launched its newest venue with an anniversary event,
marking 20 years of activity for the renowned Atmospheric Black Metal Band Negura Bunget. The concert was held on
December 19, having Downfall as
warming-up.
The new location of the pub/club
is rather small, suitable for hosting intimate events. The stage are would
require, in my opinion, to be more defined and equipped – I’m particularly
aiming at the lack of any lighting fixture. Besides the technical aspect, the
place has an appealing old school vibe, even having a motorcycle as a piece of
scenery.
Downfall started around the announced hour, with a small
ritualistic intro that involved some candles being held by the band members
through the audience and in the front of the stage. The band is still young, starting
in 2014, and I’d defined them mainly as Raw Black Metal. All but the singer
wore some elaborate priest-like costumes, colored in black and red. Strictly
from the show point of view, I’d recommend to a band that aims to incorporate
such elements in their live show to pay an extra care to all the elements on
and around the stage. Small details can sometimes spoil the whole experience.
Their music is pretty good for such a young band, I saw them as intro for
Vulture Industries a couple of months ago and they didn’t convince me, but this
time the energy they put into their songs made an impression on me. Among the
songs they performed, I mention: Into the Darkness of Silence, Elizabeth
Bathory, Forsaken, Satan’s Son.
Negura Bunget is surely a name that needs no introduction, among the
first mentioned when it comes to the finest Romanian Underground. The band has
a long history, marked by some controversies, and left us with a landmark Black
Metal album, “Om” (2006), and 6 other full-lengths. This autumn, the band
launched the album “Zi”, but the event last evening presented song from all
their releases in the past 20 years, in a semi-acoustic arrangement. Indeed,
they started with songs from their last albums, such as: Brazda da foc,
Nametenie, moving on with oldest one right after Dacia Hiperboreana: Norilor,
Cunoasterea tacuta, Hora soarelui. While I feel the new album kind of lacks its
spark, after 20 years it was a goose bump moment for me to listen to Norilor,
live, again. Especially because I was present at the album launch with video projection, back
then. But I am certain the old must blend with the new, and the setlist managed
to please new and old fans alike. As to the semi-acoustic arrangement, it felt
special and intimate to listen to the traditional instruments in the dark
(especially to the flute), but the cymbals were a bit too strong for that space
and sometimes covered the other instruments. Perhaps an arrangement with
traditional drums only would have been an interesting solution. But since the
band stated they only make acoustics once every 50 years, I guess we have long
to wait.
This 65th edition of Bucharest Under Moonlight is the last
metal concert for 2016, a good outro while we wait for what the next year has
prepared for us. Already some big names were announced for the first part of
2017, so we’ll soon be back for more.
review by Ana Maria Codescu
