New Zealand's Alien Weaponry are one of the most exciting metal bands to have emerged in the last decade. Brothers Lewis and Henry de Jong started playing together before they had even hit their teens, and their prodigious talents and chemistry, coupled with a desire to splice crushing groove metal with influences from indigenous Māori culture is certainly a unique USP.
After two impressive albums in 2018 debut Tū and its 2021 follow-up, Tangaroa, now is surely the time for the band to transition from hotly tipped youngsters to leading lights. They couldn’t have given themselves a better chance of getting there than with Te Rā. Comparisons with Sepultura have followed Alien Weaponry from the start of their career, and this very much feels like a similar leap from the Brazilians’ Arise to their classic Chaos A.D. album.
