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ALIEN WEAPONRY
Tū

Napalm (2018)
Rating: 9/10

Anyone for Māori metal? In spite of their title, New Zealand metallers Alien Weaponry are far more than mere extra-terrestrial thrash-heads. Instead, they’ve chosen the same, almost tribal path as, say, mid-90s Sepultura, and boy have they pulled it off. What’s even more frightening though is the potential, when one considers that this is a band, from Waipu, formed by teenagers in 2010.

To say that this trio – consisting of brothers Lewis (vocals and guitars) and Henry de Jong (drums), and Ethan Trembath (bass) – is mature beyond its years is an understatement; just one listen to the track ‘Kai Tangata’ and you’ve good reason to think you’re dealing with a well-established and certainly very successful outfit. The melodies are staggering, the harmonies wistful and the music just so tight and somehow experienced.

Again, I’m reminded of Sepultura via Roots (1996), but this is also a band that has written songs about land confiscation and the 1864 battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina). Whatever story these guys have to tell though, each and every time the yarns come wrapped in delicious energetic riffs, steady percussive assaults and rumbling bass lines, all led by a sonic force of vocalisations that exist way beyond the average realms of thrash metal.

With ‘Kai Tangata’, Alien Weaponry deserve to be absolutely huge, clearing a path as the next big thing and exhibiting more experimental physics and physique that the likes of early Metallica and Slayer could never have comprehended. This is cultural heavy metal, relevant metal, with some strong and controversial messages that certainly make a nice change from the usual thrash goofiness and beer-swiggin’ trad’ metal we’ve come to know and love… then get bored with.

If any of you guys heard the ‘Rū Ana Te Whenua’ juggernaut, well, that was only an inkling of what was to come as giant, swirling grooves abound on Tū, the trio embracing their heritage to create wildly innovative and yet accessible power grooves caressed by the sweet production of Tom Larkin.

The bass-led clunk of ‘Holding My Breath’ brings a galloping menace but a weighty roll that sort of lies just below the levels of thrash, and yet it’s not power metal either. Alien Weaponry somehow find their own soulful sound however massive those grooves get. The vocals are pure, soaring and confident; they ascend above the body of music like flitting doves of peace, but there’s always that underbelly of frustration – a ‘cry’ of sorts as the vocals soon become a choppy rap, but bereft of the naivety I would expect from such upstarts.

‘Raupatu’ is a defiant and bombastic track with a booming choral chant as we learn of land stolen from the Māori people by the government, And then there’s the raging thrash outburst of ‘Urutaa’ and the reflective ‘Nobody Here’. Meanwhile, another favourite is ‘PC Bro’, which again features an effective bass clunk before the combo embarks on a hefty trudge with its message pertaining to the influence of the media on the masses.

Tū offers up 13 steadfast tracks to the table from a band that has the world at its feet. Whether you choose to support such a talented group is up to you, but those who don’t will be crushed in the wake of one of the best bands I’ve heard for a very long time.

Neil Arnold

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