Alien Weaponry

Lore & Background

Alien Weaponry was formed in Auckland in 2010 by brothers Henry Te Reiwhati de Jong (drums) and Lewis Raharuhi de Jong (guitar/vocals), then aged 10 and 8. The band name came from the film District 9. After moving to Waipu, bassist Ethan Trembath joined in April 2013, replacing Wyatt Channings. The band's father Niel managed them and served as front of house engineer; their mother Jette was tour manager and publicist. In 2016, they became the first band to win both Smokefree Rockquest and Smokefree Pacifica Beats national finals. They are believed to be the youngest recipients of New Zealand on Air funding, receiving grants in 2015 and 2016. UK Metal Hammer named them one of New Zealand's top 10 metal acts in 2016.

Reader's Guide

Alien Weaponry's significance lies in their fusion of thrash and groove metal with Māori language and historical narratives, bringing indigenous perspectives to a global metal audience. Their debut album Tū reached number five on the New Zealand charts, and they have toured Europe and North America, including supporting Ministry in 2018 and performing at Wacken Open Air. Their songs address colonial history, such as land confiscations and the Battle of Gate Pa, where their ancestor died. The band's shift to management by Rick Sales Entertainment Group in 2020 and their appearance on the cover of Metal Hammer in 2021 underscore their growing international profile. They have been nominated for Breakthrough Oceanian Band and Breakthrough International Band at the Global Metal Apocalypse awards. Their legacy includes inspiring other Māori musicians and demonstrating the viability of indigenous-language metal.

Did You Know?

• The band was named after the film District 9.
• Their song 'Kai Tangata' became the theme for New Zealand-born pro wrestler Henare in 2023.
• Bassist Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds, who joined in 2020, is of Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Wai and Ngāti Hine descent.

Foundations: A Family Band Born in Auckland

Alien Weaponry traces its origins to two young brothers in Auckland. Henry Te Reiwhati de Jong, who would become the drummer, and his younger brother Lewis Raharuhi de Jong, the guitarist and vocalist, founded the group in 2010 at ages ten and eight respectively. The name itself was inspired by a screening of the film District 9. The family's heritage blends Dutch and Māori lineage: their mother and maternal grandfather are of Dutch descent, while their father and paternal grandmother are Māori, with tribal connections to Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Raukawa. After the brothers relocated to the small town of Waipu, bassist Ethan Trembath joined in April 2013, following a brief stint by Wyatt Channings the year before. What set the group apart from the start was the deeply embedded family structure behind the music. Their father, Niel de Jong, an experienced rock musician and audio engineer, served as both manager and front-of-house sound engineer on tour. Their mother, Jette, handled tour management and publicity. This close-knit, self-sufficient operation allowed the young band to function professionally well before most of their peers had even picked up an instrument.

Breakthrough: From National Competitions to Wacken

The band's momentum surged in 2016, when they won both the Smokefree Rockquest national finals and the Smokefree Pacifica Beats competition — a rare double shared only with Top Shelf of Manurewa High School in 2024. That same year, UK's Metal Hammer magazine named them among New Zealand's top ten metal acts. Their early touring credits were remarkable for their age: opening for chart-topping band Devilskin on the 2014 "We Rise" tour and supporting Shihad at The Powerstation in May 2015. They were thought to hold the record as the youngest artists to receive New Zealand on Air funding, earning a NZ$10,000 grant in October 2015 for "Rū Ana Te Whenua," followed by two further NZ$10,000 grants in 2016 for the singles "Urutaa" and "Raupatu." The truly international chapter began in late 2018, when they toured Europe and North America, supporting Ministry in the States and performing at major festivals including Metaldays and Wacken Open Air. The band had set a personal goal of reaching Wacken before Henry turned twenty; he was eighteen when they took that stage. A ten-part documentary, Alien Weaponry Shake Europe, released in February 2019 with Radio New Zealand, captured that landmark European run.

Sound and Story: Māori Language Meets Thrash Metal

Alien Weaponry's sound has been described as "nü-metal tinged thrash" and "thrashing groove-metal," drawing on the work of Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, and Lamb of God. What distinguishes them most sharply, however, is their commitment to the Māori language and New Zealand's colonial history as lyrical material. Their debut single "Urutaa" weaves Māori lyrics around events in the Bay of Islands in the 1800s, specifically the burning of the Boyd, framing that incident as a metaphor for the ongoing misunderstandings that divide cultures, generations, and individuals. "Raupatu" confronts the 1863 legislation that enabled the colonial government's land confiscations. "Rū Ana Te Whenua" — the trembling earth — honours the 1864 battle at Pukehinahina/Gate Pa, where the brothers' great-great-great-grandfather, Te Ahoaho, lost his life. The band presents these historical narratives not as dry recitation but as living warnings, connecting past injustices to present-day tensions. This fusion of aggressive, modern metal instrumentation with ancestral storytelling in te reo Māori has become the group's defining signature.

Discography and Career Evolution

The band's discography reflects a steady climb. Their debut EP, The Zego Sessions, arrived in August 2014. Work on their first full-length album began in September 2015 at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios in Auckland with producer Tom Larkin, and Tū was released on 1 June 2018, debuting at number five on the New Zealand album charts and claiming the top spot for the week. Their sophomore album, Tangaroa, followed on 17 September 2021, produced and mixed at their own studio in Waipu. The latest release, Te Rā, dropped on 28 March 2025 via Napalm Records. Key turning points came in 2020: bassist Ethan Trembath departed, citing "health and my own happiness," and was replaced by Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds, of Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Wai, and Ngāti Hine. That same year, the band signed with Los Angeles-based Rick Sales Entertainment Group, the management behind Slayer, Gojira, Mastodon, and Ghost. Metal Hammer's January 2021 cover declared them "The Future Of Metal," and The Guardian profiled them the following September. Beyond the studio, "Holding My Breath" served as the official theme for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix in December 2018, and the track "Kai Tangata" from Tū became the theme for New Zealand-born wrestler Henare in 2023.

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