At Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on September 17, 2023
Psycho Thunder tour is tearing and rumbling through North American cities as we speak, wreaking havoc in every city as they go. Or we can say that British rock luminaries Asking Alexandria and Mongolian rock sensation THE HU joined forces on a run across the U.S. The co-headlining jaunt — billed as the “Psycho Thunder” tour with special guests ZERO 9:36. Whatever way you are comfortable to put it. This last Sunday Psycho Thunder rolled into New Jersey.
Written by Andris Jansons

American heavy metal band Bad Wolves were also previously scheduled to join the tour, but the band withdrew because of circumstances beyond their control. Zero 9:36 stayed as the lone support for both heavyweights.
The Mongolian band The Hu came roaring into the metal scene a few years ago. Bands folk metal style incorporating Mongolian traditional instruments along with singing their songs in their native language gained attention to many music lovers as a breath of the fresh air. Their megahit Wolf Totem back in 2018 has gathered above 90 million views on YouTube in its original version and another 38 million views with their collaboration with Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix.
Personally, I admire all folk metal, let it be Mongolian, Indian, Nordic, Oceania or Asia. Incorporation of traditional music and native instruments is what makes metal music rich not only in tradition but also invention and truly international.
The band calls their style of music “hunnu rock”. The Hu consists of Galbadrakh “Gala” Tsendbaatar, Nyamjantsan “Jaya” Galsanjamts, Enkhsaikhan “Enkush” Batjargal, and Temuulen “Temka” Naranbaatar. To date The Hu have released the studio albums The Gereg and Rumble of Thunder. There are at least three to four traditional instruments band consistently uses – including the morin khuur, the tovshuur, tumur hhuur and tsuur.
Setlist included all the bands singles known to most fans “Wolf Totem”, “This Is Mongol”, Yuve Yuve”, “Black Thunder” and more. Band also performed cover of Metallica’s “Through The Never”.
Throughout the band’s set fans joined together for the “Hu, hu, hu, hu …” chant.
See The HU performance photo gallery below.










Asking Alexandria is on tour without their founder and lead guitarist Ben Bruce, for the reasons he previously communicated to the fans. While his charisma is sorely missed, Paul Bartolome nicely fills in his spot.
While the band is on the heels of their new album “Where Do We Go From Here?” which was released on August 25th, this tours set list is not heavily tilting towards it. There are only three songs “Dark Void”, “Bad Blood” and “Let Go” form their latest release. Rest of the set is pretty much evenly spread out throughout the bands discography. As Danny Worsnop said addressing the crowd that we are here celebrating their new and old music.
Some of the biggest hits performed were “Into The Fire”, “Alone In A Room”, “The Final Episode”, “Moving On” and “A Prophecy”. All together this set had bit heavier feel then other recent ones I attended, and was a bit more closer to the roots of the band, which for me personally was a welcome development.
To summarize everything that was heard and witnessed this night, I can give this experience a solid 10/10. Some inspirational folk metal coupled with modern rock and metalcore was an amazing experience. Psycho Thunder is a perfect way to summarize.
See Asking Alexandria performance photo gallery below.














See below list for future dates and get your tickets here: https://www.askingalexandria.com/tour
Sep. 20 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
Sep. 22 – Ft Wayne, IN – Piere’s Entertainment Center
Sep. 23 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life ^
Sep. 25 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory
Sep. 26 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
Sep. 27 – Green Bay, WI – EPIC Event Center
Sep. 29 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/ Eagles Club
Oct. 1 – Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Stir Cove
Oct. 3 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Oct. 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union
Oct. 6 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock &
Oct. 7 – Las Vegas, NV – The Industrial Sound
Oct. 8 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern