Young trio get heavyweight support from top band

Alien Weaponry are, from left, Ethan Trembath, 12, Henry de Jong, 14, and Lewis de Jong, 12.

An up-and-coming Northland band is wowing radio audiences and will be playing at the Woolshed Tavern in Reporoa tonight with chart-topping metal band Devilskin.

That would be a good start for any group, but what makes Alien Weaponry's success remarkable is that some of its members have yet to hit their teens.

The Waipu thrash metal band is made up of brothers Lewis - guitar and vocals - and Henry de Jong - drums, with Ethan Trembath on bass.

Lewis is just 12-years-old, brother Henry is 14 and Ethan is also 12-years-old.

The brothers go to Bream Bay College while Ethan goes to Otamatea High.

The trio was invited to join the Devilskin tour after bass guitarist Paul Martin heard a demo of their single Cages.

Martin has also been playing the song on The Axe Attack, a heavy metal radio show he hosts on The Rock every Sunday night.

He said he was "blown away" by the band.

"When I played the CD to others, they couldn't believe how young they are."

Alien Weaponry will also play two shows over the weekend at the Brewers Bar in Mt Maunganui. All three shows are sold out.

The trio has written enough songs for an album, which they plan to start recording soon, and are as ambitious as they are loud.

Drummer Henry said the band aimed to play with the likes of Metallica, Lamb of God and Trivium at big European metal festivals like Wacken and Download within the next five years.

"We want to be taken seriously as a metal band," he said.

Since landing the Devilskin gig, Alien Weaponry has been invited to play with Team Kill on their national tour in October and will support Kiwi metal giants Subtract later this year.