Rock Monsters Romania

On their amazing quest to collect all the traditional sounds of Romania, E-An-Na has done it again!

In case you’ve missed it, E-An-Na is one of the biggest Romanian Folk Metal bands (and one of my favourite bands ever to be honest). Oh, not to forget… in 2017, E-An-Na won 2nd place at Wacken Metal Battle. You can read about their story from Wacken and their achievements here. Now, let’s come back to the main subject of this article: the one and only “Malere”.

On September 29th, everybody was shocked by E-An-Na’s new EP “M.L.R.”. After the success of “Nesfârşite”, they decided to try something new by combining two of the most listened music genres in Romania (metal and manele) in something that has never been done before.

First thing I thought when I listened to it was “It’s not April 1st, right?”. Soon I’ve come to understand that this is more than an album, this is a statement which combines two completely different types of people in 3 minutes of good vibes and diversity.

Even from the beginning of “Malere”, we hear some unusual chords for metal, just perfect for a small dance at a Romanian wedding. The song continues in the same style, combining the usual folk metal riffs (a speciality of E-An-Na) and the sound of the accordion.

This song reminds me of one of the most popular Eurovision songs ever: “Run Away” (also known as the Sax Guy, of course) by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira and “Boonika Bate Toba” by Zdob Si Zdub, both from our neighbours from the Republic of Moldova. And the good thing is that “Malere” could be the next legendary Eurovision song as E-An-Na has qualified for the semifinals of Eurovision Romania 2022. ( So don’t forget to vote them if you have the opportunity!! )

Moreover, on the 18th of January 2022, “Malere” has climbed, against the odds, on the top of Top 50 Viral – Romania by Spotify!

Is this only the beginning of another amazing year for E-An-Na? We’ll see. Until we have the answer… enjoy!

Article by Radu Mihai