Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Video: Sebastijan Videc
Location: Metaldays / Tolmin
Interview date: 26.07.2018
Alien Weponry, who hail from the small town of Waipu on the North Island, were founded in 2010 by brothers Henry (drums) and Lewis de Jong (guitar, vocals). The trio locked in when bassist Ethan Trembath joined them in 2013. At heart, Alien Weaponry play a kind of modern thrash metal built mostly on thick, massive grooves, with fat riffing and breakdowns standing in for guitar solos. Nothing especially original, you might say, but this is where Alien Weaponry shine and rise above the pack, because they weave the influences of their Maori roots into their music. More than half of their songs are sung in the traditional language te reo, and there’s no shortage of war cries, the so-called haka, either and the whole thing sounds downright stunning, as the guys prove on their brand-new debut studio album Tū. We talked to the trio just a few hours before their very first European festival gig.
