Negura Bunget had lost the magic that made their albums so complex, intricate, atmospheric, and just plain good. They had that "it" factor, that so few bands have... and it had been lost. When I first put on Zau I expected more hollow music.
Brad starts the album off with a slow atmospheric keyboard passage that is soon accompanied by a pan flute. It develops slowly and steadily over the first two to three minutes of the song before the band comes in along with clean vocals. The song continues to build and morph, and by eight minutes in this is starting to feel a lot like mid period Negura Bunget.
The atmosphere is there, the tributes to nature through the music is there. The complex drum patterns and riffing are there (though not as much as the pre-split albums)... Zau feels like a proper Negura Bunget album. Whatever they did while recording this they managed to channel the atmosphere of Om and 'n crugu bradului somewhat.
Is Zau as good as those two legendary albums? No it is not? Can you tell that it's the same band that created those albums along with Zau? Hell yes you can.
This is not Negura Bunget at their peak, it would be impossible to reach those heights again. What this is though is an album that respects the history of the band and where they came from. A fitting end to a band who's legacy was cut short.
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