C’mon now! Time to strap in, slap on your war paint, and prepare to get HAKA’D into oblivion.
Because Alien Weaponry aren’t just shredding riffs — they’re reclaiming heritage, making metal bilingual, and kicking the colonisers in the teeth with breakdowns. 🇳🇿🤘🔥
From small-town New Zealand to international festival carnage, these young Māori warriors are dragging thrash into the future with a battle cry of ancestral rage and face-melting grooves.
You’ve never heard anything like it.
And you’ll never forget it.
🪓 WHO ARE ALIEN WEAPONRY?
Genre: Groove Metal / Thrash Metal / Māori Metal (yes, it’s a thing now 🤘)
From: Waipu, Northland, New Zealand 🇳🇿
Formed: 2010 (when they were literal children!)
Known For:
- Blending Te Reo Māori (Māori language) with metal
- Writing bangers about colonialism, oppression, and war
- Making international metal heads chant in Māori
- Being young, loud, and terrifyingly talented
They’re like if Sepultura, Lamb of God, and Rage Against The Machine got lost in the Pacific and came back furious.
🌊 THE WARRIOR LINE-UP
- Lewis de Jong – Guitars / Vocals / Founding brother / Fierce frontman with a warrior’s snarl
- Henry de Jong – Drums / Founding brother / Hits harder than a haka stomp
- Ethan Trembath – Bass / Left in 2020, but was core to the rise
- Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds – Current bassist / Keeps the low end thunder rolling
Alien Weaponry are more than just a band — they’re a movement.
Bringing ancient stories to modern ears through massive, punishing riffage.
💿 DISCOGRAPHY – THE WAR CRY COLLECTION
⚔️ Tū (2018)
🎧 Rū Ana Te Whenua, Kai Tangata, Holding My Breath
Vibe: Thrash meets haka. Rage meets ritual.
Their debut LP hit like a cannonball.
Rū Ana Te Whenua tells of the Battle of Pukehinahina, while Kai Tangata means “People Eater” — a furious tribute to pre-colonial justice.
This album doesn’t just slap – it stomps your chest in.
🌋 Tangaroa (2021)
🎧 Tangaroa, Hatupatu, Buried Underground
Vibe: More expansive, more experimental, still heavy AF.
Songs about ocean pollution, mythology, and spiritual legacy.
The title track honours Tangaroa – the Māori god of the sea.
Hatupatu recounts an ancient escape tale.
Heavy? Yes.
Cultural? Deeply.
A second album that proves they’re no gimmick — they’re the future.
🧠 THEMES THAT HIT HARDER THAN A BREAKDOWN
Alien Weaponry aren’t writing about slaying dragons or teen angst.
They’re shouting about:
- 🛡️ Māori history and resistance
- 🌊 Cultural erosion and environmental devastation
- 🪶 Colonial injustice and indigenous pride
- 🔥 Rage passed through generations
Their lyrics educate and eviscerate.
You’re headbanging AND learning.
🎧 THE RIFF REPORT’S ESSENTIAL ALIEN ANTHEMS
🥩 Kai Tangata – Absolute riot. Cannibalistic thrash groove madness.
🌋 Tangaroa – Oceans rise, riffs crash. Majestic and furious.
💀 Rū Ana Te Whenua – The earth shakes… and so will your speakers.
🕳️ Buried Underground – Raw, groovy, menacing.
🪓 Blinded – Modern metalcore with ancestral rage.
🌏 WHY ALIEN WEAPONRY MATTER
Because they:
- Make the ancient feel urgent.
- Give a global voice to indigenous struggle.
- Fuse languages, cultures, and riffs into something never done before.
- Aren’t just “good for their age” – they’re DAMN GOOD.
- Are walking proof that metal can evolve and still punch you in the throat.
Alien Weaponry aren’t following trends — they’re forging a new path with carved bone and distortion.
This is warrior metal for the next generation.
🎤 LIVE SHOWS – HAKA IN THE PIT
A live Alien Weaponry gig feels like:
- ⚔️ A battle chant before war
- 🔥 Wall-to-wall grooves and guttural roars
- 🪶 Sacred storytelling through sonic warfare
- 💪 A proud, powerful celebration of Māori heritage
The band sometimes opens with an actual haka, chests out, fists up, eyes blazing.
The crowd? Ferocious. Hypnotised. Unified.
Metal meets mana. And it’s spine-tingling.
🗣️ FINAL VERDICT FROM THE RIFF REPORT:
Alien Weaponry are more than a band — they’re a cultural awakening in drop C.
They don’t play metal — they wield it.
Every riff is a weapon. Every lyric is a legacy.
Want thrash that teaches you ancient history?
Want metalcore that actually stands for something?
Want to scream in Māori while throwing elbows in a sweaty pit?
Then get your face painted, your fists raised, and your ears ready.
Because Alien Weaponry are rewriting the metal rulebook — one haka at a time.
🪓 The Riff Report lifts its taiaha and roars into the storm:
ALIEN WEAPONRY – MANA METAL FROM THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD.
AND THEY’RE JUST GETTING STARTED. 🌋⚔️🖤
Michael is the founder, editor, and chief riff wrangler behind The Riff Report, an independent Welsh rock and metal publication built by fans, for fans. With a lifelong passion for loud guitars, unforgettable live shows, and the incredible community that surrounds rock and metal, he created The Riff Report to celebrate everything that makes the scene special—from legendary headline acts and grassroots venues to rising bands that deserve to be heard.
A familiar face at festivals across the UK, Michael spends much of the year covering events including Download Festival, Bloodstock Open Air, Steelhouse Festival, Firevolt, Plumpton Revival, and many more. Whether he’s battling the Welsh weather on a mountainside, surviving a weekend in a muddy campsite, or squeezed against the front barrier with thousands of fellow fans, he’s always searching for the next great story to share.
As editor of The Riff Report, Michael writes festival guides, breaking news, album reviews, gig reviews, interviews, opinion pieces, nostalgia features, and behind-the-scenes stories from across the rock and metal world. His writing combines honest opinions, humour, and a genuine love for live music, bringing readers closer to the bands, festivals, venues, and people that keep the scene alive.
Michael is particularly passionate about supporting independent artists, local venues, charities, and the wider UK rock and metal community. He believes every band deserves a chance to be discovered and every festival has a story worth telling. Through The Riff Report, he aims to shine a spotlight on both the biggest names in rock and the future stars waiting to break through.
When he’s not writing or interviewing artists, you’ll probably find him exploring festival campsites, photographing live shows, chatting with fellow fans over a pint, or planning the next road trip in search of more riffs, bigger crowds, and unforgettable moments.
Above all, Michael believes rock and metal are about more than music—they’re about community, friendship, and creating memories that last a lifetime. That’s exactly what The Riff Report exists to celebrate.
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Always chasing the next great riff. 🤘
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