Alien Weaponry "Tu"

 
Alien Weaponry "Tu" 9/10

Time to switch gears a bit here on this blog, and not only go international, but give some love to the home genre of my youth, thrash metal.  Alien Weaponry came around in 2018 and delivered what was one of the most ambitious, creative, and timeless records of the year, of any genre.  This masterpiece sounds like it came out of the Brazilian (re: Sepultura) thrash metal scene of the 80s, but it is a bunch of young upstarts from New Zealand.  

The brothers De Jong make up 2\3 of the three piece.  Henry on drums and Lewis on guitar and vocals.  Friend Ethan Trembath takes up the bass.  The De Jong brothers are Maori descendants, and use a lot of the space on this album to feature the Maori language, folk tales, and instruments.  Half of the songs are in English and half are in Maori.  From what I understand, they have even inspired fans to do traditional Maori war dances in their mosh pits, and that sounds about as metal as it gets to me.

Their sound is impressive and unique, and doubly so for the fact that the band members were only 18 years old when this album came out.  Their combination of tribal music and metal blends seamlessly, and as I said above probably has a close cousin in style to the music of Sepultura.  

I have yet to experience them live, but from all accounts they blow it out of the water.  It was fun to follow them a bit on social media as they did their first tour of the states supporting Ministry; they looked like kids in a candy store who had finally realized their rock n roll dream.  This record puts the pedal to the floor and never lets up.

1) "Whaikorero"

This track sets the stage for what this album is going to be about.  It tells the story in Maori of Queen Vicotria's troops coming to surpress the Maori people.  The great-great grandfather of the the De Jong brothers was among the warriors

2) "Ru Ana Te Whenua"

The intro guitar riff just punches through.  As heavy as heavy gets, as they begin to tell the story of the native people of New Zealand and their stand against the British colonizers.  Full of war cries, big drums, and pounding riffs.  Plus a breakdown that every metal core band of the mid-2000s would have killed to put to tape. 

3) "Holding My Breath"

A little break here from the tales of the native stand against the British interlopers, we get more of a teenage lament about anger and frustration.  We also get our first song in English.  This one feels like a song also from thrashers of the 80s and 90s; speaking to the audience.  Ethan's quick walking bassline sets the stage, as Henry kicks in and matches him with some great triplets on the bass drum.

4) "Raupatu"

This riff could have been pulled from a Megadeth record, Anthrax, etc.  And it would be one of those sort of "greatest hits" of those bands.  Just a perfect exercise in palm muting and walking the scale.  Awesome guitar work.  This one tells the tale of the legendary King Tawhiao and his stand for his people's land.  The drums tie it together and make it sound like an old tribal dance.

5) "Kai Tangata"

This was the first Alien Weaponry track I heard.  From the minute it came on my stereo until it ended, my jaw was on the floor.  From the onerous opening horn, to the ringing guitar riff, they tease that this song is going to explode.  It absolutely builds until the bomb goes off.  This song is a mosh pit anthem if I have ever heard one.  A story hinting at tribalistic cannibalism and war.  The riff just won't quit.  The Maori language sounds so angry and stiff, it just drives the song into unforgettable territory.

6) "Rage - It Takes Over Again"

We get our second song in English from the set.  The interesting thing here, to me, is that the English lyric songs are sort of basic in subject matter.  The Maori songs tell old stories and give us interesting stories.  Whereas, this song is just kinda fodder for the "angry young metalhead" stuff.  Not a bad track, and Ethan's bass work in the breakdown is cool, but not the strongest number from the set.

7) "Whispers"

A Bilingual fuck you to conservative arguments in favor of colonization.   The intro features a man arguing that due to the fact that the Maori were cannibals with rudimentary technology,  that they somehow deserved to have their land stolen.  A story very similar to our own in the States, as the New Zealand government continued to break treaties and break peace with the indigenous peoples.  The music on this takes a back seat to the lyrics, which riff between two languages.

8) "PC Bro"

An onerous bass-driven track warning us all of the trappings of social media.  The atmospheric guitar work helps set the stage for the brutal riff that pops up.  Henry plays the crash cymbal like he is trying to break it in half, and it just pops.  Nice use of a drop bass effect to rattle the walls as well.

9) "Urutaa"

The song has a piano intro that would *almost* be just as welcome in place on a pop song as on a metal record.  This is the first song that really feels a bit phoned in from the set; not bad to reach filler for the first time 9 tracks deep.  

10) "Nobody Here"

Another cautionary tale about the internet.   The theme here also is the fake persona that we put on in our curated digital lives.  As this album is a juxtaposition of the colonizers versus the colonized, and indeed the De Jong brothers are also descendants of both the Maori and the English, these songs seem to speak of the necessity of the technology but it's pitfalls as well.  This song shows us that neither the creator nor the user of technology may be prepared for the unintended consequences. Also, as technology was ultimately the demise of the Maori at the hands of the British, maybe we we all too are sacrificing ourselves to tech giants.

11) "Te Ara"

A song about the journey by canoe from the mainland of New Zealand to its northern island of Maui.  The composition is based on a traditional song celebrating a good journey.  

*bonus 7" with the proper record (just in case you needed more)

A) "The Things That You Know"

A standard rock riff pops this one off.  The song not only sits on a 45, it feels like it was built to be a single.  It sounds like a metal band trying to make something that may appeal beyond the borders of thrash metal fandom.  It works pretty well, taking a lot of what Alien Weaponry are good at and distilling it down for a wider audience.  

B) "Hypocrite"

The classic case of the B side being more interesting than the A side.  The slow burn jam in the front of this song is just full of raw power, with the gang chant chorus.  This is a cool song, made to rev up a crowded venue.

Alien Weaponry has released a slew of singles and a few EPs, but "Tu" so far stands as their lone album.  I cannot wait to see what these young guys come up with in the future.  They are already fantastic story tellers and own the big meaty riffs.  I'd you are a fan of old school thrash, this record belongs on your shelf to celebrate the new guard.