Special kind of classy music ... :)

Saw them live at The Underworld a couple of years ago. Had a chat with their manager who had poured a tonne of money into marketing them.

What was surprising was that the venue was packed out, probably sold out, and the people in the crowd did not look like rock or metal fans [metal fans tend to dress metal, most of this lot looked like they'd just stepped out of a River Island changing room]. For a ****ing Mongolian folk metal band, it was crazy to see it that full. Just shows the power of marketing - I find that more interesting than their music.

For those looking for recommendations, I would recommend Darkestrah though that is a much more non-commercial type of metal from Central Asia with folk influences which does not attempt to appeal to the mainstream. But I find it more interesting. Also check out Ulytau.
 
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Lysander said:
the people in the crowd did not look like rock or metal fans [metal fans tend to dress metal, most of this lot looked like they'd just stepped out of a River Island changing room]. For a ****ing Mongolian folk metal band, it was crazy to see it that full. Just shows the power of marketing - I find that more interesting than their music.
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Does it have to be marketing? Word of mouth is just as powerful, as is sharing stuff online like this very thread.

Besides, does this guy look/dress like a Metal fan?

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You know what they say about book covers and judgement... ;)
 
ttaskmaster said:
Does it have to be marketing?
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Yes, their manager told me he had poured a load of money into marketing with the specific intention of making them very popular [even the Mongolian government apparently helped pay for their international promotion on Youtube]. Folk metal is not a popular music genre, so when something unusual happens, like a Mongolian folk metal band getting incredibly popular, it's not just word of mouth. Money talks in the metal industry just like in any other, and I say this as someone who has been involved in metal journalism, publishing and promotion [as well as other related things] for a long time now.

ttaskmaster said:
Besides, does this guy look/dress like a Metal fan?
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Hmm, you're presenting a minority example as something more than it is [otherwise known as the composition/division fallacy - I don't like dropping these "fallacy" things into conversation because it's patronising, and I don't mean to be patronising, but that's the name for this type of conceit]. Christopher Lee's work in Charlemagne is to be applauded, but he is not representative of most metal acts out there in his appearance. Most metal artists dress metal [I emphasise the word "most"] - and I'm not just talking about at shows. That is absolutely indisputable. Of course there will be exceptions though.

When you go to a metal gig and see pretty much everyone in the crowd wearing "civvies" [especially at a venue you've frequented/promoted at for many years] you know that they are following a fad. Because for most metal fans, metal is an obsession and a lifestyle, not just something you turn up to for the odd gig or album. That said, if The Hu end up being an entry-level band who introduce more people to a metal lifestyle, that's awesome.

To be honest this is an interesting topic for me [dressing metal] and I could go on more about it, but it's kind of off topic.
 
Lysander said:
Yes, their manager told me he had poured a load of money into marketing with the specific intention of making them very popular [even the Mongolian government apparently helped pay for their international promotion on Youtube]. Folk metal is not a popular music genre, so when something unusual happens, like a Mongolian folk metal band getting incredibly popular, it's not just word of mouth. Money talks in the metal industry just like in any other, and I say this as someone who has been involved in metal journalism, publishing and promotion [as well as other related things] for a long time now.
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So how much the band's manager paid the OP to market them here on this forum... That is what he's doing by posting about them, right? :p

Funny how many other things that had marketing money poured into them still tanked, while others succeeded with virtually no backing beyond word of mouth... But hey, you're "involved with" it, so you know better than me.

Speaking of which, I'd love your "involved with it" insight into how come this very unpopular style of music is so relatively popular here in Reading, though...I mean, I must live in the one place out of the entire universe and Beverly Hills that sees a lot of folk metal and has a lot of folk metal fans... I mean, I saw a bit of it when I lived in London, noting especially (because I was tricked into attending one of her shows) that Bjork had such a Mongolian act supporting her somewhere between 1998 to 2001, but pre-Covid we had a lot of such acts round our way, mainly the Scandi ones, and there's a definite scene for the genre with 3 or 4 clubs having folk metal nights. I'm certainly no metaller, yet have still heard (and sometimes gone to see) a good number of such acts. My own wife has a load of albums from Skyclad, Nightwish, Forefather, Waylander, and a bunch of foreign ones that I can't spell without a Character Map, let alone pronounce.
Even our postwoman is a fan!!

Lysander said:
Hmm, you're presenting a minority example as something more than it is
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No, I'm presenting one fairly well known example that well-illustrates my point.
If I had the time and inclination, I might present a comprehensive study detailing the results of numerous studies and surveys of all those who consider themselves "metal fans"... but since this is just a passing moment on an internet forum, Sir Chris should suffice.

This whole idea that only Metal people only ever dress according to their musical tastes is equally questionable, as the same has been said of Goths, Country, Hip Hop and just about every other type of music, at least since the 1940s. It's called Fashion and is certainly not unique to Metallers, nor is it a required uniform of some kind as you seem to imply. Metallers are just like normal people, and normal people do sometimes grow up... :p

Lysander said:
When you go to a metal gig and see pretty much everyone in the crowd wearing "civvies" [especially at a venue you've frequented/promoted at for many years] you know that they are following a fad.
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******** - I've been to all sorts of genres where people dressed however they like, totally contrary to the required uniform of the genre... and that includes the performers. Goth is full of Goth people and Goth bands, who really don't dress very Goth. From my own experience, I find it depends greatly on the individual band and, to a lesser extent, their current fashion. Time was you could tell a Numanoid if you'd ever seen one of his album covers, as many fans adopted the image of their favourite... These days about the best you'll see is a tour t-shirt.

Lysander said:
Because for most metal fans, metal is an obsession and a lifestyle, not just something you turn up to for the odd gig or album.
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Yep, same said about many other music genres and styles... yet it's only true as long as the fashion for it lasts. Most metallers (and others) seem to calm it down once they have kids, though, resigning themselves to black jeans, a band t-shirt and a few leather bracelets. Long hair optional. Round here, you'll be looking at maybe 30-40% of them 'in uniform', while others just wear whatever they like.

Lysander said:
To be honest this is an interesting topic for me [dressing metal] and I could go on more about it, but it's kind of off topic.
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Funny how you can always tell a metaller because they always dress metal, because it's a lifestyle and an obssession... yet they look exactly like so many fans of the other non-pop genres, who also swear blind that they too are a lifestyle and an obssession... I always got labelled as an "obvious metaller" and at the same time "clearly a Goth", for no other reason than I rode a motorcycle and dressed accordingly - Seems they don't even know their own kind!!
 
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