Founded in 2018 by musicians once part of Negură Bunget, Sur Austru extend that legacy while forging a path of their own – one marked by a more introspective vision and soundscapes that summon both the beauty and the raw force of nature.
A name often spoken among listeners of black metal and atmospheric folk, this Romanian band has played several shows over the year, the latest taking place at Quantic, Bucharest, Romania, on 12 September 2025. On that occasion, an interview was more than fitting.
Sur Austru performing at Quantic Club, 12 September 2025
© Ionuț Iancu [The Interwission | Sombres Nuits]
Mihai Florea from Sur Austru performing at Quantic Club, 12 September 2025
© Ionuț Iancu [The Interwission | Sombres Nuits]
Mihai Florea: Well, I was very young at the time. I started playing with Tibor and Ovidiu when I was 16, in Grimegod, and everything was going great. A year later, we formed Sur Austru to continue the story of Negură Bunget, initially.
Tibor Kati from Sur Austru performing at Quantic Club, 12 September 2025
© Ionuț Iancu [The Interwission | Sombres Nuits]
The first album we had, as Sur Austru, was “Meteahna timpurilor”. As far as I can remember, it mostly consisted of songs originally composed for Negură Bunget’s latest record, but they were never completed after Negru passed away.
I wasn’t so much part of the creative process since the songs were already mostly written. But I played a much bigger role in “Obârșie” and “Datura străhiarelor”.
Regarding “Obârșie”, from 2021, which tracks feature your main creative input?
Mihai Florea: Hmmm, I had more creative input for “Cânt adânc”, and “Caloianul”.
Also, for us, it was clear that we had evolved from the first record. The first record was mixed by our former drummer. For “Obârșie” we had more of a DIY approach. Most of the material was recorded at home and we experimented a lot – and in the end, it sounded much closer to what we actually liked, rather than what other people might prefer. The album was produced by Cosmin Lupan.
“Cânt adânc”, and “Caloianul” – two key songs from the aforementioned album. Which one means more to you?
Mihai Florea: “Caloianul”. You see, “Cânt adânc” was basically just a bunch of ideas that I had thrown together and with the help of Tibor’s composer abilities, it came to life.
Of course, it is a catchy song, and a nice one. It is like an earworm, I think. Every time I hear it, I can’t get it out of my head, but I will choose “Caloianul”.
Can you tell me the story behind “Caloianul” – how it was created, from the first ideas to the finished song?
Mihai Florea: Yes. Tibor initially came up with the first part of “Caloianul”, the atmospheric interlude section. I, on the other hand, was staying at home, playing guitar, and came up with the riffs for the metal section of the song. It was kind of weird – it all came together naturally in one day, I think.
It’s not that common for a metal song; the rhythm of the metal section actually resembles a drum-and-bass track, if you think about it. The BPM, everything – it just worked. And it turned out to be one of the strongest songs on the album. I’m pretty proud of that.
Tibor also helped with his composer abilities to write the drums and keyboards, because I would probably have written them in a much more simplistic way. So, it was completely unexpected and it came out great.
Staying on the topic of “Caloianul”; there’s a lot of cultural depth here – how did the band research and develop its folkloric elements?
Mihai Florea: First of all, it is basically a ritual used in Romania to bring down the rain. Funny enough, about 70% of our shows are accompanied by rain.
For all our albums, Tibor always had a concept. Călin Miclăuș has been a big part of the lyric writing process, he knows so much about Romanian folklore and literature – it’s insane in the best way possible. Honestly, it would have been pretty hard to come up with those lyrics without him. Also Dan Boric-Gabriel had a big input, lyric wise throughout the years.
After exploring the story behind “Caloianul”, how did the band approach the songs “Ucenicii din hârtop I”, and “Ucenicii din hârtop II”, the last two songs from the second album?
Mihai Florea: Hmmm, first of all, I must mention that “Ucenicii din hârtop I” ended up more successful than “Ucenicii din hârtop II”, even though we thought the second part was the stronger song. The reception of it was definitely unique. I didn’t even imagine that. On top of that, I have started to love it.
