Amanaki return with “Jaws”—a track that fuses tight, piston-like groove with a direct, metalcore-shaped delivery and a message cut from lived reality and moral urgency. Released on September 25, 2025, the single arrives with a performance-first video premiered via BVTV Music. For faith-minded heavy listeners, “Jaws” is another clear sign that Aotearoa’s hardcore community is growing a generation of bands speaking plainly yet thoughtfully—from street-level experience to a spiritually aware vantage point.
Opening statement: why it hits so hard
Within seconds, “Jaws” signals intent. The main riff clamps down, drums keep the pulse short and muscular, and the vocal pivots between chant-like hardcore cadences and a rougher, half-growled emphasis. Rather than chasing micro-trends, Amanaki filter long-proven tools through their own writing voice—already evident across earlier singles and the Embers EP. The net effect is live-wire energy in a studio frame: the kind of cut that makes you reach for volume and imagine the stage lights.
Who is Amanaki? Auckland/Hamilton coordinates and an NZ scene snapshot
Based between Auckland and Hamilton, Amanaki have been steady hands within New Zealand’s hardcore/metalcore ecosystem for years. From early EPs to 2024’s Embers, their profile has grown on the back of tireless gigging, local media support, and a catalogue that insists on groove-conscious heaviness with a lyric spine that values accountability and hope. Their identity reads DIY and community-forward—organically connected to the rooms and crews that keep the scene alive.
How “Jaws” is built: the riff as anchor, the rhythm as lever
The song’s architecture revolves around an anchor-riff: concise, percussive, easy to lock onto in a pit. Verses keep the texture stripped enough to let every drum accent and guitar choke spell out the pocket. The hook isn’t sugary, but it is undeniable: a rhythmic spotlight that lines you up for the pre-breakdown turn. The closer aims lower and meaner without overextending the structure—Amanaki give you the drop you came for, then exit clean, like a punch that doesn’t linger, only lands.
Voice and words: teeth, conscience, consequence
Lyrically, “Jaws” reads as more than a title—it’s a working metaphor for pressure closing in: social expectation, financial squeeze, inner fear, learned performance. Hardcore has long served as a public address system for the dispossessed or disenchanted, and Amanaki write within that lineage. The speaker isn’t sermonising; they are testifying—naming the trap without glamorising it, insisting there’s agency left even when the walls tighten.
From a faith-aware angle often associated with the band’s outlook, the song scans like discernment in practice: naming the “teeth” that bite (personal vice, structural injustice, cynicism) and refusing the false comfort of numbing out. In short: look straight at the thing; then move. The track’s moral centre is action—not perfection—and that action is communal as much as individual.
Production values: clarity, weight, headroom
Modern heaviness thrives on clarity, and “Jaws” is a case study. Guitars carry a chewy midrange and crisp attack; bass bonds the kick to the riff; the snare cracks dry and fast. Vocals sit forward yet integrated—glued to the band rather than pasted on top. There’s headroom left on the master so you can keep turning it up without fatigue. Translation: this was built to hit in earbuds and on stage PA alike.
BVTV video: performance as catalyst
The BVTV clip doubles down on the song’s core proposition: no cinematic subplot, just the band as voltage. Quick cuts, high-contrast lighting, and physical performances sell the intent. In an era obsessed with narrative music videos, this one gambles on presence—and wins. You can practically feel monitor wedges under your feet and the humid push of a crowd within arm’s reach.
Where it sits in the catalogue: from Embers to the next chapter
2024’s Embers positioned Amanaki as writers who balance rage with recall—mosh fuel that still leaves a line in your head. “Jaws” tightens that proposition: more economy, more lift in the hook, and a final section that knows exactly when to hit and quit. If the band are setting markers for a new release cycle, this is an ideal compass point.
FFO and identity
If you’re mapping reference points, listeners aligned with Stick To Your Guns, The Ghost Inside, or the heavier, sandpaper edges of Alpha Wolf will find instant traction. Still, Amanaki don’t mirror—there’s a particular NZ “accent” to the writing: DIY ethics, community-first logic, and a refusal to trade conviction for polish. It’s heavy music that belongs to a people, not just a platform.
Meaning-work: “Jaws” as a metaphor for pressure and choice
The title-field invites interpretation. “Jaws” can be the predator you fear, the grind that consumes, but it can also be the bite you finally take back—the decision to engage, to tell the truth, to move toward others rather than away. Hardcore is a music of decisions: under pressure, act. In an attention economy that encourages numbness and drift, “Jaws” is a counter-litany—wake up, step in, hold fast.
Five reasons “Jaws” works
- Anchor riff that does not let go.
- Pocket and push—a pit-ready groove with air in the arrangement.
- Production that carries weight without mud.
- Vocal delivery equal parts chant and grit.
- Video catalyst that sells intent over ornament.
Aotearoa’s scene: locality that broadcasts
NZ’s heavy underground has long prized community glue over trend-chasing. Amanaki fit right in: steady shows, cross-pollination with peers, incremental catalogue building. “Jaws” feels like a springboard—toward bigger rooms and a stronger international footprint. For listeners outside NZ, it’s the perfect entry cut: no decoder ring needed, just volume.
Who should press play?
- Hardcore/metalcore fans who want groove and impact over labyrinthine structures.
- Listeners seeking conscience without condescension.
- People who want to feel the stage in a studio performance.
- Eternal Flames readers mapping faith-aware heavy music where ethos and aesthetics cohere.
What’s next? Singles, setlist anchors, momentum
“Jaws” has all the marks of a live-set anchor: verses that stoke a circle pit, a hook that begs for a gang vocal, and a closer that cues a room-wide drop. Release-wise, it suits a singles-first cadence—the contemporary flow that keeps bands in conversation with fans and platforms alike. It’s an opportunity window Amanaki are well-positioned to push through.
Final take: teeth as a discipline of attention
At heart, “Jaws” is a discipline: clamp down on what is real, refuse the drift. Amanaki deliver heaviness without cynicism, energy without theatre, community without cliché. The song doesn’t promise escape; it demands engagement—and then backs that demand with the kind of musical mechanics that make engagement feel not just possible, but urgent.
Recommended on EF
Check our New Music hub and deep dives on faith-forward hardcore/metalcore for more releases in this lane.
Listen / Watch
Bandcamp: “Jaws” Spotify Apple Music YouTube: BVTV