A leading exponent of Hunnu Rock and one of the biggest musical revelations of the last ten years, The HU released their highly anticipated third studio album , HUN , on July 24th
Marking a new phase in their career and with performances at various festivals around Europe, the Mongolian group continues to use the vast wisdom of their culture to inspire the world through their music, among which stand out "Warrior Chant", "Lost Soul" and "Grey Hun".
In an interview with Wikimetal, vocalist Nyamjantsan Galsanjamts, also known as Jaya, spoke about the fans' reception of the album days after its release, the importance of Mongolian culture sung in the lyrics, and explained the concept behind the album cover. The musician also discussed what it's like to share the stage with big names in metal and whether the group has plans to perform in Brazil in the future. Read the full interview.
Wikimetal: HUN has been available worldwide for a few days now. How has the fan reception been to this new work? Was there any specific song or reaction that caught the band's attention?
Jaya: I think the most surprising aspect of the whole album was the amount of positive feedback we received globally for “Echoes of My Father.” When we made it, it resonated and infused into our culture, and we wanted to sing the praises of our fathers. Our global fans understood the concept immediately and gave us incredible and very positive feedback. From the third album, they've commented that it's one of the special songs that made the album resonate very specifically in their hearts.
I thought that was a really cool and important thing to say, because when the critics in Mongolia, specifically, said it was one of the most beautiful rock ballads they had ever heard, that meant a lot to us, because both musically and conceptually, it was a very important song for us as well.
WM: The album title means “human” in Mongolian. Knowing your rich culture, what kind of ancestral message about what it means to be human do you feel modern society needs to hear today?
J: When we talk about Mongolian culture, I want to cite a song and mention “Warrior Chant” for that, because its lyrics are like an epic poem. It reinforces this idea of having positive energy, of being full of strength and of rising again. This kind of nomadic wisdom is infused in this song. Throughout this album, we sing about life and human experiences in both negative and positive ways.
So, if I were to choose a song that directly asks what the ancestral wisdom of this album is, I would say that “Warrior Chant” would be the song to choose. Because, again, it inspires people to be full of strength and carries that ancestral wisdom of being courageous and facing life on your own terms.
Concept of “Lost Soul”
WM: In “Lost Soul,” what is the difference for you between being truly lost in life and simply being a soul that has the courage to seek its own path?
J: The concept of “Lost Soul” itself is that we’re singing about people who are truly lost in life, but haven’t realized it yet. The values they used to have, or the values they were taught, aren’t prioritized and so get lost in the mix of life’s struggles. We’re basically singing: “Are you lost? Is this the life you wanted for yourself? Is this aligned with your values? Is this who you are?” Listen and find out.
People can be truly lost if they lose their values and the traits they were born with. Through "Lost Soul," in the part where we sing, we're basically rebuking whether you're a lost soul or not, what you're doing with your life, and what you're going to do about it.
Explanation of the concept behind the cover of HUN
WM: And can you talk a little about the album artwork? What elements of Mongolian culture did you make sure to include in it?
J: The cover image shows a stark picture of the eternal blue sky and the earth below us. We don't call it heaven or hell in our culture, we call it below the earth and above the eternal blue sky. The concept of this is basically that you are living in the middle. A sky above you and the earth below. Living in the middle of this as a human, what you do matters and decides whether you are worthy of going to the eternal blue sky or if you are bad enough to go below the earth.
When you're living in the middle of nowhere, you have to be useful in a way that's helpful to the ecology, to the environment, helpful to each other, and as a society. This whole concept is how Mongolians see life, and it might be a little different from what you'd see in the rest of the world, but similar enough that you can relate to it.
Regarding mythology, I want to mention how we view ravens. If you look at the cover of our album, you'll see ravens sitting. We believe that ravens are a representation of truth. We believe that the past, present, and future are seen by ravens. It's neither good nor bad, it's simply the truth. Ravens are able to fly in the eternal blue sky, travel underground, and also come to Earth, traveling in three different dimensions. This is a very interesting fact about Mongolian culture.
WM: In recent years, The HU has shared stages with big names in metal and participated in internationally renowned festivals. How has this experience of being alongside these bands, especially Iron Maiden, boosted the band's career?
J: The last ten years have been full of unique experiences. We did many things for the first time. The festivals, the tours, those were incredible years, and not many people are lucky enough to experience all of that. The way we see it is that these years will serve as a foundation for how far we will go in the future. Iron Maiden is a fantastic group of people, they have a legacy like no other. When we were invited to the shows and could see what they did, how they interact with the fans and how they perform, all of that taught us a lesson.
We see this as a lesson learned without having to listen to a sermon from them, just by observing their performance, how they behave on tour and on stage. The relationship we have with them, like brothers in the metal universe, has made us realize so many things without them needing to say them out loud. We try to learn as much as possible from everyone we interact with.
Show cancelled in Brazil in 2020 and plans to come to the country
WM: In 2020, The HU was supposed to perform in Brazil for the first time, but the show was canceled due to the pandemic. Are there any plans for you to come to the country in the coming years?
J: Latin America and Brazil are like a cradle for the rock genre, that's how we see it. We had scheduled a tour before that was canceled, but I don't see any reason why we couldn't easily reschedule to perform with our third album. I think we'll be back very soon and we hope to be in Brazil in the coming years.
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