More women and people of colour are a part of heavy music now more than ever before, and indigenous bands, like New Zealand’s Alien Weaponry, are giving voices to cultures and countries that often found themselves on the outside looking in when it came to mainstream exposure in the metal community.
The trio, composed of brothers Lewis (guitar, vocals) and Henry de Jong (drums), and Turanga Morgan-Edmonds (bass), all are of Maori heritage and made a huge splash in 2018 with their debut record Tu, which seamlessly blended ferocious tribal groove metal with songs written in traditional Maori; calling awareness to a language and culture that is slowly being forgotten by the world at large, but is still a vital part of New Zealand and global past and present.
Now, the band is back with an even greater rallying cry in Tangaroa, a record that touches on history, environmentalism, and a deeper dive into inner darkness. We spoke with the band to discuss the record, the lessons they’ve learned since gaining the eyes of the metal press, and their upcoming tour with titans of metal, Gojira.
What was the thought process behind the production on this record? What was the vibe you were really aiming to capture with the more live sound?
Lewis de Jong: “We wanted the record to sound raw and open, so yeah we definitely wanted a live sound. We always record our drums in a big room and we don’t close mic anything. We play through Marshall valve amps. We definitely have processes in place to get the sound we’re looking for, especially on this record.”
What techniques do you use to connect so well within yourself and with issues in your homeland and in the world at large at the same time? How do you think people can connect with their own inner selves to a greater degree?
Lewis: “I think the last three years of my life have been more busy than any part of my life to date. A lot of things have happened: good, amazing, bad, terrible, you name it. It opened up a lot of things to write about, and I can’t really deal with them until I write them down. It’s difficult to deal with things though just talking.”
Henry de Jong: “Music, for Lewis and I is one of the biggest outlets we have as far as working through shit. I don’t know if I’ve ever been particularly at talking with people, but just being able to put our thoughts onto paper or into a song, there’s always something that is hugely beneficial for us. And as far as the songs we’re writing in Maori go, it’s what I’m passionate about and interested in, so for me it’s a really fun process to put all of that into something that tells a story in and of itself, and being able to research stuff that I don’t know a lot about. If I’m researching for a song topic that I don’t know much about but I’d like to, just doing that research is really fun.”
“When you ask Maori about the stories we tell, they’ll say that it’s not a myth and that it actually did happen. It’s very engrained in Maori culture.”
Did the positive press you guys received put more eyes on the causes that are close to you in New Zealand and preserving Maori culture? Do you or did you have any very definable goals in awareness when constructing this album, or is it all born purely out of natural feelings and expression in writing?
Lewis: “I think a lot of what we do is born out of natural expression.”
Henry: “We write songs based off what we want to be writing and a lot of the time it’s about how we think and our beliefs, but it’s not trying to force that into what we do. It just comes very naturally for us. Half the time I don’t even think about these things so it’s a bit hard to say. To be honest, we’re not quite sure how much the music has affected as opposed to the changing views in New Zealand and the way people are changing in general. We’d like to think we’re a part of everything that’s been happening, and there’s been some awesome changes happening in the world, aside from Covid of course.”
Do you feel you’re just the next in line to do it in a long line of storytellers? Do you think that myth is something not explored enough in music or heavy music, and what is its importance on a greater level in that regard? How have you found your relationship with myth changing as you get older and how it connects to songwriting and being a musician?
Henry: “It’s kind of a grey area. When you ask Maori about the stories we tell, they’ll say that it’s not a myth and that it actually did happen. It’s very engrained in Maori culture. Hatupatu is a great example. He was a real person and he’s actually a part of Lewis and I’s lineage; we’re related to him. It’s a very well-known Maori folklore tell. But being able to put that into something that lasts and that people can reference and find out more about is really the M.O. as far as writing our Maori music so far.”
How did you guys find yourselves growing as musicians on this record? It feels like there are more progressive leanings in some ways, like I think of a track like Unforgiving. Was that a conscious influence?
Lewis: “I’ve definitely become more interested in playing more progressive sounding stuff as a musician and individual, and that could have to do with discovering more bands like Polyphia and diving back into bands like Meshuggah. But I think for a lot of the songs, I just wrote what I wanted to write. When I wrote songs like ‘Unforgiving’ and ‘Crooked Monsters’, I didn’t even think about putting them on the record.”
