The Warrior Chant Tour made its presence heard in Newcastle, bringing Mongolian rock phenomenon The Hu to the iconic O2 City Hall Newcastle alongside fellow folk-inspired metal act SKÁLD. The UK and European run began in Glasgow on 29 September, and will continue for just over a month, taking in 24 dates across nine countries before concluding in Brussels, Belgium, in November.
The Hu – SKÁLD
O2 City Hall Newcastle – 3 October 2026
Words: Matty Hunter
Photography: Alan Bell / Vision Impact Photography
For Newcastle, the setting could hardly have been more fitting. The City Hall, opened in 1928 and extensively refurbished in 2022, remains one of the city’s most iconic music venues, having welcomed virtually all of the legendary names in the business over the decades, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
This is a classic auditorium, with crisp acoustics, impressive modern sound and lighting production, making it one of my favourite venues in the city.
Long before the first note was played, the anticipation was obvious. A huge queue of eager fans snaked its way along the side and front of the historic building, with a packed evening ahead for those ready to embrace what was a killer night.
SKÁLD
Opening the evening for The Hu were French Nordic folk collective SKÁLD. Founded in 2017 by multi-instrumentalist and producer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet, SKÁLD draw heavily from Norse mythology, Viking-Age culture and Old Norse poetry to collate their sound.
The name SKÁLD, in case you were wondering, comes from the Old Norse word for a poet or storyteller, and that tradition remains central to their music.
Much of their material is performed in Old Norse, with mythology, legends, fate, destiny, nature, death and Ragnarök all featuring heavily in their lyrical world. Rather than attempting to simply recreate ancient music, the band reinterpret those traditions through modern production and atmosphere.
Their sound is built around a wide array of traditional instruments, appearing alongside modern arrangements. They may not be a conventional Metal band, but there is a darkness, weight and intensity to their music that makes them a natural fit on a heavy-music bill.
This Newcastle show also marked SKÁLD’s third ever appearance in the UK. They arrived fresh from the release of their fourth studio album, Ørlǫg, released on 25 September through Napalm Records. The album explores themes of fate and destiny through Norse mythology and marks the band’s first release through the label.
At precisely 8 pm, the five-piece emerged from the darkness and immediately created an atmosphere that felt ritualistic. Their opening number lasted around six minutes, with the stage remaining shrouded in darkness as the music gradually established its ominous, ceremonial tone.
The second song brought a noticeable change of pace, with the lights brightening as the band greeted the crowd. Their logo and name appeared across the backdrop, and by the end of the track they had the audience participating in a traditional chant.
The Viking-inspired atmosphere continued into the third song, with chants of Valhalla booming around the room. By the fourth number, the crowd were clapping along, creating a growing connection between the stage and the floor.
One of the most impressive sights came as one of the percussionists continued headbanging while hammering the enormous drums without missing a beat. The traditional instrumentation also provided a constant visual point of interest, with the unusual range of instruments from horns to jaw harps giving the performance an identity that was completely its own.
The thunderous percussion was balanced beautifully by the angelic female vocals, providing an almost ethereal quality against the darker, heavier passages. It was this contrast that made the performance so effective as SKÁLD move from haunting and atmospheric to visceral and imposing in their discography and live show.
As the set progressed, the audience became increasingly involved. The combination of the crowd clapping along with the band’s thunderous percussion caused the room to shake, with the floor physically vibrating with the weight of the performance. The atmosphere never really dropped, building particularly strongly towards the closing stages.
SKÁLD asked Newcastle if they wanted more as their set drew to a close, receiving a suitably emphatic response from the crowd. Their final few songs felt like the culmination of everything they had built, before the band brought their set to a close at 8:40 pm.
The five-piece took their bows to a huge reception, leaving the stage having made a strong impression on the audience. There was something genuinely distinctive about watching SKÁLD perform, and despite arriving unfamiliar with much of their material, I found myself wanting to explore their music, lyrics and the mythology behind it further.
As an opening act for The Hu, the pairing made perfect sense. Both bands take the musical heritage of their respective cultures and reshape it through modern, heavy and atmospheric performances. SKÁLD’s style may lean more towards folk than metal, but their ritualistic presentation, huge percussion and sheer intensity made them a perfect introduction to what was still to come.
