It'll be a monstrously epic night when Auckland three-piece Mothra attacks Mount Maunganui this weekend.

The instrumental progressive metal band, with support from butt-kicking local acts Ant Wars, All Hail the Funkillers and King Fish are all taking to the stage down at Totara Street this Saturday.

Auckland instrumental progressive metal band Mothra are performing at Totara Street in Mount Maunganui this Saturday. From left: Hugh Allan, James Armstrong and Reuben Saffer. Photo: Mothra

Mothra is guitarist/live samplist Hugh Allan, drummer James Armstrong and bassist Reuben Saffer.

The upcoming gig is part of Mothra's release tour for their debut album Decision Process andis one of a handful of shows they've played outside of Auckland during the band's eight year history.

'It's great to be venturing outside of Auckland, we've never really done that until the release of our debut album,” says Hugh.

'We're really excited and can't wait to hit Mount Maunganui this Saturday.”

Since forming in 2008, Mothra have supported the likes of Helmet, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Russian Circles, Earth, the Devin Townsend Project and Mono.

Hugh describes the band's sound as being 'very eclectic” with moments of ambiance, psychedelia and sludge – a reference to the bands use of low tuned guitar and bass.

It took eight years to make Decision Process, which Hugh describes as journey that had it's fair share of ups and downs, but on the whole was a thoroughly satisfying experience.

'It took a long time to make Decision Process. We spent the first year recording the tracks at various studios across Auckland and the rest of the time has been mixing and mastering.

'We initially worked with Aaron Harris of Isis – the American band not the terrorist group – and Brandon Curtis who produce a couple of albums for Russian Circles.

'But just the process of emailing back and forth, sending tweaks, it was not an ideal process for us, so in the end I decided to mix it myself. I had only mixed demos but was determined to give it a go.”

Once happy with the mixes, Hugh took the album to Chris Chetland of Auckland's Kog studios who then mastered Decision Process.

'Chris fed the mixes through the studios analogue units which added a lot of life and warmth to the album and played a big part in the final product.

'It's been huge a learning process for me, figuring out how to get the sound I wanted and putting it all together, but we got the result and we're really happy with how the album has turned out.”

This Saturday's show at Totara Street is guaranteed to be one massive gig – just as gigantic as the image which the band's name evokes.

For the uninitiated: Mothra is a gargantuan moth - hero to some and a monster to others - which has appeared in several Japanese films since 1961, including numerous Godzilla sequels.

'I guess in a way, Mothra was a giant divine creature that had a huge magical vibe to is, and in our own way we've got a pretty giant sound too I guess.

"But honestly, I took the name from a Godflesh song because it was a word I just really liked the sound of,” Hugh says laughing.

Mothra with Ant Wars, All Hail the Funkillers and King Fish play Totara Street in Mount Maunganui on Saturday, March 12, from 8pm. R18. Tickets cost $15 and available from Undertheradar.co.nz

For more information visit Mothra's website at: www.mothraband.com