logo
ALIEN WEAPONRY & Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe Fight The System In New Music Video For 'Taniwha'

ALIEN WEAPONRY & Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe Fight The System In New Music Video For 'Taniwha'

Scoop06-06-2025
New Zealand's ALIEN WEAPONRY recently released their head-turning third album, Te Rā, via Napalm Records! Swiftly, following the announcement of their upcoming USA tour supporting Avatar with fellow openers SpiritWorld, the band has dropped a brand new music video for album single 'Taniwha', featuring an intense guest appearance from metal icon Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God).
In the video, the modern groove metal trio find themselves face to face with puppet masters of corporate greed and overconsumption, providing a thought-provoking backdrop to one of the album's most aggressive, death-metal leaning offerings.
" We are super excited to share something we have been working on for a while.
We felt honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with the mighty Randy Blythe on our song 'Taniwha'; off of our latest album, so it only made sense to have him be a part of the music video too!
We wanted to create something special for this one, and we are stoked with how it turned out!"
ALIEN WEAPONRY have solidified themselves as one of the greatest young metal bands of their generation with renewed musical tenacity and crucial messaging. Since releasing their acclaimed debut Tū (2018), the band 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.
With their third full-length album, ALIEN WEAPONRY expand on their hallmark messages of cultural, societal and environmental resilience while delivering their most massive-sounding, focused musical output ever.
In the hands of veteran producer/mixer Josh Wilbur (Lamb Of God, Gojira, Megadeth), Te Rā's gnashing blend of groove, nu, math and thrash metal shines with anthemic choruses and refreshed technical skill. Te Rā is a bold, unwavering cry for a future in which we can all take part in the legacy of people like the Māori and others all around us – people who, if they aren't seen, most certainly need to be heard! Taken as a whole, Te Rā grapples with what it's like to be caught in the pull of divergent cultures – not just for the descendants of colonized people, but for all of us.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tangihanga: Stage show by Hastings woman who's been to more than 1000 funerals opens Dying Matters Week in Hawke's Bay
Tangihanga: Stage show by Hastings woman who's been to more than 1000 funerals opens Dying Matters Week in Hawke's Bay

NZ Herald

time10 hours ago

  • NZ Herald

Tangihanga: Stage show by Hastings woman who's been to more than 1000 funerals opens Dying Matters Week in Hawke's Bay

It's called Tangihanga, and opens Hawke's Bay first-ever Dying Matters Week, an international initiative encouraging open conversations about death, grief and end-of-life planning. Neho's 75-minute one-woman show, blending comedy, drama and moments of cultural connection, will be staged in the Bay on August 31 and September 1 at Taikura Rudolf Steiner school. 'I play all 30 characters, and it's basically about a girl whose father passes away, and he asked her to make a promise that she will make sure that it's a happy and joyful farewell,' she said. 'The family come all around to come back to his funeral at the marae, and you see the different way that people respond to hearing about his passing and how people deal with loss.' Kristyl Neho performing Tangihanga, a 75-minute, one-woman show exploring the "chaos, beauty and heartbreak" of one whānau saying goodbye. Photo / Sarah Marshall Neho, who wrote the show, says it's based on the 'chaos, beauty, and heartbreak of one whānau preparing for a funeral', inspired in part by her own father's farewell. As a child, Neho helped prepare bodies and assumed everyone grew up around death. 'I just was raised thinking that was what everybody experienced,' she said. That assumption ended when, at age 11, she casually told classmates she'd seen 'three or four hundred dead bodies'. 'The room went silent,' she recalls. 'I remember looking up and everybody was staring at me, and then the teacher was like, did you say 400 bodies? I was like, 'Yeah, isn't that normal?' And that's when I realised it wasn't normal.' Those formative years taught her empathy, the value of services for people saying goodbye, and a belief she carries to this day. 'Don't wait until it's too late to tell people you love them,' Neho says. While her Tangihanga performance is rooted in Māori experiences, it has resonated with audiences of all backgrounds. 'We've had about 65% non-Māori in the audience. 'Everyone recognises their own Auntie Margaret or the cousin who organises everything. Grief is universal.' The production has been staged before, with Neho winning the best overall performer at Whangārei Fringe Festival 2024. The polished version launching in Hawke's Bay will mark the start of a tour to 14 locations around New Zealand, before heading to Australia. The show in Hawke's Bay will mark the start of a tour to 14 locations around New Zealand, before heading to Australia. Photo / Sarah Marshall Hawke's Bay's Dying Matters Week runs from September 1 to 7 and is in its second year in New Zealand. The national initiative is led by Go with Grace, which invited local end-of-life doula Alysha Macaulay to prepare a team of Hawke's Bay professionals to bring the event to the region. The programme includes free counselling drop-in sessions, youth workshops, a crematorium open day and a 'cocktails and conversations about death' event at a local pub. The only ticketed events are Tangihanga and a screening of the documentary The Last Ecstatic Days. Macaulay says starting conversations before a crisis is key. 'It's about giving people the confidence to know what services exist, how to talk about it, and how to plan,' she says. 'If people write it down and have that conversation, they can ensure their loved one is honoured.' End-of-life doula Alysha Macaulay is helping bring Dying Matters Week to Hawke's Bay for the first time, aiming to open up conversations around death. Macaulay, who lost her husband to oesophageal cancer in 2022, now works with people with life-limiting diagnoses and their families to plan medical care, bucket lists, and funerals. 'It changed my perspective on life and made me determined to create better pathways for others.' More information on the event is available at

