The Hu might not have been the first band to fuse heavy metal and Mongolian folk together, but they did become the genre's banner-waving champions when they become a breakout success when their first two singles - Yuve Yuve Yu and Wolf Totem - became massive viral successes on release in 2018.
Since then, the band have released two albums and toured around the world, even recording a live album at the legendary Glastonbury Festival. Hammer caught up with morin khuur player Enkush - real name Enkhsaikhan Batjargal - to talk the 10 songs that set him on the path to glory.
1. Hatesphere - Reaper of Life (The Sickness Within, 2005)
"In 2006 after a night out at the Nisvanis - one of the first viral hard rock bands in Mongolia - show, I was so hungover and walking down the street to get back home and heard this song for the first time in my life. Things were different in the Mongolian music industry almost twenty years ago.
There was nothing like we see now, there weren’t fresh music releases every other week, so hearing this track felt like taking a breath of fresh air because of their rhythm and how modern it was at the time. You can safely say that my music taste was never the same again."
2. Dissection - Black Dragon (Reinkaos, 2006)
"Many things can go wrong in a person’s life and doesn’t matter how old you are, it can still sting when it happens. In 2007, I was 17, hanging out with the wrong crowd and doing some weird things and of course trying to understand and find myself.
Mind you, I was at music college, studying traditional horse head fiddle but the feeling I got listening to this song was very similar to the traditional music elements. It made me curious for what would happen if we combined our traditional elements to the modern rock music."
3. Lamb Of God - Ruin (2003)
"I actually have a tattoo with their name on my back. Ruin is the first song that I ever heard from Lamb Of God and basically was the introduction to their music. Because I didn’t understand English when I heard the track, the music video helped me carve an opinion which was: 'god dresses poorly and devil is flashy'. A simple yet strong message that applied to my life, 'nicer things aren’t always better'."
4. Linkin Park - Faint (Meteora, 2003)
"This song helped me get over my stage fright because imagining that I was with them on stage like their official music video, made me realize it isn’t all about me but only about the music."
5. Six Feet Under - Knife, Gun, Axe (True Carnage, 2001)
"I listen to this band when I need bravery. The riff goes hard on this song and definitely channels metalhead energy. Personally speaking, it made me realize that I like death metal bands a lot and I appreciate the work and dedication Chris Barnes has to the death metal community."
6. Dimmu Borgir - Sorgens Kammer - Del ll (Stormblåst, 2006)
"One of extreme metal's more melodic songs as they incorporated piano with bass. It sounds like the song has interesting lyrics but the instrumentals are the best part for me. Especially the drums on this particular song is so hard to perfect and they balance symphony and the metal amazingly well.
Dimmu Borgir has long discography and like The Hu, I can feel the deep history elements of their music very much. Even though they perform in the black metal genre, I never feel scary dark energy but feel soft energy as if they are saying, 'death is never the end, it is part of life and that is okay'."
7. Guano Apes - Lords of the Boards (Proud Like A God, 1997)
"Listening this song feels like listening to fairy tale and vocal is out of this world. It definitely gives, Lord Of The Rings, Elvish vibes and [vocalist] Sandra Nasic has an angelic voice that transcends to another dimension. I always wonder how it would sound if we made songs together. Sandra sings as if she is narrating a story and for me it helps to focus."
8. Crazy Town - Butterfly (The Gift Of Game, 1999)
"Crazy Town are such an iconic band and Butterfly sings about a woman of one’s dream. I found my wife listening to this song so I will call it 'our song'."
9. Nirvana - Come As You Are (Nevermind, 1991)
"I listened to this song nonstop during Covid's isolation period. In Mongolia, Covid prevention was strict; therefore, everything felt restricted and suffocating. Nirvana came to the rescue of my mental health as it was one of the comforting things in life that brought normalcy."
10. Meshuggah - obZen (obZen, 2008)
"For untrained ears, it can sound chaotic but for me it makes me think about bare truth of life when I hear this song. All the sins and misery of life are being told without sugar coating or hiding, just singing exactly how it is. After hearing this song every time, it gives me sense of direction."
