On this week’s episode, we take a listen to The HU‘s 2019 debut album The Gereg.

The HU is a band from Mongolia that blends heavy metal and traditional Mongolian throat singing. The band’s name, The HU, is the Mongolian root word for human being. They call their style “Hunnu Rock,” inspired by the Hunnu, an ancient Mongolian empire known as The Huns in Western culture. Some of the band’s lyrics include old Mongolian war cries and poetry.

Founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia by their producer Dashka, along with members Gala, Jaya, Temka, and Enkush. The HU combines rock music with traditional Mongolian instrumentation like the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), Tumar Khuur (jaw harp), guttural throat singing and the bombastic bass and drums of rock. All four members have earned Bachelor’s or higher degrees in music and have several years of touring experience throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim.

Since the formation of their band, they have been working on their first album, The Gereg. The word Gereg was used as the first diplomatic “passport” by the Mongol Empire during the time of Genghis Khan.

Thanks to an interview with Louder Sound, we take a look at the meaning of the lyrics on the songs and discuss our impressions.

If you want to hear more of The HU, check out this documentary about their journey to create the album and tour in support of it.

The HU recently released a new single, this amazing cover of Metallica's "Sad But True".

This COVID-19 Relief Effort concert, in addition to live versions of the album tracks, contains some kick-ass new songs which hopefully will be included on their net album.

Make sure to check out their YouTube channel for tons of great content, including "Cooking with The HU!"

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Esoterica The Podcast