Balancing Aggression With TURANGA MORGAN-EDMONDS From ALIEN WEAPONRY

Interview by Kris Peters
Since releasing their acclaimed debut album Tū (2018), New Zealand
metal warriors Alien Weaponry have been lauded for their kinetic
presence and sound, as well as their vital blend of culturally
profound lyricism in both English and te reo Māori, the indigenous
language of New Zealand.
Still in their teens when that album took the world by storm and
with the sudden burden of expectation thrust upon their shoulders,
Alien Weaponry bunkered down, surrounding themselves with family
and away from the clutches of industry people potentially looking
to exploit both their talent and youth. It proved a masterstroke,
with the young band following up with Tangaroa (2021) and earned
them the title of 'the future of heavy metal' by Metal Hammer and
led to tours around the world with the likes of Guns N' Roses,
Gojira, Slayer and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
But, they say, a band's third album is the most defining one of
their career and that moment has come with the impending release of
Te Rā (March 28).
Described as their heaviest, most powerful and mature offering to
date, Alien Weaponry feel like they have returned with a point to
prove. HEAVY caught up with the newest member of the band, bass
player Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds, to find out more.
"I think we were definitely nervous going into the first single,"
he began when asked how the band are feeling about the album
finally seeing the light of day. "I think the single probably had a
lot more nerves surrounding it than the album itself. Because, you
know, it's a new stage in the band's evolution and sound. And it's
the first time I've been a part of the writing and recording
process. And particularly because the first single was a song that
I had written myself (laughs).
So I was sort of like, Oh, God, what if people don't like it?
That's my creative input that people don't like. But then of course
the song came out and the response has been awesome. Now as we
slowly trickle into the album release tomorrow there's been two
more singles come out and people seem to love those as well."
Talk turns to the music side of Te Rā and what sound they were
trying to achieve.
"We took a step back," he measured. "Obviously, the first album was
such a force onto the scene and left a strong impression on a lot
of people when that came out in 2018. And the second album didn't
quite land where they had wanted to. And when we went to the third
album, we were sort of like, OK, what is it that we want to
achieve? Are we trying to create a new sound entirely? Are we
trying to create something familiar? And so what we decided on was
trying to actually find a balance between the highlights of both
albums, even the second one. So the second one, what people liked,
of course, was the sort of move towards a more technical approach,
so maybe more complication in the riffs and the writing structures.
And then also a lot of people quite liked the much more traditional
sounding Māori vocals, not just singing in another language, but
singing in the style of that language, if that makes sense."
In the full interview, Turanga further introduced the band's
upcoming third album, Te Ra, highlighting the blend of genres and
the incorporation of Te Reo Māori to maintain cultural
authenticity. He shared his excitement about collaborating with
Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, who contributed vocals to a track
after their connection on Instagram, emphasizing the influence of
Lamb of God on their music. Tu reflected on the band's growth from
newcomers to respected figures in the metal scene, acknowledging
the challenges of touring post-pandemic.
He expressed optimism for a more extensive touring schedule
following the album's release, with management actively working on
overseas plans, went back to when he joined Alien Weaponry and
more.

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