Review: King Parrot @ UniBar Adelaide 22/11/25
Touring the country in support of their fourth studio album, A Young Person's Guide to King Parrot, Melbourne’s grindcore legends King Parrot left a trail of destruction in their wake as they blew the roof off UniBar Adelaide.
Words Will Oakeshott // Image Ross Halfin
King Parrot w/ScarnOn, Headbore & Sundowner @ UniBar Adelaide 22/11/25
‘Spookin’ The Animals’ is the title of the final track of grindcore trailblazers King Parrot’s ARIA-nominated third album Ugly Produce, but on this night, it served as a conceptual motif for the entire event. Those above three words, to a degree, have a multi-dimensional allusion tied in with this metaphor. The ‘Parrot’s admirers are a remarkably rumbunctious collection, on a global scale. If they were to be the “animals” in this analogy, each outfit that performed had the astounding aptitude to “spook” the unrestrained wildlife into a hellish hysteria.
Unquestionably, this became an onslaught of outstanding musical derangement that left us all ‘Sick In The Head’.
Local death-blues-sludge-metal act Sundowner were to be the commencement of this terRIF(F)ying adventure, although, for the purpose of this illustration, the quartet are also to be referred to as a malevolent creature. For this writer, the four-piece essentially created the soundtrack to the Pliosaurus, an extinct oceanic apex predator of the Jurassic period that could measure up to 15 metres in length, and this marine reptile had a bite as strong as a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
A barrage of noise erupted from the Adelaideans signalling their launch, then a Black Sabbath inspired drone of grotesque greatness commenced this predatory soundtrack. The symbolic Pliosaurus can now be envisioned roaming through the depths, seeking out its prey, heavily waving its fins in a slow yet calculated manner to move around the depths of the ocean. Then, approximately halfway through the composition, guitarist Josh Frost radically riffed his six-string, stirring a punk mayhem of madness where the creature escalated its movement, gliding toward its prey, nearing the surface. Sundowner themselves hit their stride in hardcore-driven ruthlessness; the bloodbath had begun. The slaughter was fast-paced, but the devouring was thwarted and enraptured. This deathly song is entitled ‘Degenerate Subculture’ and the murderous sea reptile had its first metallic munch.
‘Substance Abuse’ narrated the beast’s travels in a malicious magnificence, while vocalist Olivia Burton snarled in luminous lunacy. ‘Lysergic Ritual’ became the soundtrack for the carnivore’s follow-up attacks, with a cacophonous groove that added an element of wondrousness to the wretched assault.
Closer ‘Paranoia Sect’ moved from Pallbearer’s doom metal majesty, to a blackened-blues fusion that was fantastically frightening, to a sludge-punk rock motivation that Cancer Bats would adore. OBurton fell to her knees in a frenzy of shrieks, growls and even laughter while bassist Mark Page lifted his bass to the air in exultation.
The Pliosaurus had spooked the animals and Sundowner the audience. It was now ready to return to the depths, hopefully to re-emerge in the very near future for its next burst of fury.
“Only one of us bites!” frontman Adam Fisher from Adelaide’s thrash-groove-death metallers HEADBORE proclaimed, spookin’ but enticing the growing audience. It became abundantly clear that the quintet has a loyal following, and deservedly so; their brand of mischievous metal revelry is very infectious. The marching and siren-sounds of ‘Sticks And Stones’, with circle-pit provoking mania, proved what a well-oiled machine the five-piece are. Sequenced, savage and soaring – the band are best likened in this article to a flock of Pterodactyls, and they do bite.
‘Branded’, the title track from their latest LP, caused the vivacious vocalist to swoop down on his animals and join them in a rockin’ rave. Quickly, Mr Fisher escalated back into the skies (well, the stage), for his whispered interlude, before the band ignited in a flight of intensity and levitating breakdowns.
‘Life To Own’ would work wonderfully with the Avatar film in the “flight of ikran” scene, and possessed that adrenalised substance superbly in the live setting. ‘Don’t Save Me’ was indisputably the fiercest HEADBORE composition, a death metal opera, this was the Pterodactyl flock at full flying force, dominating the stratosphere. The animals below could only admire their devastating distinction, unless they were descended upon - thankfully, both of the above occurred. Undeniably, this showcase was now elevating to near riot status.
READ MORE: Review: I Killed the Prom Queen @ Hindley Street Music Hall 09/10/25
Sunbury’s ScarnOn (as in: “What’s going on?” in very Ocker phrasing) were assuredly a whole different beast in this line-up, and in the best way possible. As the trio enticed the audience with their slowish desert rock pulsations to begin, along the lines of a Queens Of The Stone Age B-side, the crowd numbers started to build, but with hesitation.
This is a similar attack ritual for the Spider-Tailed Horned Viper, a snake that possesses a distinctive spider-like tail tip, which it uses to lure unsuspecting prey into striking distance. In this scenario, the spectators at Adelaide UniBar are the prey (in the reptile’s home of Iran, though, it is usually birds) approaching three enticing serpents who use their math-metal-pub-punk to draw the witnesses closer and closer…
Then, STRIKE!