When you go to construct your melodies on this record, I’m curious if or how your melodic sensibilities have changed, or how your creativity when playing with melody has changed from the last record to this one?
Lewis: “I don’t think I ever have a set way of doing things.”
Henry: “We’ve got a lot of different stuff happening on this record as well. Lewis, generally, writes most of the lyrics, so he generally dictates the melody on especially the English songs. But on the Maori songs, I take inspiration from traditional Maori songwriting styles as opposed to stuff that fits the genre more. There’s this constant flow of words in Maori, almost droning. On the last record we used a lot more typical metal vocals.”
Where are the places you went to lyrically on this record that made you feel most vulnerable and what track resonates with you the most?
Lewis: “’Unforgiving’ and ‘Crooked Monsters’ for sure. Those are very personal songs for me. They were very different from what we usually write and were less on the metal side and more on the “this is a slice of my brain at the moment” side. Both songs have different subject matters but are similar in that they come from a super dark place. I almost didn’t feel like I could release them with Alien Weaponry.”
Henry: “I remember you feeling very emotionally invested in ‘Crooked Monsters’ especially.”
Lewis: “Yeah I remember coming back and being like “I just want to fucking scrap the vocals” because that song’s super personal to me. I did a lot of tweaking on the vocals and tried to get everything exactly the way I wanted it.”
“it’s too early to say, but I’m definitely very open to the idea of doing something bigger, outside of music with them.”
What are the biggest things you’ve learned about yourselves as songwriters and in your own growth as people, as well as in the relationships with the people around you through writing this record?
Henry: “I feel like Lewis and I learned to cope with the stress of writing a record a little better. Being in a band can be very stressful, especially when you’re on a timetable to release a new record. I feel like we’ve grown in that sense and for me, the last few years with all the touring we’ve done, I’ve gotten a better sense of who I am as a person and what makes me tick and what I can’t deal with; situations I need to pull myself out of. I learned how to deal with a lot of things in my life just through doing all of this and being in a high pressure high intensity environment.”
Lewis: “I agree with what Henry is saying about coping with things through writing songs. And I guess personally, for the last year or two, I’ve been focusing on what’s important and making genuine connections with people. I’ve been more aware of surrounding myself with people who make me feel good and being there for each other. A lot of time in the past I would be wanting recognition and approval from people who I really shouldn’t have been surrounding myself with. But I’ve definitely been learning what’s important and that especially is surrounding myself with people who share the same values.
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How does it feel to be touring with Gojira, another band that shares your awareness of planetary issues and has an equal drive to make change, and has platforms behind them?
Lewis: “I feel like touring with them could be the start of something else, and it’s too early to say, but I’m definitely very open to the idea of doing something bigger, outside of music with them. We’ve played a few festivals with them and we’ve gotten to meet them. They’re really nice and we get along with them really well. I definitely see the potential there.”
Turanga Morgan-Edmonds: “I had actually never heard of Gojira until joining the band, and we were joining our new management and they managed Gojira, and I knew I had to check it out. But I’ve been an ever growing fan and our management tacked us on and I was stoked. This is the first international tour for me. It’s gonna be a hell of a first tour.”
People often describe the positive allure to metal as tribalistic and connecting to a different time. How have you felt about that sentiment given that you explore those things perhaps more directly than most metal bands, do you feel a resonance with those expressions?
Henry: “I’d definitely say so. That’s such a huge part of what drew Lewis and I to metal. It’s the idea of community around metal and everyone who’s involved in that community, both musicians and fans. They all have similar ideals and morals. It feels like such a close-knit thing with everyone who listens to metal. It’s such a cool thing to be a part of. Metalheads are all just one big tribe, and we’re part of that and love being a part of that.”
Lewis: “I’ve probably been to more metal festivals than anything else, and I’ve found that people act shittier outside of that environment. I’ve never seen any of that shit behavior in metal because everyone is so loving and inclusive. Everyone is there to have a good time and have fun.”
Tangaroa is out now via Napalm Records.