The HU
The HU took to the stage at 9:10 pm, greeted by a huge “HU! HU! HU!” chant from the Newcastle crowd. Formed in Ulaanbaatar in 2016, the band have pioneered their own brand of Hunnu Rock, combining traditional Mongolian instrumentation and throat singing with the weight and energy of rock and Metal.
They were joined here by touring members Ono, Jamba, Davaa and Odko, making for an eight-piece wall of sound.
The name HU translates to human being, while their music is deeply rooted in Mongolian history, culture, nature and spirituality. This is more than simply putting traditional instruments into a rock band. Their mission has always been to take Mongolian culture and traditional music to an international audience.
Their success speaks for itself, with almost 900 million global streams and major appearances worldwide, including Glastonbury and Download festivals in this country.
This year also marks The Hu’s 10th anniversary as a band, an impressive milestone for a group that has taken its music from its roots to some of the biggest stages in the world. Their cultural impact goes considerably beyond music, too.
In 2019, The HU became the first group ever to receive the Chinggis Khaan Order, Mongolia’s highest state honour, awarded in recognition of major contributions to the country and the promotion of Mongolian culture internationally. It is an extraordinary distinction and one that perfectly reflects what The HU have set out to achieve.
Their most recent chapter is HUN, released in July 2026, with this tour set drawing heavily from the album. The show also marked a second return to Newcastle, with their first appearance in the city on the 2023 headline tour playing at NX merely a mile away.
Just before The HU appeared, the Metal classic Black Sabbath’s War Pigs was played on tape, with the crowd loudly singing along to it, and I could not help but spare a thought for the late Ozzy. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him, as I’m sure all readers do either.
The track Lost Soul opened the set with a catchy riff and an eye-catching backdrop video on the screen behind the band. From the first note, the acoustics of the City Hall worked beautifully for the group, allowing all of the musical elements to come together into an enormous sound. “What’s up Newcastle, we are so happy to be here,” came the greeting, immediately met by another eruption of HU chants.
The riffs continued coming as Horsemen kept the momentum moving before The Same slowed things down in what was probably the most ambient period of the set. Upright Destined Mongol then brought the pace back up, with the crowd joining in with the chorus.
The Men and Shadow hit with considerably more force, the band proving that the traditional instrumentation is capable of carrying immense weight in a live setting. The visual backdrops added another dimension without distracting from the musicians themselves, while the combination of all of the musical elements made The HU sound even more powerful live than they do on record.
When Warrior Chant arrived, the room was completely in the palm of the band’s hand. Thousands of voices responded to the band on stage with chants again.
Echoes Of My Father brought another change of pace, with warm orange lighting bathing the stage as the band delivered one of the more atmospheric moments of the evening. The masses were completely captivated, and it demonstrated just how carefully constructed the setlist was, constantly moving between quieter, immersive passages and huge bursts of energy.
Grey Hun and The Real You continued the journey through HUN before another barrage of instrumentation took over with the excellent Black Thunder. Watching the musicians work through the traditional instruments alongside the modern rhythm section was one of the highlights of the entire performance.
Yuve Yuve Yu produced one of the biggest reactions of the night, before the band moved into another enormous fan favourite, Wolf Totem. When The HU told Newcastle that they rock, the response was appreciative, with fists punching into the air as the next song hit with all the force of a battle chant.
This Is Mongol was said penultimate song, a statement piece that brings together so much of what The HU represent. With the full array of instruments working together, it felt like the perfect point in the set to remind everyone exactly who this band are and where their music comes from.
“We love Newcastle, we are The Hu”, they told the crowd before disappearing into darkness. But the night was not over. After a huge encore, they returned to the stage for The Trooper, their officially released 2024 cover of the Iron Maiden classic. Funnily enough, it is the two-year anniversary of its release on 4 October. There is a strong relationship between the two bands, with The HU having toured with Maiden and appeared at their EddFest celebration earlier this year.
A huge inflatable statue appeared on stage as the band launched into the final song, bringing an already spectacular performance to a memorable close. By 10:30, The HU had delivered everything expected from a band of their stature, a powerful, meticulously crafted live show that celebrated Mongolian culture without ever compromising on the sheer weight and energy of the music.
This band are conquering stages around the world live and now, and I can officially say that Hunnu Rock is immense.
