ALBUM REVIEW: Tu – Alien Weaponry

The youngest generation are usually the bravest when it comes to making new music. Being fearless enough to mash together sounds and approaches to writing that shouldn’t really work, with them often doing just that, but there are the exceptions who just mould things to work for them. Over on one of the most remote places on the globe, New Zealand is often remembered for it’s gorgeous views and violent tribesmen, not for it’s twisted take on thrash metal. The frightfully young ALIEN WEAPONRY seem intent on changing the state of affairs with their debut Tu, a record oozing with primal aggression that beats with a tribal heart.

ALIEN WEAPONRY’s heritage is immediately worn on their sleeve with the mauri war cries that open the album and start the first song Ru Ana Te Whenua coming across as imposing as one would expect. When the trio aren’t raising blood pressure by shouting, their rhythmically heavy sound is as empowering as it is thunderous, and this is where ALIEN WEAPONRY find their power. The momentum is carried through to following tracks Holding My Breath and Raupatu, both of which boast huge guitar hooks that carry the songs forward, spear head first.

The utilisation of Mauri language within the lyrics makes for a unique and impassioned listen, one that instantly sticks to memory. For most, the iconic Haka dance is all that is really known about the Mauri culture, and that same energy is a marriage match for the confrontational vibes that thrash metal brings. Tu isn’t an average thrash record though, sounding as if it were caught somewhere between SEPULTURA and HATEBREED having a scuffle. ALIEN WEAPONRY wield the crunchy thrash tone with confidence, combining it with the thunderous rhythm for maximum effect. The sound does feel like a new breed of crossover, sacrificing the frantic speed for abusive bludgeoning but still remaining deeply rooted in the thrash scene.

There is an overarching feeling that the band are a somewhat one trick pony. The crushing riffs and locked drums provide ample power and a frightful backbone for the vocals but short of this, Tu doesn’t feel like it reaches the potential buried beneath. Some of the lyrics are questionable, with them either being too on the nose or just not as freely flowing as some of the group vocals performed.

This critique is immediately fired back when you realise that none of the band are even close to turning 20 years old, showing them to be a band pushing the envelope in a direction only a band like them could. The fusing of their folk heritage with the hard-hitting thrash sounds is something that hasn’t been done with such gumption, and as such, listening to Tu and looking past the teething pains that ALIEN WEAPONRY are going through with their debut is easily done.

Rating: 7/10

Tu is out now via Napalm Records.

Like ALIEN WEAPONRY on Facebook.