United Nations
“WEAPONRY! WEAPONRY! WEAPONRY!” The crowd inside Window Rock Sports Center chant and stamp the floor, as President Nez of the Navajo Nation presents their flag to Alien Weaponry. The New Zealand trio are mid-gig in the capital of the largest Native American reservation in the States, and the noise is thunderous.
Earlier today, the band enjoyed a private audience with the President. “It’s crazy to think he’s a metalhead,” marvels frontman Lewis de Jong. “It’s an honour that our music has brought us to the point where we are meeting the head of America’s biggest native tribe.”
Despite his wonderment, it’s not the first time the band have crossed paths with a political leader. They’ve twice shaken hands with Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, and their reputation is growing rapidly at home and beyond.
They’ve made a name for themselves thanks to modern groove metal anthems sung partly in te reo Māori, the indigenous language of New Zealand. Many of the songs on 2018’s debut, , outline the injustices perpetrated against the Māori people in the name of colonisation, and the fallout that continues today. Following its release, they toured internationally, playing memorable sets at Wacken and Bloodstock, and supporting Ministry in the States. This year, they opened the main stage on the Saturday of Download, went viral with a giant group haka performed at Denmark’s Copenhell, and returned to the US with Black Label Society. They’re currently
