ALIEN WEAPONRY

Handpicked to open for Gojira on their impending European tour, young New Zealand metal trio Alien Weaponry have come a long way over the last few years, inking a deal with Napalm Records for their Tū debut in 2018 and more recently turning heads far and wide with the sheer force of second album Tangaroa, which was released in September 2021. Fronted by vocalist/guitarist Lewis de Jong and incorporating influences from their Māori background both lyrically and sonically – using native instruments from the Taonga pūoro family such as the pūtātara – their brutal aggression harks back to the 90s groove metal typified by Pantera, Sepultura and Machine Head, as well as the psychedelic heaviness of early Tool. Marrying their detuned riffage with hard-hitting lyrics that confront their home country’s colonial history and its on-going repercussions, feeding DBZ and ESP guitars through Marshall DSL amps via Boss and Line 6 pedals, it’s a potent formula – and one that will only continue to elevate them higher and higher.