Alien Weaponry To Play Auckland Town Hall
Kiwi te reo singing thrash metal trio Alien Weaponry are set to shake the walls of Auckland's town hall as part of the Auckland Fringe Festival. Since winning 2016's Smokefree Rockquest the Waipu threesome have proven that nothing is impossible for the group. Playing massive stages across Europe and in their home country, they are really having a go at making metal a household genre. Their music takes real issues past and present within the Maori community and set them to the sound of heavy metal, giving a really unique spin on how these issues are conveyed. Playing support to the group is Shepherd's Reign, who has been hailed as New Zealand's first Polynesian metal band.
Alien Weaponry
Consisting of two brothers, Henry de Jong on guitar and Lewis de Jong as a vocalist, it was in 2010 that they decided to form their group Alien Weaponry, at the time Henry was ten years old and Lewis was eight. In 2013 they added friend Ethan Trembath as the bassist. All with Maori ancestry the group is known worldwide in the metal scene for performing their songs in te reo. The group's rise to fame begun when they made history by not only winning 2016 Smokefree Rockquest but also entering and winning Smokefree Pacifica Beats in the same year.
From there the group toured with kiwi greats such as Devilskin and Shihad and were the youngest group in New Zealand's history to receive a NZ on Air funding grant for their song Ru Ana Te Whenua. At the end of 2018 they toured Europe and played the biggest metal festival in the world, Wacken Open Air. Alongside this, Radio New Zealand made a ten-part documentary of their time in Europe. Not since the likes of New Zealand's Sepultura has a band come out like this.
Shepherd's Reign
Being dubbed the first Pacifica metal band in the world, the group infuses their culture into their music using the likes of pacific log drums alongside a classic metalcore sound. From Auckland, the group consists of Filivaa "Burdon" James on vocals and keys, Oliver Leupolu on guitar, Shaymen "Ramicks" Rameka on drums and Gideon Voon also on guitar. They say their sound is inspired by the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Gojira and Dream Theater. Their first album came out in 2018 and they say their next one will look to infuse their metal sound and their culture together even more.
Watch Shepherd's Reign Perform Le Manu
Location
Auckland - Auckland Town Hall (Queen Street)
Quick Fire Answers
- Auckland, Sat 29 February 2020 6.30pm
- Auckland Concert held at Auckland's Town Hall, Queen Street
- Limited street parking around the venues, advised that public transport would be a better option
- The concert is R15 but, bring your ID as alcohol is available on site
- Join the Official Facebook Event
You can buy official band merchandise through our online store.
Still got questions? Best bands? Worst bands? Let us know in the comments section below.