Last we heard from Mongolian folk metallers The Hu, they’d just released an incredible cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True” in their native tongue. Now, the band are being honored by Mongolia itself with the release of a commemorative coin featuring their image.
According to Mongolian news agency Montsame, the Bank of Mongolia first issued gold, silver, brass, and nickel coins with a face value of MNT 1 on the 50th anniversary of the People’s Revolution in 1971. Since then, between 1976 and 2020, the Bank has issued 46 different commemorative items, including gold bullion bars, gold coins, gold-gilded silver coins, silver coins, and silver gilded copper coins, on the theme of historical events, anniversaries and endangered species.
Check out the coins below:
Speaking to Metal Hammer, the band described how they’re happy to reach a wider audience and spread the word about the Mongolian rock scene.
“It’s not easy to be the ice-breaker”, says multi-instrumentalist Jaya.“Following in someone’s footsteps is easier most of the time. We work hard and we are proud to be the one to pave the way for other bands who will come after us. The satisfying thing is that other young people are coming up after us in Mongolia. We’re inspiring these people. If you work hard, anything is possible. If you really love it and picture it, and work for it, things will happen. This is the most satisfying thing for us.”
“This pandemic has given us so many perspectives and shown us the world is one family,” says the band’s Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle) player Enkush. “We’re in it together regardless of our age, our race, our country. We’re going to cherish the lessons we’ve learned from this experience and we should work together to save this world. This is a very important message in our music, too. Our band’s name is The Hu, meaning ‘human being’. We chose this name because of the inclusive nature of the word; this music is for every human being. We want to unite people through our music so we can stand together and fight against our challenges. When we’re together, we’re powerful. When we get the vaccine and get our normal lives back, that will be the biggest event of 2021.”
Check out The Hu’s cover of “Sad But True” below:
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Words by Chris Krovatin
