Greetings to the one or two of you who may have actually clicked on this! Today, we’re talking about a new band that most of you probably aren’t aware of, but should be. I mean, we have new albums from Korn, The Goo Goo Dolls, and The Pixies, and I still decided I’d rather talk about this one. So yeah, you could say The HU have caught my attention in a pretty big way. So who is this band?
The HU is a Mongolian folk metal band who recently sprung up in the YouTube world. They are immediately distinguishable from other bands in the metal genre, for their use of traditional Mongolian folk instruments, such as the morin khuur, a box-shaped stringed instrument, played with a bow, the tsuur, a wooden flute-like instrument, and the topshur, a Mongolian lute, held and played similarly to a guitar. More typical metal instruments such as electric guitar, bass, and drums are included, but take a backseat to these more unconventional Mongolian instruments. Overtop all of this, we hear traditonal Mongolian throat-singing. However, the tempos, progressions, melodies, and playing styles, are unmistakably as metal as you can get.
In this particular review, I have very little to say about the lyrical content, as The Gereg is entirely in Mongolian, and apart from the lyric videos for the singles, I was unable to find particularly accurate translations. From what I could find, the lyrics consist entirely of ancient Mongolian lore, religion, battles, and love of Mongolia. Animals and the elements are used frequently as metaphorical figures. Not much to analyze, but pretty badass nonetheless.
Musically, we get a pretty even mix of intense, epic barn-burners and slower, more serene and atmospheric songs, which are, for the most part, staggered pretty consistently throughout the tracklist. Songs such as the debut single, “Wolf Totem,” along with “The Gereg,” “Shoog Shoog,” and “Yuve Yuve Yu,” are anthemic cuts and dynamic highpoints of the album. Tracks such as “The Great Chinggis Khan” and “The Same” are slower and darker, but maintain the intensity of heavier tracks, while other tracks, most notably “The Legend of Mother Swan” ad contrast with a lighter, more calming sound. While this album includes more of the slower, softer songs than I would have preferred, the differences between them keep the listener interested as the album progresses.
Upon becoming an overnight sensation on YouTube, The HU were quickly signed, and an album and tour scheduled. The only issue was, they had very little music at this time, making for a very rushed album. Fortunately, this didn’t seem to damage the final product too much. There are no bad songs, but there are several that don’t quite live up to the album’s best moments. Singles such as “Shoog Shoog” and “Yuve Yuve Yu” are both very strong lyrically and musically, but contain quite a bit of repetition, and probably the most typical metal elements of any of these songs, making me wonder if they were designed specifically to have radio appeal. “Song of Women” is a nice, soft cut that slightly wears out its welcome with a run-time of over seven minutes, and is also a strange choice to close the album. Once again, none of these songs are bad, but somewhat flawed. These minor gripes are far outweighed by the moments where we see this band at their best, such as “Wolf Totem” and “The Great Chinggis Khan.”
The HU may not have had as much time as they would’ve liked to perfect their debut album, but The Gereg is still good. Really good. While there are certain kinks that I believe could have been ironed out with more time, overall, this band has an excellent sound, and an excellent formula. The traditional instruments, the throat-singing, and the lyrics that bleed Mongolian lore and culture are a recipe for one of the most original breakout metal acts we’ve seen in a very long time. I believe that having a proper amount of studio time will benefit their future releases, but there’s absolutely nothing else I would change. What this essentially leaves us with is the ideal debut album: a solid first showing that leaves some room to grow. Keep an eye out for The HU.
Score: 8/10
Favorite Song(s): Wolf Totem, The Great Chinggis Khan, The Legend of Mother Swan, The Same
Least Favorite Song(s): Song of Women, Shoog Shoog
Phil Klinker Music Reviews 