This African Grey Parrot Is More Metal than You

Are you a recovering '80s Metallica aficionado who thinks modern heavy metal music has gone to the birds? Well, you're partly correct.

Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Hatebeak is an avian-fronted (yes, you read that correctly) death-metal band whose distorted guitar solos and aggressive drumming is accompanied by the shrill squawks of a 27-year-old African Grey parrot named Waldo.

If you’re a card-carrying metal-head who’s never heard of Hatebeak, don’t get your feathers in a bunch. For one, the group, which was founded by (human) members Blake Harrison and Mark Sloan in 2003, never tours; the two apparently fear that the decibel levels could physically harm Waldo the Parrot more than any mosh or circle pit ever could. Also, despite celebrity fans like Howard Stern and collaborations with now-defunct dog-fronted band, Caninus, Waldo and his bandmates have largely, uh, flown under the pop-culture radar.

This past June, Hatebeak reunited after an eight-year hiatus to release a comeback album, The Number of the Beak. Featuring head-thrashers such as “Beak of Putrefaction” and “Hellbent for Feathers,” the work is available in cassette, CD, and limited vinyl runs.

…Is it too late to declare “Roost in Peace” as the song of the summer?