The lads in Alien Weaponry have been churning out metal before many of us knew how to ride our bicycles. At the ages of 8 and 9 Henry and Louis De Jong decided to form the band that would take them around the world a mere ten years later. The music is a blend of thick guitar tone, heavy rhythmic drumming, and a mix of English and Maori languages. These two siblings are proud of their ancestry, and use their music to showcase its unique culture, speaking about issues and the history that has affected these indigenous people. I was able to speak with Henry and Louis, as well as Bob; a friend of the band and filling in for bass while Alien Weaponry plays through the United States, to learn more about their history and what is next for the band.
GA: Can you tell me briefly how the band started out?
Louis: Henry and I have always been around music, which naturally led us to wanting to play music. We were around 8 and 9 years old and decided we wanted to start a band. This was around 2010, almost ten years ago now. We kept playing and making music, and people seemed to like it, so that’s how the band came about.
GA: So, you two formed the band when you were very young, what was your inspiration behind wanting to learn how to play instruments? Was there any main influence which sparked you down this path of playing metal?
Bob: Lamb of God.
Louis: Lamb of God was really the first band for me. When I first heard them, they were the heaviest band I have ever heard. I was like, ‘holy shit what is this stuff?’ They were the soundtrack to my high school years, a great way to get out my emotions.
Henry: It was the same for me, hearing Lamb of God made me decide I wanted to play metal.
GA: Alien Weaponry dropped a new single recently entitled ‘Blinded’ can you tell me about the writing process behind this song, and how the band goes about creating music?
Louis: I had some ideas on the vocals going into writing the music and let them pan out during the process. We usually do what ever feels best for us when writing a song. Sometimes the vocals first other times music first and what not. For this song I crafted the music to fit with the lyrics.
GA: Who did you work with for doing the recording?
Henry: We worked with Scott from Roundhead Studios in Auckland; he is one of the engineers there. We went with him and our father/manager Neil, who also did a little bit of work on the album as well with edit suggestions.
GA: Along with this single is there an album on the way?
Louis: Yes, that is the plan to get back to New Zealand and really get on to writing.
GA: The band has a proud Maori heritage and many of your songs showcase aspects of the culture. One song in particular, ‘Raupatu’ was about the seizure of lands from the indigenous Maori. What is your driving force to write about the Maori culture?
Louis: Henry and I have Maori ancestry. We grew up speaking the language, it was the first language I learned. We have always spoken Maori throughout the years. When we were younger, we would be told stories about our ancestors and events in their lives, the history of those people in New Zealand. We grew up on those stories and draw inspiration from them.
Henry: I think history is one of those things whereas you get older, the more interested you become in it. You become more aware of what has happened in the past. You start to become interested in your own personal background and heritage. So that’s where the song writing aspect started off, and other people seem to be interested in it, which I really enjoy. It is amazing to see people be passionate about it like we are.
GA: Being in a band with brothers is sometimes a gift and a curse, I can relate as my band has brothers in it as well. What’s it like to be able to travel with your brother around the world doing metal?
Louis: When you are in a band with your brother, you know you have each other’s backs. We argue over stupid shit sometimes but at the end of the day we are still family.
Henry: I look at it this way is; You are the first to defend each other, but also the first to attack each other. Musically since Louis and I have been playing together for so long, we can almost read each other’s minds. There’s a certain aspect to it where I could not jam with anyone else.
GA: What gear is the band using for this tour?
Louis: I am using dual Marshall DSL’s for my go to amps. I currently using ESP guitars and I am endorsed by InTune picks.
Bob: I am playing a KSD, which is a Ken Smith Bass. I also use Spector basses and D’Addario strings, which I am endorsed with.
Henry: I use Pearl drums; I am playing on a Pearl Masters complete maple kit. It’s a nice kit, sounds really nice with the all maple shells. I am using a Samplonius snare drum. The main guy in New Zealand who makes custom drums. He made up my cool custom snare drum out of Kauri, which is a New Zealand native timber, it sounds amazing. I also use Evans heads, Vic Firth sticks, Meinl cymbals, which all are proud endorses of Alien Weaponry. I also use Audio Fly in ear monitors.
GA: AW has played on some seriously huge stages, like Wacken and Metaldays. How does it feel playing America compared to playing Europe or even your home country of New Zealand?
Louis: I feel like Americans get super into the music; they are very passionate die-hard fans that get rowdy as hell. They wear their hearts on their sleeves. This is the first tour that we had to tell the crowd to calm down. Sometimes mosh pits go sour, and this was the first time we had to tell the pit to settle down some, as we were saw people being led out in handcuffs.
Henry: I feel like in Europe the mosh pits are a bit more organized. Everyone tends to mosh in sync.
Louis: With this tour we had some smaller city stops which was a little weird. The crowds were so stoked to see us play. I feel like there are die hard fans all over the world, but the US has most of them.
GA: What is next for AW?
Louis: We have some headline dates after this tour lined up. Its going to be about 20 dates which you can find the tour schedule and purchase tickets on our website.
Henry: Please make sure you are buying real tickets as well; we have seen several fakes at the shows (on this tour).
Bob: If you see a cheap ticket it may be to good to be true.
GA: If someone wanted to keep up with the band or support the band by purchasing merch, where can they go online to find out more?
Louis: They can find everything through our website alienweaponry.com. The site has links to all our social media sites (Facebook, Instagram…) as well as links to our merchandise shop.
GA: Anything else you would like to add?
Henry: We hope everyone that comes out to a show has a good time and thank you for supporting us. We love you guys.
The post Interview with Alien Weaponry appeared first on Empire Extreme.