ALIEN WEAPONRY Sign with the Rick Sales Entertainment Group By Tank New Zealand thrash metal trio Alien Weaponry has just signed to the prestigious Rick Sales Entertainment Group. Other artists signed with the Rick Sales Entertainment Group include Slayer, Gojira, Mastodon, and Ghost. “We couldn’t be more excited to work with Rick Sales and be a part of the company that manages some of our favorite artists,” said Henry de Jong, drummer of the powerhouse trio. “Rick Sales is a legend, and an
influential figure in the metal scene worldwide.” Lewis de Jong, singer/guitarist adds, “We’re pretty humbled to be welcomed into this exclusive family of artists”. The band has been busy writing and recording their new album in New Zealand in anticipation of a 2021 release date. Alien Weaponry had been planning a 2020 release date, but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, they have postponed that release date. The band hails from Waipu, New Zealand and was formed in 2010 by brothers Lewis (bass) and Henry de Jong (drums). Rounding out the band is guitarist Turanga MorganEdmonds. All of the band members have Maori ancestry and their songs are written in a combination of English and Maori, the native te reo Maori language. So far the band has released eight EPs and one album release, Tu, which was released in 2018. Tu debuted at number five on the New Zealand album charts. The brothers de Jong named their band Alien Weaponry after watching the movie District 9. In 2016 Alien Weaponry won both the national finals of the Smokefreerockquest and Smokefree Pacifica Beats. They are the only
band to have ever won both of these events. In 2015 the band had previously came in second in the Smokefree Pacifica Beats, however for four years prior to that they were regional finalists. Alien Weaponry are the youngest band to have ever received New Zealand Air Funding with their song “Ru Ana Te Whenua” in October of 2015. They wound up receiving a $10,000 dollar grant, which they used to complete the recording of their song, as well as producing a video for it. Then they went and scored again the following year in 2016 and received another $10,000 which they used to record their newest singles, “Urutaa” and “Raupatu”, as well as produce music videos for the two of them. Without a doubt, Alien Weaponry is among the top ten of New Zealand metal acts. Already the band has toured the United States and Europe extensively. In the latter part of 2018 the band opened for Ministry on their U.S. tour. In Europe the band performed at several festivals, including Metaldays, and the Wacken Open Air festival. Last year they performed to a crowd of over 10,000 people at the Copenhell Festival in Denmark and at their final European show last year they opened for Slayer in Stuttgart, Germany. It will be interesting to see what this band has up their sleeves for next year once the Covid-19 crisis is over.
October 2020 • Rock and Blues International
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