New Zealand groove metal trio Alien Weaponry has just announced their new record Te Rā, due out March 28. The announcement comes as Alien Weaponry kicks off their North American tour supporting Kerry King, and is heralded by the single "Mau Moko".
"Māori have a rich history of marking traditions that were nearly lost during colonization. These traditions are currently in the process of a much needed cultural revival, and I was inspired by that," said Alien Weaponry lyricist and bassist Tūranga Porowini Morgan-Edmonds.
"I wanted the lyrics to remind people that moko is, and always will be, a part of who we are. With the song's video, we wanted to show the darker side of the history of moko and how the head trade played a part in the near extinction of the tradition. We fought through it and continue to fight for its revival still today!"
Te Rā was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur (Lamb Of God, Gojira, Megadeth) and even features Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe on the single "Taniwha". Pre-orders are available here.
On the record itself, Alien Weaponry frontman and guitarist Lewis Raharuhi de Jong added: "We really stepped it up this time, as we understood that this album had to go further. We went through a lot of songs and scrapped entire sections of songs.
"We kept working them and working them until we got them right. Then, with the way we were pushing ourselves musically, I knew it was important to challenge myself lyrically as well. This time I delved into difficult emotional places and mental states. There’s a lot of existential dread running through the album, and I tried to find the right words to describe the indescribable."
Alien Weaponry hits the road starting today with Kerry King and fellow support acts Municipal Waste. Get those dates below and get your tickets here.
1/15 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
1/17 Spokane, WA Spokane Live Casino
1/18 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo
1/29 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
1/20 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
1/22 Calgary, AB The Palace Theatre
1/23 Edmonton, AB Midway Music Hall
1/25 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre
1/26 Minneapolis, MN The Fillmore
1/28 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
1/30 Detroit, MI The Majestic Theater
1/31 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
2/1 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
2/2 Montreal, QC L'Olympia
2/4 Boston, MA Royale
2/5 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts
2/7 New York, NY Irving Plaza
2/8 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage
2/10 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre
2/11 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Live
2/13 Houston, TX House of Blues
2/14 Austin, TX Emo's
