King Parrot

About King Parrot

King Parrot came out of Melbourne in 2010 with one mission: play the fastest, nastiest grindcore they could while maintaining just enough of a sense of humor to keep things from getting too self-serious. The lineup coalesced around vocalist Matt Young, whose voice sounds like someone gargling broken glass in the best possible way, and guitarists Slatts and Squizzy Joe, who seemed determined to prove that Australian metal could be just as unhinged as anything coming out of Europe or the States.

Their first proper release, the Bite Your Head Off EP in 2011, established the template: relentless blast beats, grinding riffs that last about fifteen seconds before morphing into something equally punishing, and Young's completely unhinged vocal delivery. It got them noticed in the extreme metal underground, which led to signing with Housecore Records, Philip Anselmo's label. That association gave them immediate credibility with the Pantera faithful and opened doors internationally.

The debut album Bite Your Head Off dropped in 2012 and expanded on everything the EP promised. Songs like "Shit on the Liver" and "Like a Rat" became staples, the kind of tracks that work equally well clearing out a room of normies or inciting total chaos in a dive bar. The album didn't reinvent grindcore, but it brought an Australian larrikin energy to a genre that can sometimes take itself way too seriously.

Dead Set followed in 2015, showing a band getting tighter and meaner. They'd toured relentlessly between albums, sharing stages with everyone from Clutch to Napalm Death, and it showed in the precision. The songs were still short, sharp shocks to the system, but there was more groove creeping in, more punk attitude layered over the grind foundation.

By Ugly Produce in 2017, King Parrot had become something like elder statesmen of the Australian extreme metal scene, which is a weird thing to say about a band whose song titles remain gleefully unprintable. They'd proven they could sustain a career in one of metal's most demanding subgenres without compromising or mellowing out.

These days they continue doing what they've always done, just with more road scars and better stories. The live show remains their calling card, with Young prowling stages like a man possessed and the band delivering their particular brand of controlled chaos with the confidence of veterans. They're not chasing crossover success or trying to evolve into something more palatable. They found their lane early and have been content to stay there, refining the approach rather than reinventing it. In a genre built on intensity and brevity, that kind of consistency is its own achievement.

King Parrot shows are sweaty, packed rooms with metal heads who came ready to move. They deliver locked-in, groove-heavy sets where the riffs feel physical. Pits form immediately. The band plays with visible intensity but zero pretension—just tight execution and presence.

Known for Tame Impala, Vultures, Save Yourself, Black Tooth, Respect

See King Parrot Live