King Parrot have become very much a ‘show’ band as opposed to a ‘tell’ – you can tell people about them all you like, but you’d have to show them in order for them to truly get it. You could do far worse than show one of King Parrot’s music videos, their most famous being the Bonox-loving sensation ‘Shit On The Liver’. The video cemented a reputation when it came to the band’s audiovisual representation – and, while many would consider that a burden, these local thrash/grind boys see it as a challenge.

“I get emails from people that have never listened to heavy metal in their life – they just like the videos!” laughs bassist Wayne ‘Slatts’ Slattery. “We get shared around offices and things like that. We’ve really come to enjoy making them – when that first video came out, we more or less had no idea what we were doing. We were just looking to draw attention to the band – especially for people that’d never seen us live before.”

It’s suggested that people are drawn to King Parrot’s videos on account of the connection between the extremely aggressive music and the dark humour employed in them. “We always play our music professionally, but away from that we’re all just fucking around,” says Slattery. “We always like to inject humour into what we do. I know there are a lot of bands out there that are predominantly concerned with their corpse paint or looking tough – there’s certainly a place for that, but at the same time, I think there’s room to be a bit of a fuckwit as well.”

King Parrot are on the verge of releasing their second studio album, Dead Set, this week. Fans have already been treated to singles ‘Like A Rat’ and ‘Home Is Where The Gutter Is’. The latter, in particular, is indicative of a group exploring a new stylistic approach – it’s a slower, more blackened metal sound, with vocalist Matt Young showcasing a far lower range than many would be used to hearing. One could assume that tracks like this are indicative of the band challenging itself to try new things, but Slattery clarifies – to borrow a phrase from Crowded House – that it’s only natural.

“I wouldn’t say it was completely intentional,” he says. “I think it was just a different approach to creating. We had a month off last year in America because it was too expensive to fly back between two tours, so we had four weeks in which we just wrote, rehearsed and created. We had all five of us in a barn together. We were able to explore different elements – go slower, go heavier, go faster. It all came down to the way we were writing.”

The band is currently on a national tour in support of Dead Set with cut-throat punk-metal proprietors High Tension, as well as blackened doom barnstormers Colossvs. It’s a decidedly mixed bill, which is something Slattery and the rest of King Parrot pride themselves on.

“I’ve absolutely no interest in going to a show where every band sounds the same,” he says. “That’s what metal is – it’s so many different things. I think that punters will feel the same – it’s so much better when every band on a bill is bringing something different to the table. That’s why you’ve gotta get there early and you’ve gotta stick around till the end. With us three together, honestly, it’s gonna blow people away.”

Dead Set is out now through EVP Recordings. SeeKing Parrot, withHigh Tension and Colossvs, atNewtown Social Club onSaturday May 23and The Small Ballroom, Newcastle onSunday May 24.

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