siLLy puPPy Grindcore is one of the subgenres of metal that appeals to me the least. It’s not that i don’t like the relentless blast beats, unintelligible tortured vocals and highly distorted guitar assaults but rather it comes across as a one-dimensional style of playing for the most part and being primarily attracted to progressive expansion in music, this is one style that generally appeals to only the primeval atavistic responses to aggression and mosh pitting. I do have my favorites of the sub such as Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death, early Carcass and Cattle Decapitation but having listened to more of this stuff that’s more because i heard them first and what i’ve stuck with.

So given that limited parameters of grindcore, how does one spice it up to stand out from the seemingly endless army of clones that this style generates? Well, how about inviting your pet parrot to be the lead singer? Why not?!!! That’s exactly what Blake Harrison (seasoned drummer of Pig Destroyer) and Mark Sloan (guitar and bass) did with HATEBEAK to add some spice to the whole thing. Yes, you thought you’ve heard it all but this is indeed the first band ever to feature an avian lead singer. This one is Waldo, a 21 year old Congo African grey parrot. I’m sure you’ve been waiting your entire lives for such a development in the musical world! Well, why not? There’s always been those Jingle Bell dogs barking the melody to the Christmas song and there is even another grindcore band called Caninus that has a pit-bull woofin’ it up on the mic.

Yeah, i know this sounds like a total gimmick and to be fair it certainly is! But there are a few things that make this more interesting than many grindcore releases out there. First of all this band doesn’t take itself seriously in any way. This could be considered a parody album first and foremost with its play on words with the name of the band itself from Hatebreed and the clever lifting of Iron Maiden’s classic album cover. And the titles are clever too with such classics as “Birdzum,” “Molt Thrower,” “Roost In Peace,” “Birdseeds Of Vengeance,” “Hellbent For Feathers” and “The Thing That Should Not Beak” all parodying the metal history books and making them bird friendly!

All silly stuff i know and despite my love of novelties this would fall flat if the music was totally lame. Well, this IS grindcore and not the progressive jazz-fusion kind or anything of the sort. You can expect the typical ear splitting distortion and the feel of a jackhammer being ground in a compactor (the popular description) sound that accompanies this style of music, however HATEBEAK employs more styles than most bands of this sort. They have blistering loud and obnoxious parts contrast with quieter and more subdued parts and there are many death metal elements lurking about as well. Waldo’s vocals are obviously sampled and more or less provide a “squawking” instrument instead of actual vocals so in effect there are still unintelligible lyrics. There are also some synth parts to provide atmospheric parts and there are human vocals to be heard as well.

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAK is the debut album by HATEBEAK despite actually forming in 2003. Prior to this 2015 release they only released a couple splits with Caninus and Birdflesh. While many will probably find this whole idea to be completely ridiculous, i have to admit that i’m liking this much better than i thought i would. HATEBEAK keep all the fundamentals of grindcore in play by paying homage to their influences ranging from early Carcass to the modern day but seem to remember that music can actually be fun! Between the humorous song titles, the aggressive squawking samples of Waldo and the furious riffs and alternating styles of metal involved here i find i’ve grown quite fond the whole parrot taking the mic thing. I know, what next? A band that uses cow moos for vocals called Judas Beast? We can only wait and see.