Project Description

KING PARROT‘Ugly Produce’ (Album Review) – 18/09/17

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King Parrot

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King Parrot’s music is as tough as a brawler from the roughest parts of Frankston. The 5 piece have an individual style which shares common ground with Grind, Death Metal, Thrash and Punk – it’s difficult to classify and relatively unique but it’s not hard to see the appeal in such chaotic and aggressive music.

After a relatively rapid rise to notoriety the hard working extreme metal band have toured relentlessly to support their first two albums Bite Your Head off and Dead Set. Both of these albums are good albums in their own right, but their 3rd album Ugly Produce is clearly their most accomplished work to date – it’s a highly enjoyable mix of the flat out aggression from Bite Your Head Off, combined with the more restrained and polished approach taken on Dead Set.

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King Parrot

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King Parrot’s video clips have always been some of the best in the genre. The clip for Shit On The Liver introduced us to a band that wasn’t afraid to let their warped sense of humour shine through. But KP are far from a gimmick or a joke; the beauty of King Parrot has always been their ability to be light hearted without ever loosing the hard edge to their music. The band pushed this to the absolute limits for their latest video Ten Pounds Of Shit In A Five Pound Bag. True to from the band were still able to come across as a bunch of ‘Terrys’ despite having a member of the band strap a rubber phallus to his head.

Despite the entertaining video, Ten Pounds Of Shit In A Five Pound Bag is actually one of my least favourite tracks on the album. Not to say that it isn’t a good track, but I find that tracks like Die Before You Die, Scattered, Spookin’ The Animals, Entrapment, Piss Wreck, & Disgrace Yourself to be better representations of the albums aggressive hard edge.

The album was recorded at Goatsound studios in Melbourne and was produced by Jason Fuller. The recorded tones and the final mix manages to sound cutting edge and modern without loosing any of the crusty underground vibe. It’s grimy, ugly and dark, but sounds like a major label release – from that respect I think they’ve got the production just right.

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King Parrot

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King Parrot play no frills, no nonsense music but don’t think for a second that it’s simple or easy to play. As you’d expect all of the members of the band are in fine form on this release, playing their high velocity parts with tangible aggression. Todd Hansen’s drumming is particularly noteworthy. He’s got that Dave Lombardo quality to the way he plays – he’s like an overloaded freight train which only just manages to stay on the tracks. His parts add to the chaos, yet provide a reliable anchor for the rest of the band.

The album has attitude, and it’s attitude that doesn’t feel forced or contrived. Every one of Matt Young’s screamed lyrics feels sincere which certainly adds to the sense of legitimacy. Established fans will certainly lap this album up; it has everything you’d want from a KP release. On the flip side, people who have struggled to see what the fuss is about to date will find this album to be a more focused and compelling listen than anything the band has released previously. This album should do well with new and old fans alike.

You cant dispute that King Parrot are original in what they do, and do it very, very well. Ugly Produce is clearly one of the best new releases you’ll hear from an Australian band in 2017.

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AMNPLIFY – DB

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Reviewer Details

  • Chris Reid