The Hu Release Killer Mongolian-Language Cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True”

20 minutos, CC BY-SA 2.1 ES , via Wikimedia Commons
Published on:

Last we heard from Mongolian folk-metallers The Hu, they were releasing a new documentary about their experiences on the road. Now the band have decided to pay homage to their heavy forefathers by releasing a cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True” — which, in their classic fashion, is performed in their native Mongolian, with classic folk instruments.

“Sad But True” may be one of the more straightforward Metallica songs, but The Hu do a really good job of giving fans a fresh take on it. The band’s use of Mongolian folk instruments, throat-singing, and their native tongue make the song a fascinating re-listen, opening up aspects of the original that listeners might not have noticed before. It’s also an interesting example of how incorporating folk influences to a classic metal track can awaken new sides of it — with the Hu’s additions, “Sad But True” sounds more like a battle anthem than ever.

Meanwhile, even if you don’t care for the cover, you can’t say shit about the video. The Hu really went for it with this one, casting themselves as elemental spirits and turning the song into a tale of hubris and ruin. Watching these dudes perform “Sad But True” on a floating stone dais or outside a swirling green vortex is awesome to behold. Could this track be the music that’s played perpetually in the underworld as hordes of damned souls turn the levers and cranks which allow the planet to keep operating? We don’t know, but it sure as hell looks like it!

Check out The Hu’s take on “Sad But True” below:

The Hu’s cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True” is the first entry in Better Noise’ The Best Of Better Noise Music: 15 Years Of Rock series, which celebrates 15 years of the label (previously known as Eleven Seven) and “features exciting new versions of songs from their diverse rock catalogue.”

***

Words by Chris Krovatin