The HU

Well, this is different...



Pretty kick-ass, though! Not sure I could handle a whole album like this, but this song is awesome.

I like that. Ever listen to Tengger Cavalry?

Dark Horseman wrote:

I like that. Ever listen to Tengger Cavalry?

No. Similar?

Wow, that really is different!

And I agree, I'm not sure I'd want a whole album of that but for a song or two I'm all in.   And are those instruments some kind of cultural instruments or just normal instruments all tricked out to look weird?

Oh one other thing, how do a bunch of Japanese guys end up with Native American sounding music?  Or is that sound not unique to North America? 

So many questions....

OK I did a little research and found this track.  It's not quite as "esoteric" as the one Eyesore posted but I still think it's interesting (and this one has drums and cymbals):



BTW, these guys obviously spend money on their videos because both of these look great,

EDIT:  OK so it turns out this band is Mongolian not Japanese.  But the more I listen to this the more I want to buy it!

I have to ask Eyesore, how the hell did you ever hear about this band???

The more I listen to this music the more I like it.

I have no idea what they're saying until the lyrics display at the end but somehow it doesn't really matter.

Here's Tengger Cavalry, the singing is Mongolian throat singing though other cultures do similar styles.

Toho, I think The Hu are actually Mongolian.

tohostudios wrote:

I have to ask Eyesore, how the hell did you ever hear about this band???

The more I listen to this music the more I like it.

I have no idea what they're saying until the lyrics display at the end but somehow it doesn't really matter.

Stumbled across it on YouTube a few weeks ago, then saw it again the other day. Figured I'd post it here.

They've only released these two songs, but I really love both of them. Apparently they have an album coming out soon (was supposed to be this month). Still not sure if I could listen to a full album straight through, but if each song is this good, maybe. I'll definitely be buying it.

Dark Horseman wrote:

Here's Tengger Cavalry, the singing is Mongolian throat singing though other cultures do similar styles.

Can't say I dug that at all. Haha.

That's a slow one, they have other stuff.

I watched it. Sounded like ass to me. Like Apocalyptica covering Molly Hatchet. Is that even metal?

The video looks amazing though. I have to give it to them for making such a cool video for something that I assume is very marginal.

It's definitely not metal in my book.  More like world music or something.  But you're right, the video is stellar.

I keep playing these two videos; this is the most interesting music I've heard since the original Diablo Swing Orchestra several years ago. 

If they release a full album in North America and it's reasonably priced, I'll be all over it.

Eyesore wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

Here's Tengger Cavalry, the singing is Mongolian throat singing though other cultures do similar styles.

Can't say I dug that at all. Haha.

That's not terrible by any stretch but it's also not close to what I hear  in the Hu tracks. 

For one thing that has much more "metal" instrumentation whereas these Hu tracks seem to remain "true" to the culture.  But more importantly (at least for me) is that the Tengger Cavalry song just isn't "memorable" (for me anyway).  Conversely the Hu tracks stick in my brain despite the fact that I can't remember a single word since they're not in English.  For my money that's a tribute to the quality of songwriting; The Hu Band has crafted hooks that I can remember despite not understanding the lyrics.

tohostudios wrote:

It's definitely not metal in my book.  More like world music or something.  But you're right, the video is stellar.

Definitely not metal, though it could be very easily. It's definitely got a metal vibe to it.

Eyesore wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

It's definitely not metal in my book.  More like world music or something.  But you're right, the video is stellar.

Definitely not metal, though it could be very easily. It's definitely got a metal vibe to it.

And that's the part I find fascinating.  It's not "metal" by anyone's definition but I agree, it DOES have a metal vibe to it and I can't explain why.

I've been trying to figure out what part of the lead singer's vocals on these Hu tracks constitutes "Mongolian throat singing" and apparently it's ALL of them.  Check this out:



Who knew Mongolia had the "patent" on death metal vocals?

I enjoy it though I could see getting over it if I listened too much.

tohostudios wrote:

I've been trying to figure out what part of the lead singer's vocals on these Hu tracks constitutes "Mongolian throat singing" and apparently it's ALL of them.  Check this out:



Who knew Mongolia had the "patent" on death metal vocals?

That's pretty cool. Love that instrument, whatever it is. It does not sound like a simple two-string instrument.