Welcome back to the Metal Detector.  This week I have been mostly listening to Mongolia’s unstoppable power metal machine, The Hu.  It’s been hard to avoid the hype around this band but any time someone brings a brand-new sound to the metal table, it’s to be warmly welcomed.

Combining traditional music and metal is nothing new, per se.  Folk and pagan metal are well established here in Ireland, and around the world too.  Irish trad is easily recognisable to most people in Europe and America, but we’re not accustomed to hearing throat singing solos.

The electrified Mongol instruments that The Hu use to such great effect are new to our ears too, so the combination of battle beats, hummable melodies and Khannite costumes are something to be celebrated.  Their artwork and appearance are reminiscent of hardcore Dungeons and Dragons, and we can only imagine how they’ll present their unique and original music when they play live.

The Hu have just the one album out so far, but they are about to embark on an extensive North American tour.  It’s been two years since they played here, for obvious reasons, and hopefully we’ll see them back here soon.

They’ve certainly made the most of their newfound fame.  After getting members of Halestorm and Papa Roach in for guest slots on their US singles, they’ve covered two Metallica songs including one for the Blacklist charity album.  As well as backing from Metallica et al, the Mongolian government have shown their support for the band, staging a show at the Mongolian Embassy in London, and honouring them for services to culture.  With new songs written and being road-tested, expectations will be high for album #2, don’t let us down, Hu!

Hello from sunny but freezing Dublin, and welcome to The Metal Detector, Muso’s Guide home of metal, and related musical ramblings.  If there’s a metal band you think we should be writing about, please get in touch on our Twitter and Instagram, and let us know.

The words Hungarian instrumental prog metal, may, quite rightly, scare off some.  I’m among that cohort.  I’m an old punk and metal fan, and I despise prog, but I’ve been following Debrecen’s Ghost Toast since they signed to Inverse Records.

Inverse are one of my favourite metal labels.  They work with bands from all over Europe and release new records almost weekly.  I’ve found some of my favourite tunes there in recent years. Not least ‘Eclipse’ from their last album, Shape Without Form.  The follow-up is Shape Without Color and they’ve gone even further down the prog rabbit hole on this one. It takes balls of brass to release a 12-minute single to launch your album but, too often, it feels like longer than that.

The band was formed in Debrecen, Hungary in 2008 and they appear to be on a similar trajectory to Liverpool’s Anathema.  They blend instrumental styles from heavy and groovy metal to the tight syncopation and drones of prog.  They’re still capable of rocking out and laying down head-banging riffs, but there’s just a build-up of fluff in between.  There are moments when that indulgent streak becomes overpowering and listening feels like an endurance test.  It becomes ambient music for metallers like 65 Days of Static or Tool.  Hopefully the rest of the album is tighter.