Full circle moment for Polyfest performer
Full circle moment for Polyfest performer

Otago Daily Times

time11 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Full circle moment for Polyfest performer

Mīharo Murihiku Trust programme and events lead Kheejay Thompson-Tonga is looking forward to putting on the 2025 Murihiku Polyfest event. PHOTO: NINA TAPU When rangatahi bring the best of Māori and Pasifika culture to the Murihiku Polyfest stage next week, one Southland veteran performer will be cheering them on from backstage. It has been 16 years since Kheejay Thompson-Tonga first performed as a 5-year-old at the cultural show. She has appeared on stage as a performer and as an MC every year since the festival started in 2010. This time the 21-year-old, of Māori and Cook Islands descent, will lend her services to the event through her role with the Mīharo Murihiku Trust. Thompson-Tonga said it was a full circle moment for her to now be one of the people organising the show. "Mīharo are dedicated to providing full circle moments . . . by encouraging young people and giving them opportunities through the rangatahi workshops," Ms Thompson-Tonga said. "I was fortunate to be involved in that, and once I was old enough, they [Mīharo] gave me the chance to get a job with them." She hoped this year's show would not just be about performing for the audience, but creating lasting connections with the community. "We encourage the rangatahi to embrace the Māori and Pasifika cultures through cultural expression, but it is also about making whanaungatanga (family connection) with their community, which is important," she said. The festival organisers believed that bringing different cultures together in one space helped bring the community together. The Murihiku Polyfest is in its 16th year and over 8000 performers are expected to take the stage for a week-long celebration of Māori and Pasifika performing arts at ILT Stadium Southland. Southland early childhood education centres to secondary schools will take part in the event. An extra rangatahi night for secondary school performances has been added, due to the increase of high school entries in the festival. Murihiku Polyfest will run from August 14-18, from 9am-3pm daily. Entry is by gold coin donation.

Mana Moana, Mana Tangata — The Untold Story Of Aotearoa's Landmark Fisheries Battle
Mana Moana, Mana Tangata — The Untold Story Of Aotearoa's Landmark Fisheries Battle

Scoop

time12 hours ago

  • Scoop

Mana Moana, Mana Tangata — The Untold Story Of Aotearoa's Landmark Fisheries Battle

A feature length documentary tells the story of how Māori fought to reclaim their fishing rights in an epic battle that changed the course of history and ensured Māori participation in the nation's fisheries resources for generations to come. Co-produced by Tawera Films' Toby Mills and Julian Arahanga of Awa Films, MANA MOANA, MANA TANGATA premieres at 8.30PM on Monday 18 August on Whakaata Māori and MĀORI+. From the 1980s, when the Crown's Quota Management System threatened to exclude Māori from their ancestral fisheries to the landmark 1992 Sealord Settlement, the first ever pan-iwi Treaty settlement, MANA MOANA, MANA TANGATA is a powerful account of resilience, legal brilliance, and cultural tenacity. Signed on 23 September 1992, the Sealord Deed of Settlement was a pivotal moment in Aotearoa's Treaty history: a victory that cemented Māori interests in the fishing industry. The documentary captures the high-stakes legal and political battles that raged for over a decade, pitting iwi against iwi and forcing the nation to reckon with issues such as customary title, the rights of urban Māori, and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination). The title MANA MOANA, MANA TANGATA references the eventual fisheries settlement allocation model based on iwi coastline (inshore fisheries) and iwi population (blue water). Featuring the voices of those who fought the fight, including Tā Tipene O'Regan (Ngāi Tahu), who called it 'a war fought with pens,' and Shane Jones (Te Aupōuri), who called the settlement 'our net to reclaim the future' – MANA MOANA MANA TANGATA features interviews with those involved at all levels of the settlement – politicians, iwi leaders, industry leaders and whānau fishers. With key themes of indigenous sovereignty, economic empowerment, environmental stewardship, and the intergenerational legacy of Treaty settlements, the film is a story that resonates with indigenous peoples around the world. Thirty years on, the legacy of the fisheries settlement is an ongoing assertion of Māori resistance, passion, and ambition to secure a sustainable future. As the film closes, it looks ahead – to collective opportunities, and the challenges that still lie beyond the horizon. About MĀORI+: MĀORI+ is the digital gateway to te ao Māori – a free streaming app that brings together the best in Māori storytelling, language, news, haka and entertainment. Designed with whānau in mind, the platform is easy to navigate, available across devices, and constantly updated with fresh content. Download the app from Google Play or the Apple store. Watch online at About Whakaata Māori: Whakaata Māori is Aotearoa New Zealand's national indigenous media organisation, dedicated to revitalising and empowering te reo Māori, culture, and identity through storytelling. Guided by the vision, kia mauriora te reo - a future where te reo Māori is spoken everywhere, every day - Whakaata Māori fosters an environment where the language and its cultural heritage can thrive. Established in 2004, Whakaata Māori has delivered some of Aotearoa New Zealand's most cherished content, connecting audiences with stories that celebrate and uplift te reo Māori and Māori culture. Māori Television trades under its reo Māori name to better reflect the role it plays in revitalising te reo Māori, our culture, and sharing our stories across multiple platforms. Whakaata means 'to mirror', 'to reflect' or 'to display.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store