Mongolian Hunnu Rock pioneers THE HU have opened another chapter in their remarkable journey with the release of their third full length album, HUN.
Released on July 24 through Better Noise Music, the 11 track album expands the band’s collision of traditional Mongolian instrumentation, throat singing and contemporary heavy rock. More importantly, HUN carries messages grounded in identity, resilience, compassion, self reflection and the ancestral wisdom that has guided people through hardship for generations.
Ahead of the album’s arrival, I caught up with THE HU’s tovshuur player and throat singer Temka for Crannk. Speaking from Mongolia through an interpreter, Temka discussed his musical upbringing, the years of work behind HUN, the importance of protecting the traditional foundations of Hunnu Rock and why global recognition has not changed the band’s central purpose.
As Temka spoke through an interpreter, the limited direct quotations used in this feature reflect the English interpretation provided during the interview.
A life surrounded by music
For Temka, music was present long before the idea of an international career with THE HU could have entered the picture.
Growing up in a musical and artistic family, he was surrounded by instruments and creativity from an early age. His formal journey began when his parents enrolled him in piano lessons at eight years old. By the age of ten, he had entered Mongolia’s music conservatory.
That education eventually led Temka towards classical composition, while he also learned the morin khuur, commonly known as the horsehead fiddle. He later completed a bachelor’s degree in composition, giving him a musical foundation that reaches well beyond the role people now recognise him for within THE HU.
That background helps explain the detail behind the band’s music. Hunnu Rock may carry the immediate physical force of heavy music, but underneath the riffs, chanting and percussion sits a deep understanding of composition, cultural storytelling and the emotional possibilities of traditional instruments.
Building on what THE HU had already created
By the time THE HU began working towards their third album, the band had already established an unmistakable identity through The Gereg and Rumble of Thunder.
Rather than stepping away from that foundation, Temka explained that the band approached HUN by first recognising what they had already built. From there, they could begin adding new layers and experimenting with different sounds.
Songs including “The Men,” “Echoes of My Father” and “Universe” gave the band space to explore different musical directions. Those experiments required considerable attention, from the lyrics and central themes through to the riffs and complete arrangements.
“Universe” was singled out as one of the tracks that demanded particularly careful work, but that dedication extended across the album. Ideas and compositions were revisited repeatedly until they expressed what the band wanted them to carry.
The process was challenging, but Temka also described it as rewarding. After years of work, HUN feels less like a reinvention of THE HU and more like the sound of the band widening the world around Hunnu Rock.
Expansion without abandoning the roots
The contrast between songs such as “The Real You” and “Warrior Chant” demonstrates the balance at the centre of HUN.
“The Real You” brings more Western rock energy to the front, while “Warrior Chant” carries the galloping rhythms and instantly recognisable power that first drew listeners into THE HU’s world.
Temka explained that retaining those signature qualities was essential. Even as the band experimented with different influences and subgenres, the morin khuur, Mongolian throat singing and characteristic THE HU rhythms remained constant.
“Warrior Chant” was particularly important in that respect. Its central riff and rhythmic identity connect the album directly to what the band has established over the past decade.
That connection allowed THE HU to expand their horizons without weakening the cultural heart of the music. The Western elements were not brought in to replace anything. They were layered around a foundation that remained unmistakably Mongolian.
Ancient wisdom for modern struggles
Beyond its musical expansion, one of the strongest qualities running through HUN is the album’s focus on ancestral knowledge.
Its songs explore the ways values, cultural teachings and lived experience can be carried forward. For THE HU, that does not mean treating history as something distant or preserved behind glass. It means recognising that the fundamental challenges people face have remained remarkably consistent.
“At the core, all the struggles are still the same,” Temka said through his interpreter.
Technology has changed how rapidly information moves around the world, but fear, uncertainty, identity, judgement and the need to overcome adversity are not new experiences.
Temka described Mongolia’s nomadic culture as having its own distinct way of approaching those struggles. The wisdom passed down through generations offers a perspective grounded in endurance, humanity and the ability to continue moving through difficult circumstances.
