09 Jul 2017 // A review by Corinne Rutherford
I will begin by saying it was great to get the chance to work along side another member of the muzic.net.nz team, Jamie Miller, who was photographer for the evening, freeing me up to concentrate entirely on this review and the music. Without the worry of lighting, keeping one eye on the band and another on the crowd, I was able to talk to people about their concert going experience and gain feedback from the people. There were a couple of times though out the evening I missed having my camera, but I got over it, knowing that side of things was in Jamie's capable hands.

First things first, as I entered Totara St last night I was hit by the impressive set up on the stage, a veritable wall of speakers, it looked loud. The crowd dribbled in slowly but by the time time the first act Average Mars Experience took to the stage, it was filling up. Average Mars Experience are a hard hitting instrumental rock/metal and from Auckland, influenced by the likes of Tool, Incubus and Heavy Metal Ninjas. People started warming up around two songs into the set and the head nodding began. It is said they "infuse groove into everything they produce" which seemed to be the case. The band were pretty impressive, no lyrics yet they engaged with the crowd and started the build up of energy which would eventually end in a head banging full on mosh pit awakening by the end of the night. I am building up to that. Without camera in hand I was able to move freely around the crowd and ask them their thoughts and feelings about the music and the general consensus was Average Mars Experience were a good start to the evening, a talented bunch of lads, wicked guitar playing.

Second band to play was The Eternal Sea, it is no secret I am a bit of a fan of these guys, I have enjoyed hearing them play live before and this was no exception. No P, Mugg, Sober, Vampyer and Transhumanism were a few of the tracks which the band did a energetic and crowd pleasing job of playing. And again when the megaphone comes out, the crowd goes wild. The guys played  a tight set and I was glad that I had the opportunity to just listen and appreciate the music, so thank you for yet another fine gig a perfect precursor to the head lining act, three young men from Northland. Thrash metal band Alien Weaponry.

Captivating from the onset, electric energy oozes from this band. Winners of the 2016 Smokefree Rockquest and all under the age of 18, they have an abundance of youthful enthusiasm, watching them prepare before they took to the stage from the safety of the crew area I witnessed excitement and passion in abundance, they seemed to light up the stage with their presence and the crowd went nuts. The point of difference is not that they are young, not even that they are extremely professional even down to the pushing the merch, not even that they have opened for Devilskin and Shihad. No what really makes this young thrash metal band stand out is the beautiful use of Te Reo, singing in Maori and absolutely nailing it, this was an extremely powerful combination of music and language, add in three very talented musicians with a lot of hair (and I presume strong neck muscles for flicking all that hair around), and you have a force to reckon with.

I am now going to try and explain the almost terrifying vision I was witnessing from my safe place looking down onto the stage, it occurred after the band had a brief 10 minute interval, presumably so the crowd could get their fluids up before the occurrence. Not having seen this before, the "Wall of Death" or what was a version of it I am sure, kind of took me by surprise, when these young men told the crowd to part and they dutifully obeyed, I slid over to our photog person and hissed watch this, and then it was all on, people running at each other and headbanging and moshing their hearts out, I feared for the lives of my friends in the centre of it, but they didn't seem to worried, it was like a thrash metal free for-all screeching guitars, booming drums and flying bodies. It was a sight to behold and the crowd loved it. Actually it was done in a safe and smart way, but that's the sensible me talking. This is not just a gig, this is a show, audience immersion, a performance.

The guys ended their set with the latest release Ru Ana Te Whenua  A powerful heart pounding song to wrap up a flawless incredible set.

Three talented Kiwi bands, yet another amazing night. Thank you to muzic.net.nz for the experience.

Alien Weaponry is a three-piece metal band whose style has been influenced by old school thrash and hardcore

AW was formed in 2010 by brothers Henry and Lewis de Jong, who have been listening to bands like Metallica, Anthrax and Pantera since birth; and started jamming and writing songs before they learnt the alphabet. Current influences include Lamb Of God, Tryvium, Subtract and System of a Down, but the band has developed its own distinctive thrash metal sound, destined to endure into future centuries.

Not content to rely on the shock value of their extreme youth, the group understands the value of professionalism, and works crowds to a frenzy with their tight, thrashy energy and wild stage performances. Their plans for world domination include playing at Wacken in Germany and touring the big international metal festivals. They refuse to play covers, and have enough material to begin recording their first album later this year.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Alien Weaponry

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