Alien Weaponry

Alien Weaponry
Origin Waipu, New Zealand
Genres
Years active 2010–present
Labels None (Independent)
Website alienweaponry.com
Members Lewis de Jong
Henry de Jong
Ethan Trembath

Alien Weaponry is a three-piece teenage thrash metal band from Waipu, New Zealand, formed in 2010 by brothers Henry & Lewis de Jong. The band consists of Lewis de Jong (Guitar & Vocals), Henry de Jong (Drums), and Ethan Trembath (Bass guitar). Alien Weaponry's début single, Urutaa is sung partly in te reo Māori and was originally about a clash of ideas and expectations leading to stress and unhappiness, which was likened to a plague or urutaa (an outbreak). The Maori lyrics refer to specific events which occurred in the Bay of Islands in the 1800s and what followed after a pocket watch was inadvertently dropped into the harbour. The misunderstanding culminated in what is notoriously known as 'The Burning of the Boyd'. a grim set of events in New Zealand's colonial history. Says the band "This incident is used in this song as a metaphor for the misunderstandings that continue to plague us today – between cultures, generations and individuals who torment each other through lack of understanding."

The bands second single ‘Raupatu’ (released in February 2017) is about land confiscations by the New Zealand colonial government in the 1800's and the unjust legislation of 1863 which allowed this to happen. Their third single, ‘Rū Ana te Whenua’ (the trembling earth), released 1 July 2017, refers to the mighty battle at Pukehinahina/Gate Pa in 1864 where their ancestor, Te Ahoaho, lost his life.

The band’s English material is equally controversial, with songs like ‘Hypocrite,’ ‘Rage,’ ‘PC Bro’,’ and ‘The Cult of Sanitised Warfare’ calling out everyone from teachers and friends at school to the media for variously glorifying and destroying the lives of television and sports stars. “We listened to all sorts of music when we were younger,” says lead singer and guitarist Lewis de Jong, “but we were drawn to thrash metal because it’s quite complex music, and it is a great vehicle for expressing real stories and emotions.” “It also works with Te Reo Māori,” adds his brother Henry. “Both the musical style and the messages have a lot of similarities with haka, which is often brutal, angry and about stories of great courage or loss.”


Band History

Alien Weaponry was formed in Auckland in 2010 by guitarist & vocalist Lewis de Jong and drummer Henry de Jong who were only 8 and 10 years old respectively. [1] [2] The brothers named the band Alien Weaponry after watching the movie District 9 and after moving to the small town of Waipu were joined by bass guitarist Ethan Trembath in April 2013.[3] Trembath replaced Wyatt Channings who had briefly played bass for the band the previous year. Having been regional finalists in the New Zealand Smokefree Rockquest four years running, the band gained second place in the New Zealand national final in 2015 and in 2016 won both the national finals of Smokfreerockquest and Smokefree Pacifica Beats, the only band in New Zealand history to have ever won both events.[4] The band also toured with New Zealand chart topping band Devilskin on their "We Rise" tour in 2014 and performed at The Powerstation in support of Shihad in May 2015.[5][6] Alien Weaponry are believed to be youngest recipients to have ever received New Zealand on Air funding with their song Ru Ana Te Whenua in October 2015. They received a $10,000 grant to complete recording of their song and produce a video in 2015 and then another two $10,000 NZ On Air grants in 2016 to record their singles Urutaa and Raupatu and produce music videos. In 2016 the band was named by UK Metal Hammer Magazine as one of New Zealand's top 10 hard rock and metal acts.[7]

Albums

Alien Weaponry released their début EP "The Zego Sessions" and in August 2014 and began work on a new album at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios in Auckland with record producer Tom Larkin in September 2015.[8] [9] [10] In November 2016 Alien Weaponry released their single and music video for Urutaa as the first offering from their upcoming album. February 2017 saw the release of their second single Raupatu and in July of 2017 they released Rū Ana Te Whenua, a song about their great great great grandfather who fought and died at the battle of Gate Pa Pukehinahina.

References

  1. ↑ "Talented Waipu kids form band: Alien Weaponry". NZHerald. Northern Advocate. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Alien Weaponry Facebook Page". Alien Weaponry. Facebook. 18 December 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  3. ↑ "Talented Waipu kids form band: Alien Weaponry". NZHerald. Northern Advocate. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Smokefreerockquest national finals results 2015". Scoop. Scoop. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Shihad shoulder-tap a dream come true for Alien Weaponry". stuff. Fairfax Media. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Review: Devilskin: We Rise Tour". NZHerald. Rotarua Daily Post. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Waipu's Alien Weaponry lands $10,000 grant for thrash metal song in te reo Maori". stuff. Whangarei Leader. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Are these teenage metallers NZ's next big thing?". NZHerald. nzherald. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Waipu's Alien Weaponry lands $10,000 grant for thrash metal song in te reo Maori". stuff. Whangarei Leader. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Alien Weaponry". Music 101. Radio New Zealand. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
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