In fact, it was the very same with “Afurisirea”, from our third album – “Datura străhiarelor”. It’s a song I didn’t think much of when we started writing it, but now I really love it. It’s really fast, really evil, and quite complicated – basically built around just one note, the whole song. But it turned out really well, and I love playing it live.
What is it about this song that makes it so enjoyable to play live?
Mihai Florea: The heaviness. That’s the core. I like that the guitars are more complex than before.
It’s a heavy and dark song. I truly love playing it. Before Ștefan joined, I used to do backing vocals live, like a question-and-answer style with Tibor. I really enjoyed that.
But of course, each song on that album has something unique – for example, “Cele rele” sounds a little sludge-ish, maybe almost stoner doom. For “Datura străhiarelor” I tried to make the songs more technical, too, because I like chugs and wanted to integrate that.
As it happens, my next question was going to be about “Cele rele”, from the 2024 album, “Datura străhiarelor”. How did this track come together?
Mihai Florea: I love that track. Initially, when we first played it here, it was combined with “Cele bune”. “Cele bune” was an atmospheric, four-minute interlude that escalated into “Cele rele”. But we felt it was maybe a bit too slow, so we decided to try something new.
Adrian “OQ” Neagoe from Negură Bunget was a huge help. He came from the Netherlands to my place, where we started writing and recording the guitars, and everything just flowed perfectly. He would come up with an idea, and I’d respond in turn.
Most of the structure and keyboards were already in place, thanks to Tibor and Ionuț Cădariu – Ionuț was always a huge help; we just added our own creativity to try to make it even more interesting.
Moving from “Cele rele”, can you describe the creation of “Isprăvirea” and its significance on the record?
Mihai Florea: That’s probably the most complex song we’ve written. It’s not in 4/4, and we added way more layers than expected. The clean vocals at the beginning are by Ionuț Cădariu, our flautist and keyboardist. It was unexpected at first, but as it evolved, it became truly Sur Austru.
Ștefan Zaharescu from Sur Austru performing at Quantic Club, 12 September 2025
© Ionuț Iancu [The Interwission | Sombres Nuits]
Mihai Florea: Great. Very natural. His voice is great, and we’re in sync. This is basically our third concert with him after a long break. Everything worked out, from the show at Arenele Romane to Posada Rock Festival.
Speaking of Posada Rock Festival, the most recent festival you took part, how was that experience for you and the band?
Mihai Florea: Amazing. The crowd was great. Horațiu, helped us a lot and he’s been helping us throughout the years – he’s probably the best sound guy in the country. The stage crew was very professional, too. We had fun, I bought some merch, even went to a barbecue…
And what was it like to play at Quantic again?
Mihai Florea: Incredible. I am feeling at home here. I’ve been here many times, and I know everyone. I’ve loved Vulture Industries since I was 15, so playing on the same stage was surreal to say the least.
On stage, which songs are your personal favourites to bring to life?
Mihai Florea: “Taina” – again, I didn’t think much of it when recording, but live it has such a great energy. I also love playing “Strânsura”.
After these concerts, what’s next on the horizon for you?
Mihai Florea: One more with Grimegod at Hillsfest in November. Then, definitely writing the next album – we already have some material. It will be still Sur Austru, but also something we haven’t done before.
Can you tell me a bit about the themes of the new album?
Mihai Florea: Tibor wrote most of it, I added guitars. It’ll be a concept album, still rooted in Romanian folkloric mythology.
Curious about it. To end on a note for your listeners, what message do you have for them?
Mihai Florea: I want to thank each and everyone of you for staying with us for all these years, we owe it all to you!
Stay tuned – the upcoming material is going to be great.
Thank you for the interview!
Thank you!
Sur Austru performing at Quantic Club, 12 September 2025
© Ionuț Iancu [The Interwission | Sombres Nuits]
