Alien Weaponry Earns Finnish Accolades

Te Reo Māori heavy metal band Alien Weaponry’s debut LP has been named album of the decade by readers of online Finnish music publication, Tuonela Magazine.

“In Tū, Alien Weaponry wield their crunchy thrash sound with confidence, combining it with the thunderous rhythm for a maximum effect. The debut album sounds like a new breed of crossover, replacing speed by groove, but still remaining deeply rooted in the thrash metal scene,” Tuonela Magazine writes.

The Northland band beat European metal heavyweights Ghost, Gojira, Nightwish, and even US icons, Metallica to take the number one spot.

“We knew we had a bit of a following in Scandinavia, but this is insane,” Alien Weaponry drummer Henry de Jong said in a statement.

A TVNZ news piece reports that Alien Weaponry have just returned to New Zealand after a two-year tour which saw them perform at Wacken Open Air in Germany, Download in the UK and Hellfest in France. The band also played club and arena shows across Europe with Anthrax and Slayer, and joined Ozzy Osborne’s guitarist Zakk Wylde for a tour of the US with his band Black Label Society.

“We are stoked to be here for the summer and can’t wait to finally be in front of our home crowd,” singer Lewis de Jong said.

They will be headlining TUKI Festival in Wanaka on 8 February and Fringe Festival in Auckland on 29 February.

Band members are also currently working on their second album, TVNZ reports.

Original article by Tuonela Magazine, December 16, 2019.