Back in 2012, when I was too young to not be naive, I found a Mongolian throat singing video and lost it. I tried to learn how to do it and, almost 15 years later, I still can’t. So imagine my excitement when I got to see UUHAI live.
Seriously, I knew they were cool. Their album is fantastic, more on that later, but what I wasn’t expecting was to leave Lido wanting to become a Mongolian warrior who throat sings.
UUHAI are a Mongolian folk metal band from Ulaanbaatar, formed in 2020. Their sound brings together traditional Mongolian throat singing, morin khuur, also known as the horsehead fiddle, and heavy rock that feels built for open landscapes, galloping rhythms and very large imaginary horses. They were touring Europe with Nanowar of Steel, a combination I would have never guessed worked, and the room was as excited as I was.
The seven-piece band jumped on stage and immediately opened with Human Herds, the second track from their debut album of the same name. And honestly, that album does exactly what you hope it will do. It takes Mongolian tradition, folk melodies and heavy riffs, then turns them into something cinematic, physical and weirdly easy to follow, even when you don’t understand a single word. It feels ancient and modern at the same time, which is a sentence that sounds like a press release until you hear the band actually do it.
The record has that same pull all the way through. Songs like Khar Khulz lean fully into the warrior-spirit side of the band with snarling guitars, heavy bass, morin khuur and throat singing working together like one big battle cry. While Secret History of the Mongols merges chants, atmosphere and a sense of something collective.
Which is probably why the live show never felt like they were bringing a whole world with them.
Yes, you’ve read that right: galloping horses across Mongolian landscapes.
They immediately made us cheer “UUHAI”, which roughly means “hoorah”, and got us singing in a language most of the Europeans in the venue obviously do not speak. But what they were giving in energy and passion, they were also providing in pure virtuosity. Two morin khuur players were driving the orchestral sound and transporting us to galloping horses across Mongolian landscapes.
We were all riding along with them and, to be fair, it felt more like a rite of passage than a live metal show. At some point, they decided to bring everyone together on stage, and it only made the whole thing feel even more communal. We all felt like UUHAI warriors, and I guess from now on, we always will.
I don’t know when they will come back to tour Europe, but I’m fairly certain I’ll travel to see them wherever they go. And yes, you should too.
UUHAI!
All images were taken by Pablo Iriarte with the permission of the artist and venue and are subject to copyright.
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