Best Metal Videos of All Time
Honourable Mention 9: Yuve Yuve Yu—The HU Band
Honourable Mention 9: Yuve Yuve Yu—The HU, Score = 9 points;
Score justification: 8 for the song + 1 for production values + 1 for story – 1 for uncritical glorifying = 9;
This is borderline metal, right? The music’s a mix of Mongolian folk music and hard rock (the band itself calls it “hunnu rock”). What makes it metal is the HU’s attitude and the addition of four extra members on tour with guitar, bass, drums and percussion that makes their live performances quite a bit heavier.
Is this a gimmick? Probably not. These people are from Mongolia, so will know their roots extremely well. Often, in the crossover—or superposition, if you will—of two different styles something interesting happens. One could also argue that before the time of electric power, these ancient acoustic instruments and the throat singing are the closest one can come to metal without electrical amplifcation.
So, since this is no gimmick, it won’t be copied? Too late, here’s folk metal from Taiwan: Nini Music’s1“LongMa’, and from India: Bloodywood’s “Dana Dan”, while the Wagakki Band from Japan featured a mix of traditional instruments and metal already in 2015’s “Homura”2. And there are probably many more examples that I’m not aware of.
And talk about social distancing the metal way! The band members are about ten kilometres apart, at least. This video was posted on Youtube on November 2018, well before Covid-19. So I’d say this ‘social-distancing-avant-la-lettre’ was in reality a way to impress the vastness of the Mongolian landscape (see also the lyrics). Actual metal social distancing will come in one of the Top Ten videos.
So this is the return of the glorious history of Mongolia under Ghenghis and Kubla Khan? While the expansion of the Mongolian empire from 1207 to 1294 was unprecedented (even if Alexander the Great was the fastest conqueror—he established his empire in a mere 11 years—the Mongolian empire was much, much bigger), do keep in mind that they were extremely ruthless. For example, the scenes of Mongolian torture in the novels Het Smaran by Hugo Raes and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami are extremely harrowing and not for the faint of heart. Let’s just say that it’s probably better to die outright than to be captured by Mongolians, and then tortured.
Certainly, the HU does not intend that? Of course not, but this is your friendly reminder that glorifying the military past of any nation is fraught with a purposeful overlooking of the horrors that were committed during these ‘glory days’. Even in my home country The Netherlands, some are trying to rehabilitate Raymond Westerling, a war criminal whose murderous acts were approved by the highest Dutch authorities. In the theatre of war, there are no innocents.
Can we please keep talking about metal? Don’t mention Manowar…😉
Don’t say: You Mongols haven’t subjugated much since the 12th Century, right?
Do say: This music makes me want to conquer the world!
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
She also did a folk cover version of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, including an acoustic version of Eddie Van Halen’s solo. Again, you can’t make this shit up;
Note that I’m looking at Far Eastern Asian traditional instruments here, as western bands like the Led Zeppelin, The Tea Party and others already mixed hard rock with traditional instruments before;