Alien Weaponry
Te Ra
Napalm Records
Storming, frantic, aggressive metal that gets you in a chokehold straight away and squeezes tighter while turning the air thick with menace, the music will knock you sideways then the meanings will knock you sick. Loading ‘Te Ra’ with track after track of punishing bruisers, New Zealand’s Alien Weaponry are armed to the hilt with sonic savagery that serves nu, math and thrash metal. Tricked out with technical, drop everything and listen elements, ‘Te Ra’ is an experience you need to submit to. Opening track ‘Crown’ is completely pulverising. Apocalyptic ‘Blackened Sky’ is a groove metal monster. Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe lends his roar to melodic metal dynamite thrasher ‘Taniwha’, adding reinforcements to an already impenetrable slab of sound. It’s the parts sung in M?ori that really elevate Alien Weaponry. Drawing on terrifying themes including World War III, despondency, frustration and hopelessness, and culture versus societal norms, ‘Te Ra’ is an unforgettable listening and educational experience. Metal like this must always exist.
Review by Jo Wright