Sur Austru : “Datura Străhiarelor”

From the very beginning, Romanians Sur Austru have kept their sound first and foremost rooted in an authentic folk atmosphere,  as in the same time  the harsher black metal side of their music has been appearing occasionally, without distracting from the main purpose of the band. As the successors of Negură Bunget, this is completely understandable, and with their third full-length album “Datura Străhiarelor”, the band once again demonstrates the ability to transport their  listeners fully into the beautiful  and captivating energy of Romanian folk myths and legends, immersing us in them without necessarily delving into a specific style, thus pushing the boundaries aside.

“Datura Străhiarelor” focuses on the Apocalypse caused by magical beings from Romanian mythology. With their spells they manage to break the gate between the fantasy world and the real one – a gate, through which ancient beasts come to  ​​destroy  humanity. As you spin the album for the first time, you enter a universe where magic and real life merge into one, and before your eyes, among acres of coniferous forests and misty mountain peaks, fearsome creatures jump out, wanting to reveal their story. And you can hear them crawling  in almost an hour, as long as you listen carefully to the new album’s nine chapters.

The chirping of field birds, the clatter of horse hooves on a black forest path and the sound of traditional folk instruments, followed smoothly by the theatrical voice of an impassioned narrator and ethereal chants, lead us into “Aratarea” – the first track of the album,as at the end of the song the dynamics become more tense and solid. The use of the charming flutes and pipe (the well-known  tulnic) definitely proves to be a very beautiful idea once again, with the instruments appearing everywhere in the further duration of the album, along with other folk instruments and interesting percussion.

At this stage, I cannot understand Călin Miclauș’s poetry written especially for the album in full, but nevertheless, thanks to the authenticity of the language and enchanting sounds, the artistically conveyed emotions and dynamics, the meaning is transferred to the melodies and they easily evoke dreams of the beautiful Carpathian  lands  from a time far away and yet very close to ours.

The follow-up to the album features plenty of unpredictable and some expected  guitar twists, with the band relying heavily on progressive melodies amidst a folky odyssey of sounds, with some of the album’s perhaps most captivating tracks being ‘Farmacea’, ‘Imparecherea’ and the finale ‘Ispravirea’ ‘, which include all the key elements of ‘Datura Străhiarelor’ – the ferocity of vocal expression, folk chants and traditional  instruments, bright and  more progressive and epic rhythms, the atmospheric soaring passages and last but not least – the monolithic sense of a plunge into the depths of a long-forgotten mysticism.

With a rich palette of might, mystery, folkloric elements and intertwining dynamics, moving from playfulness to violent fury to complete ethereal tranquillity, “Datura Străhiarelor” is an unusual album where you will meet directly with the most deeply held mystical lore from the shadows of the cold Carpathian forests, told through the prism of some of the most terrifying creatures of Romanian folklore and their,  at times, alluring dangerous magic.

Band: Sur Austru
Album: “Datura Străhiarelor”
Release Date: August 30th, 2024
Label: Avantgarde Music
Pre-order: https://bit.ly/4cOQrxj