However, the venom was ScarnOn’s intoxicating music and the “horn” was the hand gesture that the majority of the large audience propelled into the air in adoration of the three-piece.
‘Strings’ was a colossal number that fused the innovative riffage of Truckfighters, the storytelling of The Chats, the experimentation of Head Wound City, and then guided by the loud/quiet dynamics of a grunge/metallic hybrid. All in one composition.
Vocalist/guitarist Jack Condy excellently exhibited glimmers of Daniel Johns in his youth, but with more amazing anarchy and humour included. Irrefutably, his musicianship was phenomenal, and the air guitarists in the audience were upholding their jazz-fingers in respect.
‘Go Hard Or Go Home’ was a math-metal-punk extravaganza with an earth-shattering and driving percussive beat courtesy of drummer (and Jack’s father) Dazz Condy. Epileptic fits were almost materialising from the intense nodding and sporadic body movements of the eager moshers.
“What this empty space cunt?” JC announced, demanding that more attendees come closer to the stage. It was filled very quickly, and the “DICKHEAD!” chant for ‘(Dickhead With A) Bighead’ was magically monstrous. The song is a marvellous mutation of A Wilhelm Scream and Doomriders, but with a slab of Aussie injected into it, gratefully.
Bloody oath, this crowd was won over!
‘Bad Breath’ was an uppercut of punk psychosis where bassist Sammy P Crawford practically dislocated his neck with headbanging mania. This whole ordeal flawlessly introduced arguably the best closing song the Adelaide UniBar has seen in decades: ‘Stage Fright At The Piss Trough’.
“This song is about going for a piss at a urinal right next to a bloke.” Jack eloquently advised.
That eloquence, fast turned into recklessness. One would be hard pressed to find another time where Adelaide has hosted a deafening sing-along to the lyrics: “I can’t piss unless I’m standing alone” in a venue with hundreds of rock enthusiasts.
ScarnOn achieved this (ur)incredibly, with a delivery that Mutoid Man would have been envious of.
South Australia had been spooked and struck by the venom of ScarnOn for the first time; their horns are appreciably raised very high. Come back post-haste and poison us again, also never GROW UP.
What other creature could be used in this analogy for the grindcore luminaries King Parrot? It has to be the parrot, however, one may be surprised to know that there is a breed of mountain parrot that have been observed hunting, killing and eating sheep.
Wild parrot behaviours remain quite a mystery because they can remove tracking devices that are placed on them.
Many parrots enjoy dancing, but some are never trained to do so.
When KP attack a stage, what may transpire is a mystery, but it is always wild, and there is always dancing of some type.
‘Bozo’ opened up this astounding absurdity, and the chaos was instantaneous. Frontman Matt Young was a lunatic, hunting and biting spectators’ phones trying to film the madman, and bellowing in the faces of his fanatics with intimidating glee. Bassist Wayne “Auntie Slatts” Slattery was dancing often, and his charismatic comedy was one that MUST be witnessed.
There were moments during the DEMONStration where guitarist Andrew “Squiz” Livingstone-Squires seemed to have been mostly decapitated, as his furious headbanging seemed to have dislodged his cervical spine. Guitarist Ari White was as energised. Running a practical marathon, he was basically flying. New drummer Max Dangerfield altered the heartbeat of the Adelaide CBD with his superhuman blastbeats.
Kings indeed.
‘Epileptic Butcher’ hosted a groove before its gargantuan delirium of grindioseness. ‘Disgrace Yourself’ had Youngy point out the highly-strung fan wearing a “TEMU King Parrot t-shirt”, the track obviously became very suiting to the over-intoxicated punter. ‘Get What Ya Given’ exploded, and the mosh responded improperly, but perfectly in a furious frenzy. ‘Target Pig Elite’ maintained the spectacular unruliness, and ‘Psychotherapy And Valium’ was sensationally savage as a follow-up.
“Give it up for Opeth!” Matt Young bellowed sarcastically, but clearly ecstatic that many animals were present to be spooked by the Victorians again.
‘It’s A Rort’ was simply prodigious in its own twisted way. ‘Hell Comes Your Way’ concluded with a woman involuntarily lending her pink-framed glasses to Youngy, then Slattz. It must be stated that their luminous colour did enhance the Parrot's vibrancy. The bassist then returned the spectacles so she could witness the spectacle of the circle-pit, featuring the crazed frontman as the conductor.
“Sorry, I had to get down there and show you how to moshpit”. He Dead Set explained, as the UniBar had well and truly become ‘Glazed And Diseased In Defeat’.
However, a conclusion was beyond required, and came in the form of the grindcore anthem ‘Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On’. This turned the majority of the concertgoers (and the band themselves) into enraged party animals.
There was to be no encore, unless one counts Youngy shining his moon to the entire venue. Nevertheless, we were spooked into oblivion, one attendee was even removed by security for anti-sober behaviour, and the storm had finally settled throughout South Australia.
Ultimately, King Parrot will always ‘Bite Your Head Off’.
