Formed in 1987 as Skorost (Russian: Скорость, [ˈskorəsʲtʲ], also "speed") by drummer Dambyn Ganbayar, Hurd is considered the first band to have introduced the heavy metal genre into the Mongolian music landscape.

[4] In 1987, drummer Dambyn Ganbayar founded his first rock band with his fellow workers of Ulaanbaatar's train depot.

The first major concert by Hurd, called Khar salkhi (Mongolian: Хар салхи, "black wind"), was held at the State Circus in March 1995.

Hurd started to be famous among music listeners, especially with the song Tsergiin bodol (Mongolian: Цэргийн бодол, "soldier's thoughts"), which quickly became a hit.

The best of Hurd's songs were re-arranged for this event and performed accompanied by a string ensemble, a saxophonist, a morin khuur player and a pianist.

For the release of their 1999 album Ödör Shönö, the band used a new name - "Erel-Hurd" (Mongolian: Эрэл-Хурд), although it remains the sole occurrence other than a cassette tape compilation, Shildeg duu, from that era.

It contained the hit single Ekh oron, which was previously released in 1999, Ekh oron's B-sides and some more unreleased material from The Best Collection I and II's sessions, plus a new track, Shine jil, which was later put in their next album Myangan Jild Gants, which included nu metal styled songs.

In 2013, they released a box set called "Black Box - 20th anniversary limited edition" which contains all their studio albums, "Unplugged", a CD version of "Acoustic Unplugged-II kontsert" and two bonus CDs, thus putting their older albums back into print and giving Khairyn Salkhi its first official release.

[8] The band's roots in tradition and a focus on national pride make them especially popular in rural areas of Mongolia, as well as with Mongolian migrant workers abroad, such as in South Korea.

[9] They are also popular in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and their sales figures for tapes and CDs are higher there than at home.

[10] Hurd usually writes songs by composing music around proses and poems coming from either regular contributors or anonymous people.