Review Summary: Phil Anselmo's help with Dead Set is undoubtedly evident here, but King Parrot have essentially created another solid, if not altogether perfect record.
It's common knowledge that Phil Anselmo is something of a busy man these days-outside of his various side projects, that is. In the last decade or so the man has built a horror-themed attraction named House of Shock with some friends, turned his vocal talents to voice acting (I mean come on, taking on the voice of Satan is surely evidence of being 100% metal), and most importantly, started his own record label-The ever reputable Housecore Records, which has unsurprisingly spawned fresh talent from the day it had begun. One of the newer bands to have emerged from this label's deep recesses is King Parrot, an Australian band who play a solid fusion of hardcore-tinged deathgrind (quite a mouthful to say out loud, but never mind). Now, it also helps to know that prior to the release of King Parrot's new album,
Dead Set, the band had been partying/recording with Phil Anselmo himself. Hell, even the band's bassist himself (called "Slattz", incidentally) has evidently slept in the same bed with Anselmo, later admitting to Metal Hammer that "he still had a hard-on in the morning". Indeed.
You see, musically, King Parrot were always going to hit Anselmo in one of his very few soft spots anyway. The man himself has always been a self-confessed lover of extreme metal, particularly grindcore and its many seemingly pointless sub-sub-genres. On
Dead Set, King Parrot prove that they simply love to play gnarly deathgrind and have fun at the very same time. Youngy has the cartoonish vocal style which may or may not annoy the listeners repeatedly throughout the album's 34-minute runtime, but what's really the most important thing here is the musicianship and the members' individual performances. So, we have the breakneck-paced grindcore-influenced songs ("Anthem of the Advance Sinner", "Like a Rat", "Punisher"), and the groovier, slower-paced numbers ("Need no Savior", "Sick in the Head", "Reject"). Instrumentally, things are just very solid, so much so that it would be hard for a fan of extreme metal not to enjoy at least some part of this record. The guitars are mostly crunchy, the drums are tight and efficient at all times, and the bass work is audible enough not to feel left out. On songs like "Reject", where the intro is basically made up of a neat communicative interplay between bass and guitar work, the band's penchant for more focused songwriting and its collaboration with heavy instrumental performance is quality. And on the album's definitive highlight, that is the groovy, mid-paced monster "Home is where the Gutter is", you can see glimpses of the band progressing with more complex musical ideas.
It's not perfect, and it's probably worth noting that without Anselmo's involvement in this album's production and recording,
Dead Set probably wouldn't be as hyped as it has been over the last few months. Nonetheless, it remains a very fun and engaging record, which seeks to seamlessly flow between hardcore, grindcore and deathgrind, whilst never seeming to underwhelm the listener's expectations. The only problem aside from the somewhat cartoonish vocals is that
Dead Set seems to be over too soon, but that is inevitable given the band are reportedly a more exciting live act than they are in the studio.
