After departing from Romanian black metal act Negura Bunget in 2009, Hupogrammos and Sol Faur founded their new project, Dordeduh. Their first full-length album, Dar de Duh (which translates to "gift from the spirit"), contains many of the influences they had previously worked with in Negura Bunget, including soulful, sparkling interpretations of nature-based black metal and elements of Romanian folklore. Dordeduh take a distinctly more ambient approach, however, working less with sheer muscular force in the music and much more with shimmering, ethereal atmospheres. There's still a primal current of danger, as good folk metal often reminds the listener that the natural landscape is as deadly as it is lovely, but the thematic focus of Dar De Duh is definitely the sublime. The traditional instruments are deployed deftly and intelligently, deepening the emotional impact of the sound. The complex and beautiful structures of the tracks are often dazzling, such as in the way the various elements of "Calea Rotilor De Foc" dovetail seamlessly with each other (i.e., the pleading percussion and the flute-and-guitar countermelodies). When Negrua Bunget split in half, it could have been the band's death knell; instead, each half sprung up into a new beast, each a more evolved and refined version. (label)
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