Even if you’re not a fan of heavy metal, you can’t help but admire Alien Weaponry. If not for their rise to fame on an international scale, then for being the first band of the genre to sing in te reo Māori.
Director Kent Belcher began filming Alien Weaponry six years ago, when Henry and Lewis were teenagers, but includes footage filmed by their ever-supportive parents, Niel and Jette, dating back to the 2000s. We follow the band from their first performances at Smokefree Rockquest, to European metal festivals, through to their international headlining concerts, jam-packed with metalheads. These tours are littered with the occasional amusing brotherly spat, but also with random outbursts of “Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi”, joined by anyone who knows the words.
Although Alien Weaponry’s success is clearly huge, instead what is most impressive about them is their commitment to keeping te reo Māori and Māori culture alive. Their music is written and performed in te reo Māori and tells the stories of tangata whenua (people of the land), the band members’ ancestors, and denounces colonisation.
Editor
Sacha Campbell