Alien Weaponry will release their much-anticipated second album, Tangaroa, via Napalm Records on September 17, and you can immerse yourself in the epic, aquatic video for its title track right now.
Titled after the Māori god of the sea, and featuring lyrics delivering stark warnings of the devastation humans will reap if we continue selfishly polluting the planet (‘We think we’re changing things but it’s too late / a dying creature we continue to suffocate’), it’s a crushingly heavy return from the fast-rising New Zealand metallers.
Lead vocalist/guitarist Lewis de Jong says, “We decided to write this song about how the ocean is being suffocated by humans and their waste. The ocean is an important part of my life, and it's important to protect it.”
Lewis’ drummer brother Henry adds: “Tangaroa’ is a heavy and angry message about how we are destroying the ocean with pollution and overfishing. The video ties in with this message, with us drowning in plastic conveying the struggle of ocean life.”
Discussing the shape which the album might take, Henry de Jong says, “The album is tied together with the message of ‘Tangaroa’ - the whole album is more a snapshot of the band’s brains during the writing process. We have also written songs that are about some of our first tūpuna (ancestors) who were here in Āotearoa (New Zealand). Hatupatu, who is very famous in Māori history, as well as Īhenga, who named a number of places in Āotearoa during his travels.”
“I think we have stepped things up from the last album,” Lewis adds simply.
The track listing for Tangaroa is:
1. Titokowaru
2. Hatupatu
3. Ahi Kā
4. Tangaroa
5. Unforgiving
6. Blinded
7. Kai Whatu
8. Crooked Monsters
9. Buried Underground
10. Dad
11. Īhenga
12. Down The Rabbit Hole
