The HU‘s “Hun” Signals a Band Growing Into Its Own Mythology

Ten years after forming in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, The HU arrive with their third album, “Hun”. Since breaking through in 2016, with their music videos of “Yuve Yuve Yu” and “Wolf Totem”, they’ve established themselves in the metal scene playing at major festivals like Graspop and Rock Werchter. playing as a support act to bands like Iron Maiden, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. The novelty of their mix of heavy metal with traditional Mongolian instruments and throat singing, their so-called Hunnu rock, has however worn off. The morin khuur sharing space with distorted guitars isn’t new to us anymore, so they’ll be judged more on their songwriting and vision now, rather than just the sheer fact of their existence.

So, the question that remains is; do they manage to keep up with the hype?

The album starts off with a battle hymn called “Warrior Chant” and a wide collection of different instruments immediately make their appearance. The haunting sound of the morin khuur (traditional Mongolian instrument) is unmistakable and the tumur khuur (jaw harp) also plays a big role in this song. To me it felt like they threw me into the deep, showing off all they have to offer instrumentally, while still holding back on the intensity with which they usually play. The song works well as an intro, but where a lot of artists limit this kind of song to just that, this song also works well as a standalone song rather than just something to get started. Personally I really liked this one, so off to a very good start!

“Lost Soul,” the collaboration with Nothing More‘s Jonny Hawkins, is a song that clearly stands out from the rest. It’s an unexpected clash of genres, Mongolian heavy metal combined with a western rock vocalist, but they’ve managed to pull it off nicely. Hawkins is used sparingly, his melodic sensibility folded into the song’s structure rather than placed on top of it. The percussion does the real work, and the throat singing isn’t relegated to an intro or a novelty flourish — it remains a structural element throughout.

When listening to the rest of the album, there roughly seem to be two different categories. The up-tempo heavy metal songs we know so well, mixed with a few calmer songs. This shows us that The HU is evolving as a band. They don’t just rely on their novelty anymore. Instead, they let songs breathe and tell the story at their own pace. Not every song warrants, sometimes it’s better to stand still and really listen. Overall this results in a varied album, where every new song feels distinctly different than the one before. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the use of the morin khuur and especially the way it was used. In practically every song the melodies were hectic and haunting, which made it harder for me to listen to it. Call me an emotional listener, but for me the most important thing about music is the way that it makes me feel and in this case it makes me feel quite stressed. I know this is a very personal opinion and judging by The HU’s success, this doesn’t seem to be an issue with a big part of their audience. It just made me realize that maybe in this case, it’s just not for me and that’s okay.

Throughout the whole piece, The HU stays true to their identity and everything is sung in Mongolian. Whilst this does create a slight barrier for me, since I don’t understand what they’re singing, I do applaud them for this choice. Coming from a linguistic minority myself, I know how important it is to see representation in the media. I can imagine how proud they must feel to see people from all over the world embracing their Mongolian culture, singing along to their songs and I think that’s a beautiful thing.

Rating: 7/10

Release date: 24^th July 2026
Label: Better Noise Music

Writer: Marian

Tracklist:

1. Warrior Chant
2. Lost Soul (feat. NOTHING MORE)
3. The Men
4. Echoes of my Father
5. Shadow
6. Horsemen
7. Greed
8. The Real You
9. Grey Hun
10. Universe (Long)
11. Second Face