Teenage “Maori thrash” band Alien Weaponry have premiered a new video for their new song “Kai Tangata.“ This track is from their debut album “Tū,” which will be released on June 1, via Napalm Records. The song’s title translates to ‘eat people’ as a reference to the ancient Maori tradition of eating the flesh of enemies after a battle as a way to insult them. A press release also says that the 7-minute track “recreates the memory of the early 19th Century musket wars, where Ngapuhi (Northern) tribes, newly armed with muskets, attacked and decimated the [Alien Weaponry‘s] de Jong brothers’ Te Arawa (Central North Island) ancestors, who at that time were still using traditional weaponry.”
Singer and lead guitarist Lewis de Jong told Loudwire the following:
“Some people might find it a bit grisly. But it’s stuff that actually happened and nobody ever talks about it. We’re not saying it’s right or wrong, it’s just a part of our history.”
The site also mentions that the track “refers to ‘nga tohu a Tūmatauenga,’ the symbols of Tūmatauenga – the Māori god of war, and its from here where the band derives the album’s name.”
Drummer Henry de Jong added:
“Quite a few of the songs on the album are about battles or conflict. Kai Tangata. So we thought it was appropriate to name the album after Tūmatauenga. Tū also means to stand strong and proud, to stand for something; which we think is important as a band and as people.”
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