UUHAI, HEDRA & SETTLEMENTS
Mongolian folk-metallers that put The HU in the shade
Waterfront
Another weekend, another early show at the Waterfront, this time upstairs in the Studio.
Opening the festivities are local chaps SETTLEMENTS and their melodic power-metal/alt.rock/anthemic stadium indie crossover. My gig companion compares them to Queens of the Stone Age and that is a good shout but I’d throw in bits of Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro and maybe even the classic rock of Black Star Riders. Aiden is an effable, engaging frontman and there’s great playing, particularly from Brett on drums. To my ears at least, there are no truly memorable songs but it has to be said that the mix is less than kind to Settlements...
... but however unkind it is to Settlements, it is absolutely terrible for HEDRA, quite possibly the worst I have heard in this room. Genuinely, the best place I found to listen was by the cloakroom. As such, it is probably unfair of me to say much about Hedra. From what I could make out, Hedra mix mid-80s style power-metal - think Savatage or Agent Steel - with first generation thrash and occasional blasts of hyper speed double bass drumming. In matching band-branded shirts and sweatbands, with luminous strings of the bass, light-up bass drum and holographic logo, the band make a concerted effort to put on a show and they’re certainly committed to what they do but they are stymied by that sound and, to be honest, much as I can admire them, it isn’t really my thing.
I know it is lazy to compare bands simply because they come from the same country or because they follow similar styles but Mongolian folk-metal isn’t (at least to us in the West) a well-known genre. Following successful tours and a profile-raising slot at Glastonbury 23, The HU are almost certainly the best known. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed The HU at the UEA last year but take away the traditional Mongolian Instruments and the throat singing and they are an average metal band. It is the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and overtone singing that raise The HU above that. UUHAI - whose name translates more or less to hoorah - however are a bloody great band full stop.
Ostensibly, Saruul is lead vocalist but he is just as much a master of ceremonies, with morin khuur players Zorigoo and Shinetsog-Geni providing a fair amount of the vox. The sound is thankfully absolutely spot on. The playing is incredibly tight. The band are clearly having a good time up there on stage. The only misstep - for me, alone, perhaps - is one song that goes full-on party metal, the kind of cobblers that was clogging up MTV and the US charts in the 80s. But, like I said, I suspect I was pretty much alone in that assessment and the following song goes full on galloping horses (niche reference there for fans of Anda Union).
Anyone who enjoys The HU will absolutely love Uuhai and I expect them to be playing bigger, more packed shows next time they hit these shores,
It is an early show and, even though Uuhai overran by a few minutes, I have just enough time to rush down to NAC to catch last couple of songs from Aphra’s set and all of SUDS headline set. Aphra is in fine, fine voice and the songs are as strong as ever. Whilst I doubt SUDS will ever be my favourite band, tonight is the best show I have seen from them yet, the vocals are spot on, the songs get stronger every time I hear them and they have turned into a properly good band.
