Straight from Eddfest and with a UK tour incoming, The Hu celebrate with a formidable new album.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
It was the Live At Glastonbury album that did it – we said “doing for Mongolian throat singing what Rammstein and Wardruna have done for Teutonic Metal and Norwegian traditions.”
Now the third album from The Hu finds them pushing boundaries and using different techniques to refine the combination of their armoury of traditional instruments with heavy metal music genres. One where the concept comes from universal experiences we all go through collectively as humans in this world. The band’s mission “to remind our listeners the importance of introspection through a variety of songs from slow to fast rhythmic songs,” might sound paired back, yet Hun is an uplifting and inspirational experience concocted by the line up of Galaa (morin khuur, throat singing); Jaya (tumur khuur, tsuur, throat singing); Enkush (morin khuur, throat singing); and Temka (tovshuur, throat singing).
RAMPAGING
Brandishing their musical weapons of mass destruction, Warrior Chant – quite apt really – sets the tone as The Hu wind up with a slow chant and pounding beat that builds ominously in finest Hunnu Rock fashion before the first curveball comes with the collaboration with Nothing More’s Jonny Hawkins in Lost Soul. Perhaps not as startling as expected, having had fair warning via the single release, yet proving quite a contrast where cultures cross and not the only moment of diversion amidst the onslaught of Hunnu Rock.
With their marks established early doors – the tried and trusted paired with a boundary testing – the visceral truly kicks in with a stomping The Men where a squealing solo from some demonic instrument rises and strikes. The drone increasingly used to create an atmosphere which is balanced with the pumping tempos; the result a stirring and intoxicating blend. The Rammstein-y bounce in Shadow makes way for a change of tempo in Horsemen where the gallop gets a brief interval
PUMMELLING
As the waves of intensity swell and pass, the Real You ups the pace with a nod to Thrash that Metallica wold be proud to own. Impossible it is not to get caught up in the frenzy of what feels like an army on the march to certain victory. Power and glory in excelsis. Universe at almost nine minutes sees the format tweaked into a more reflective vision that offers not so much a challenge, but same picture in a different frame.
At the core htough is that relentless pummelling pulse as The Hu continue to revitalise the folk metal genre, infusing it with Mongolian elements. From the throat singing, to the warrior costumes to the horsehead fiddle. Hun is an epic, enthralling, and enigmatic and opens the gateway into their world. Just can’t wait for Hunnu Rock to take on the UK theatres. Tribal genius.
Here’s Grey Hun:
The HU: Website