FEAR LESS

Alien Weaponry announces winner of inaugural Thrash More competition

International metal sensations Alien Weaponry have chosen Powder Chutes as the winners of a nationwide music competition that celebrates young homegrown talent.

WINNER

Check out Powder Chutes winning submission below:

Powder Chutes - Spinning

Powder Chutes are an emerging young rock band from Wanaka, described by Radio One 91FM as “already punching well above their weight in the Aotearoa music scene. With chunky riffs, and BIG fills, they have every head turning”. The band is made up of Archie (drums) , Clarke (guitar), Henry (vocals), and Otis (bass).

"The ‘Live More, Fear Less’ moto definitely resonates strongly with us. Essentially, fear manifests itself in many ways, from the obvious, and very understandable fears like stepping on stage in front of a large crowd, or doing a bungy jump, to the crippling insecurities and self-doubt that affect all of us at some point, daily. 'Live More, Fear Less' is about embracing fear as a crucial aspect of existing, rather than a barrier to prevent positive action." - Powder Chutes

Beating fellow top-three finalists Fan Club and Rumpus Machine, Powder Chutes win a $7000 cash prize allocated to music equipment, an album release or studio recording time, with an additional $3000 going towards their chosen secondary school music department or community music facility. With the prize funded by AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand, all three finalists also receive $1000 worth of AJHBNZ experiences.

"We’re stoked to be selected by international music legends Alien Weaponry amongst such strong competition, in particular Rumpus Machine and Fan Club. It’s sick because we genuinely look up to Alien Weaponry and have been following them when we were entering Rock Quest as 10-, 11-year-olds and they were winning Rock Quest. We always jam out to them, it’s one of the first bands we put on. They also come from a high school in New Zealand and give us hope that there’s a pathway to breaking through to that level of success."

- Powder Chutes

RUNNERS UP

Fan Club - No Caller ID

Fan Club is a high school indie rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Emma (16), Caleb (18), Tilly (16) and Tom (18) mash-up pop/rock/indie elements into a unique blend of high-energy beats, dynamic structures, sick guitar riffs, and driving, confessional lyrics that explore the highs and (mostly) lows of teenage life.

"[Live More, Fear Less] is such an important concept for any band because when you write and perform original music, you have to overcome your fear of rejection, criticism, failure and it can make you quite vulnerable, but you just have to take that leap every time you play that song for the first time!!" - Fan Club

Rumpus Machine - Out There

Rumpus Machine are brothers and sisters and have been playing as a band for 3 years. We have 9 original songs and 50 classic rock covers polished and we play as much as we can. We play at bars, venues, festivals, competitions and community events and enjoy performing whenever possible.

"Live More, Fear Less is a statement that everyone can benefit from thinking about. To us it means that life is for living and you need to put your fears aside and get out there and get stuck right in so you don’t miss out. That’s what our song ‘Out There’ is about. 'Who dares wins' and 'Fortune favours the brave' are also mantras we like and we try to Iive this way." - Rumpus Machine

Alien Weaponry says it was hard to decide the winner, with each group having their own unique sound.

"Massive congratulations to Powder Chutes for taking out the 2023 Thrash More Fear Less competition!!! While it was such a close call to judge the competition, we felt that Powder Chutes encapsulated "Live More Fear Less" to a T. We were blown away by their wicked technical ability and song writing as well as their energy and passion. It's so awesome to see young bands come up, as we did not so long ago and we are excited to see what the boys in Powder Chutes have in store for us the future!

Kia mau te wehi kia koutou e Powder Chutes, ka titiro mātou ki tō koutou mahi ki mua!"

- Alien Weaponry

PRIZES

GRAND PRIZE

$7000

for music equipment, or to pay for recording sessions in a studio

$3000

for a community music programme or secondary school music programme, nominated by the winner

top 3 finalists

$1000

in AJ Hackett Bungy NZ experience vouchers.

WINNER ANNOUNCED

Our winner will be announced on Thursday, November 30, 2023.

CRITERIA

Eligibility

Participants must be residents of New Zealand.
Participants must be between the ages of 13 and 25 at the time of entry.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand. The judges' decisions are final and binding.
Entries will be judged based on their overall performance and their connection to “Live More, Fear Less”.
The production quality of the video will not be taken into consideration in the selection process, but it will help if we can clearly see and hear the performance.
The judging process will be confidential, and feedback will not be provided.

Judging process

There will be three rounds of judging:

Round 1 November 1 – 8, 2023

First round: All applications will be reviewed by a panel of judges selected by AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand to determine the top 10 semi-finalists.

Round 2 November 9 – 22, 2023

Second round: A round of public voting. Our top 10 semi-finalists will be shared on bungy.co.nz/thrashmore for individuals to register to vote.

Round 3 November 23 – 29, 2023

Final round: judging will take place by Alien Weaponry band members to determine the winner.

Notification of Winner

The winner will be announced publicly on November 30, 2023 at bungy.co.nz/thrashmore and across AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand’s social media.
The winner will be contacted via contact details included with their submission.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact [email protected].

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Read the full competition terms & conditions here.

Alien Weaponry is a New Zealand metal band from Waipu. When they started out, a record executive asked if they were afraid of failing if they stuck to singing primarily in Te Reo Māori. It would have been easy to follow their advice, but instead Alien Weaponry threw up the middle finger to their fears and continued to sing in Te Reo. Now, they’re taking the world by storm and continue to sing in Te Reo Māori when they tour worldwide.