ALIEN WEAPONRY
The New Zealanders have returned to the studio for album number two. Expect songs about ancient Maori stories and current affairs
HOW DID THE PANDEMIC AFFECT YOUR PLANS TO RECORD THE FOLLOW-UP TO 2018’S TŪ? Henry de Jong (drums): “It was our first day at Roundhead Studios in Auckland when the NZ government announced the country was going into lockdown for five weeks. We’d spent half the day setting up the drums and everything, so we recorded guide tracks for a few songs and did drum tracking for one of them. Then we had to pack everything up and go back to Waipu, which is two hours’ drive north. Now that the only restrictions are around our borders, we are going back to the studio next week.”
HOW MUCH OF THE NEXT ALBUM HAVE YOU WRITTEN SO FAR?
Lewis de Jong (vocals): “We do have a rehearsal room and a smaller studio in Waipu, so as soon as the lockdown restrictions eased a bit and we were allowed to travel between each others’ houses, we got back into more songwriting and as a result we have pretty much the whole album written.”
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT? Henry: “It’ll build on the work of the first album. We’d like to think it will be better, and heavier – like pouring hot lead into your ears, but in a good way.”
WHAT KIND OF LYRICAL THEMES ARE WORKING THEIR WAY INTO YOUR NEW SONGS?
Lewis: “In our Maori songs, we are drawing from ancient stories, right back into mythology. But there is also commentary on current issues, and things that have affected us personally.”
WHAT DID YOU DO GENERALLY DURING THE ISOLATION PERIOD? Ethan Trembath (bass): “Lots of people found isolation really hard, but for us it felt really nice to just be staying home and enjoying time with our girlfriends and families. It was much more ‘normal’ than our lifestyle for most of last year, when we were on tour for nine out of 12 months. We ate proper food and kind of had a nice holiday.”
NZ SEEMS TO HAVE BEATEN THE VIRUS. WHAT’S THE VIBE LIKE? Lewis: “Everyone is happy that we can move about freely and live events are able to happen within the country now, but there’s still uncertainty about how things are going to pan out as long as our borders remain closed. The NZ economy relies a lot on tourism. It may also prevent us from touring overseas if flights are scarce and expensive.”
HOW CAN METAL SURVIVE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?
Henry: “We’ve started a Patreon page that we release unique content to, and we’ll be participating in the European Metal Festival Alliance in August. Metal will survive the way it always has – the fans are dedicated and will support their favourite bands any way they can.”
TŪ IS OUT VIA NAPALM.
FOR THE BAND’S PATREON, SEE WWW.PATREON.COM/ ALIENWEAPONRY.
FOR MORE ON EMFA, SEE P.64