Simon RushworthThe HU @Newcastle O2 City Hall, 03.10.26
Mongolian hunnu rock laying waste to a rapt City Hall on a Saturday night…
HU knew?
How the late, great Cronos would have revelled in the bold and beautiful genre-bending cacophony of noise that is Ulaanbaatar’s finest.
A heavy metal pioneer famed for his uncompromising self-belief and bold Satanic vision, Venom’s much-missed leader would surely have been front and centre at The HU’s triumphant return to Tyneside.
And if Galbadrakh ‘Gala’ Tsendbaatar and co. are minded to celebrate the ancient nomadic empire of Xiongu, rather than pay their dues to the devil, there’s a striking commonality between Cronos’s boundary breakers and Asia’s bright new things.
Success against all odds, for starters.
Nobody expected Venom to prevail when three leather-clad Geordies launched their grizzly manifesto for extreme metal.
And a decade ago it would have been impossible to imagine The HU — devotees of throat singing and traditional Mongolian music — headlining sold-out venues across the UK.
Not since Rammstein has an overseas band achieved such staggering success performing in their native tongue.
But the language of metal is defiantly universal and The HU’s haunting melodies and infectious rhythms make for an utterly addictive mix of the old and the new.
With greater recognition, critical acclaim and commercial clout comes the opportunity to expand the look — as well as the sound — of a band on the rise.
And the difference between The HU’s previous Newcastle performance, at a bouncing NX, and their long-awaited return was like night and day.
Theatrical visuals complemented those trademark battle-ready anthems as a big-screen backdrop added to the sense of ceremony and celebration.
As Tsendbaatar and his band-mates set about delivering a masterclass in folk metal, so the cinematic scenes above them supercharged an already febrile atmosphere.
From the party rock of Yuve Yuve Yu thru thought-provoking ballad Echoes Of My Father to the gut-wrench of Grey Hun, The HU demanded attention and commanded respect.
Where Cronos and Venom gave a glimpse of what’s possible almost half a century hence, this like-minded troop of Mongolian warriors point the way to metal’s fabulous, limitless future.
The fact is, The HU had a tough act to follow.
SKÁLD dropped latest long player Ørlog last month and the French folk trailblazers took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase a stunning body of work — and more — during an illuminating set.
Marie Potosniak threatened to steal the show as the captivating fiddler/vocalist switched seamlessly from soulful melodies to gnarly shrieks and back again.
Meanwhile dual percussionists Marti Ilmar Uibo and Steeve Petit paced a thrilling half hour — think Clannad with added Gallic grit or Marillion dabbling in neofolk.
The O2 City Hall had likely never seen anything like it but the clamour for more was genuine.
Images courtesy of Mick Burgess