It’s been an amazing ride so far for New Zealand rising metal act Alien Weaponry who have literally taken the world by storm in recent times, grabbing the attention of everyone around them and showcasing a unique blend of groove metal and their own Māori culture. With the tragedy in Christchurch it was the perfect time for people to unite, forget any differences anyone ever has and just live free and appreciate music to way it was intended. Their first major national Australia tour ended in Perth and it was a rousing success.
The air was buzzing with excitement tonight in anticipation for the first ever appearance of Alien Weaponry in Perth. Due to a huge demand the band made the long trek over after spending this past week hitting a few corners of the country including Download Festival in Sydney and Melbourne which is where I first caught the band after knowing of the band and their music for the past couple of years. To see fans in droves come out for the young trio proves Perth does have the ability to come out strong for heavy music and tonight was a proud moment for the metal community but also for the New Zealand metal fans in Perth who also showed their support big time.
Flags raised, drinks up, smiles and general camaraderie was the name of the game tonight and it was great to see the united metal front join hands like this. The atmosphere definitely felt a little different than your usual metal show but at the end of the day, the music is what people came for and we got plenty of it through the night.
Local thrashers Remission were the first and only support band for the night and they took advantage of a big crowd early on to showcase their brand of old school metal. The band have recently undergone some lineup changes but despite that, the core idea of the band in their thrash metal mentality was still there as they sped through a blistering 30 minute set of scorching tracks. The crowd approved!
The three young guys from Alien Weaponry rolled onto the stage a little bit later and right from the get-go the heaving crowd was all screams and moshing. An extend set from their festival shows allowed the band to really pull out everything the band had including a new untitled song which we hope it sees the light of day soon. It was signature Alien Weaponry of course and heavy being the key word here, with a little Gojira and Sepultura thrown into the mix their sound just grooves hard and makes everyone want to headbang and jump up and down.
“The Things That You Know” mixes a bit of heavy rock in, “Whispers” kicks off with a political and social commentary message about society while “Kai tangata” brings their native culture together with some seriously heavy riffs and solid beats. This band has everything, it’s diverse, it’s interesting and it hooks you right in, never knowing where the band will take things while also grabbing your attention.
Badlands Bar looked fantastic with a packed room all getting into it. For most if not all it may have been the first time seeing Alien Weaponry live but it seemed everyone knew the words, english or not which says a lot about how intensely appreciate the fans are of the band, their music and what they deliver in a genre that can sometimes be too derivative for it’s own good. Let’s hope the band make it back our way in the future, I’m sure everyone tonight is keen to do it all again.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