Although HUN is deeply connected to Mongolia, Temka did not present those ideas as belonging exclusively to one culture. Every part of the world has ancestors who faced hardship and developed their own ways of understanding life.
THE HU’s purpose is to express the Mongolian perspective while also reaching for the common human experience underneath it.
“Compassion as a basic human decency is such an important way of expressing ourselves in the songs,” Temka explained.
That thought sits close to the album’s core. Beneath the powerful chants, galloping rhythms and heavy production, HUN is concerned with what it means to remain human.
Beginning with an image and an idea
Landscape, movement and imagination have always been important parts of THE HU’s music.
“The Real You” was recorded with the image of ancestors riding quickly across the Mongolian landscape, while “Warrior Chant” uses the morin khuur to evoke the gait of a horse. These are not merely decorative ideas added once the music is finished. They can shape how a song is written and performed.
Speaking from his own creative perspective, Temka explained that establishing the concept first helps guide the process. Focusing on the emotion, image and message the band wants listeners to experience makes it easier to understand how the music should be recorded.
That approach allows a physical image, such as a rider travelling across an open landscape, to become rhythm. It also helps explain why the music of THE HU can feel cinematic even when a listener does not understand every Mongolian word.
The emotion and movement already exist inside the performance.
Holding onto your values with “Lost Soul”
The message of maintaining your identity through hardship becomes particularly clear on “Lost Soul.”
The song explores the danger of becoming disconnected from your values while navigating life’s obstacles. After years of touring internationally and growing from a Mongolian band into a global heavy music phenomenon, that idea naturally carries additional weight.
Temka acknowledged that parts of the album became personal during the recording process. Some songs brought emotions to the surface inside the studio, even if he preferred not to identify precisely which moments belonged to individual members.
That personal element strengthens a record already concerned with self examination. Before judging others, Temka suggested, people must first be prepared to look honestly at themselves.
The digital version of “Lost Soul” features Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More, whose melodic English vocals create one of the album’s clearest meeting points between musical cultures.
Temka explained that Hawkins was chosen because of his vocal range and ability to reach the higher register needed for the band’s vision of the song. His voice provides a strong contrast to THE HU’s deep, raspy delivery, allowing both styles to strengthen the other.
Rather than pulling “Lost Soul” away from the band’s identity, the collaboration shows how Hunnu Rock can welcome another voice while retaining its own foundations.
Recognition without losing direction
THE HU’s contribution to Mongolian culture has been recognised far beyond the heavy music world.
The band received Mongolia’s Order of Genghis Khan in 2020 and was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2022, recognising its role in promoting and transmitting Mongolian cultural heritage.
Temka spoke about those honours with gratitude, but also with perspective.
The band does not want recognition to become a reason to think too highly of itself. Temka explained that dwelling too heavily on awards could make it difficult to continue functioning as artists and people.
Instead, THE HU remain focused on their goals and what they still hope to accomplish. The honours matter, but they do not replace the work.
It is a grounded outlook that connects directly with the ideas heard throughout HUN: understand who you are, remember where you came from and do not allow success or hardship to separate you from your values.
HUN track listing
- “Warrior Chant”
- “Lost Soul”
- “The Men”
- “Echoes of My Father”
- “Shadow”
- “Horsemen”
- “Greed”
- “The Real You”
- “Grey Hun”
- “Universe”
- “Second Face”
The version of “Lost Soul” featuring Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More appears exclusively on the digital edition.
HUN is out now
With HUN, THE HU have not abandoned the sound that introduced Hunnu Rock to audiences around the world. They have strengthened its foundations and created more room around them.
The album carries the rhythm of horses, the vastness of the Mongolian landscape and the voices of generations into a collection concerned with present day human struggles. Its cultural identity remains powerful, but its messages of compassion, resilience, accountability and holding onto personal values reach well beyond any border.
HUN is out now through Better Noise Music.
Listen, purchase or stream HUN:
https://thehu.lnk.to/hun
