REVIEW: Alien Weaponry - Te Rā

Alien Weaponry have woven nuanced social commentary and their Māori history into a full-throttle third offering. They interchange Te Reo Māori with English within and between tracks to call out the intricacies of living under imperialism, the impending doom of world war, and the harm of social media across the 11 tracks on Te Rā, producing a culturally relevant and sonically impressive project as a result.

Album opener ‘Crown’ jumps straight in with a Bring Me The Horizon-style feel as the verses hop between clean vocal and screams; it also features one of the many perfect hooks that can be found throughout this project, with the line “Culture for profit and death to the sound” found within its chorus. Keeping a metalcore feel, it hits its breakdown quickly after chorus three before bringing that hook back for its final reprise - then we are hooked for the rest of the project.

Around half of this project is written in Te Reo Māori, starting with the second track and single Mau Moko (to get a tattoo, a book about tattooing in Māori culture). It is the first of Te Rā’s tracks to include the military-style instrumentals and sound conventions, with its urgent guitars paired with deep military drums and Haks in its breakdown as well as a section stylised to be an army chanting in unison. These huts are also present within 'Tama-nui-te-rā' (the personification of the sun), which starts as a slower pace nu-metal track before devolving into a sinister beat then picking it up for the outro. This track stands out for the strength of resolve in its verses and layered harmonies in its chorus, as well as the perfectly done breakdown ripe for opening it up to.

In this album’s second half, track 'Taniwha' (creatures that live in rivers within Māori mythology) is unashamedly metalcore, and is elevated with its feature of Randy Blythe of Lamb of God threatening the listener with poetry of the long white cloud before his verse; a fitting element when considering domination of white and western culture within the hardcore space. It is followed by the strongest song pair on the project - 'Ti Riri o Tāwhirimātea' (a god and warrior within Māori myth), a metalcore ballad consisting of heavy swung drums and passionate guitar solos that has kept up the use of the military chorus. Then comes 'Ponaturi', taking Te Rā into a sinister space sonically as it builds with screamo-vocal raps that ring like a manifesto then closing out with intense guitar solos by Raharuhi de Jong. These tracks build perfectly towards the album's closer - a two minute thrash metal offering that encompasses everything that has made this album work so far.

For the English speaking songs, the themes cover the state of the world from multiple angles: '1000 Friends' is an accusatory number about the distance that social media has put between us and is exemplary of the quality of Alien Weaponry’s songwriting - “1000 friends/alone again” hits deep as a hook, while the soundscape drives on as if mimicking the speed of the digital world. ‘Myself to Blame’ stands out as one of the English tracks through its change of focus to interpersonal relationships. Its a raw apology on the back of sinister yet swelling riff, it picks up its tempo as Raharuhi de Jong begins to admit betrayals of trust and wrongdoings as the track wears on before slowing itself right back down to proclaim ‘How can you accept me when I have torn you down’. It is a chest tightening ballad begging for one more chase; it builds the world the listener is invited into beautifully, then leaves some silence at the end for the wrongdoings of the listener to marinate.

All in all, Te Rā is an album with lots to say and nuances to its points. Utilising metalcore and nu metal conventions to convey the feelings of conflict that Alien Weaponry feel being knowledgeable of the world they live in while still needing to take an active role. The songwriting is high quality, the riffs encourage a head bang, and is an enjoyable listen in its entirety.

Score: 6/10

Te Rā was released on March 28th 2025 via Napalm Records.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photos: Alien Weaponry