Every other Friday, Waldo the African Grey Parrot, frontbird of thrash-grind immortals Hatebeak, will get you caught up on the week’s latest “extreme” releases.

Waldo here, and while there’s PLENTY of new metal releases to hate on coming up in the next few weeks, your old feathered friend is going to turn DOWN the hate for a bit. Trying something new for my karma, so to squawk.

THE most metal forehead in, well, metal, Rutan and crew come forth with Phoenix Amongst the Ashes by HATE ETERNAL. HATE ETERNAL is fucking right, too—this thing is evil, heavy, twisted and melodic. Out-weirding Morbid Angel is no easy task, and while HE  fall just shy of the mark on that, this thing is fucking sick. DEFINITELY an improvement over their other records. Drummer Jade Simonetto is certainly a great replacement for Roddy. Voivod-esque riffs, off-time solos—this thing keeps moving, like a giant storm crawling its way to pummel your meager existence. What Morbid Angel SHOULD sound like now. Complex, insane: this thing is FUCKED UP. Let’s just hope the live show can catch up with the intensity of the recorded material. Meaner than Chris Brown was to Rihanna. 8 Fucking Pecks.

From the frosty wintry tundra of Brooklyn comes LITURGY with their new one, Aesthetica. Transcendental black metal? What the squawk does that mean? All in all, the production is kinda  weak, and there are a lot of choir chant-y parts that this bird brain doesn’t really understand. The vocals are pretty squawking intense, though. There’s definitely some bird shit that doesn’t fit the traditional black metal mold (see track 4, “Generation”). Is that really a bad thing, though? The only bad egg to be smelled in this nest is the idea that one can’t help but think of these guys as some new jack New York hipsters. I know Brooklyn is known for its solitude and long cold nights where feet of snow will pile at your cabin in the mountains, but this isn’t that bad. Interesting take on black metal. 6 Fucking Pecks.

FUCKING WORMROT. It’s about time Earache did something right besides reissuing every classic record they have. Dirge is fucking gnarly, giddyup beats, crust riffs, starts and stops, and the right amount of mosh parts all slammed into one intense grindcore package. This three-piece is from Singapore, so who knows: maybe they just never have heard a modern grind record. All of the classic grind elements are there, of course, managing to stay fresh and not like some rehashed version of Napalm Death circa whenever. A must have. 9 Fucking Pecks.

ZOMBI have broken up and gotten back together more than Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, but they are back (for the time being) with Escape Velocity. This is NOT going to be everyone’s cup of seeds. Gone are the proto Goblin-esque horror film anthems, as are the proggy tributes to Yes. Escape Velocity sounds kind of like something that should be pumped from an Abercrombie & Fitch. Trippy and strange, and dance-y, however it IS appealing on some level. I really want to peck someone’s eyes out to this, but it’s grown on me like feathers after a good molt. If this sounds like it isn’t your thing, then it probably isn’t, don’t get it. For you, it’d probably be more like ZZZOMBI, but in this avian supremacist’s opinion, it’s a fine-feathered release. PLUS there’s a BUTT on the cover. 7 Fucking Pecks.

That’s it; Waldo want a slaughter and will spray some bird shit all over some new releases for you in a couple of weeks.

Anyone want to add a circle and line over my man K.K. Downing because he has left Judas Priest before their fake farewell tour.

One of the band’s founding members has decided to hang up his flying V after 40 goddamn years, citing internal problems with “elements of the band” and management. I’m not sure what these could be but I’d hazard to say it might have something to do with Halford saying like two months ago they were quitting and then turning around and talking about writing a new album and how of course they’re not quitting. Okay, maybe that’s just something that pisses me off. But obviously Downing felt strongly enough that he couldn’t even do one more tour with the band he founded 40 fucking years ago.

Any theories, ladies and gentlemen? What could infuriate the 59-year old so bad he had to jump ship?

Think about it while you munch on these sweet Priest videos:

Oh, and they got some new guy who played guitar for the daughter of Steve Harris. Don’t care.

Discovery Channel has Shark Week. Decibel Magazine has Stream Week. We’ve ‘streamiered’ (copyright, please) Septicflesh’s “A Great Mass of Death” (Season of Mist), In Solitude’s “Serpents Are Rising” (Metal Blade), and now we’re saving the best — Decibel Editor-in-Chief Albert Mudrian has officially screamed the following platitude while standing on his desk both hands outstretched to the Heavens, “The best death metal record I’ve heard in FOREVER!” — for last. That’s right, Decizens. We’re premiering the new Hate Eternal track “Lake Ablaze” (Metal Blade) from the group’s upcoming album, Phoenix Amongst the Ashes.

If Albert uses all caps “FOREVER” and ends it with an exclamation point “!” it’s a sure sign he’s endorsed the record to the fullest extent possible, which is kind of rare in the grand scheme of things. So, if you trusted Albert and his editorial ways in Decibel, Choosing Death, and Precious Metal, then Phoenix Amongst the Ashes must be, in Fenriz parlance, “the bee’s knees”.

Don’t trust Albert? Then maybe Erik Rutan, Hate Eternal’s niceguy-firebrand, is more to your liking: “‘Lake Ablaze’ is a song that starts with a traditional kind of Hate Eternal vibe to it, but travels down a much more heavier and darker path. With its sinister dynamics and truly creepy aura, I think this song really stands out for its unique elements and is just pure evil to the ears. Every song on this album is very unique from one another, so this is one of many journeys people will endure while listening to Phoenix Amongst The Ashes.”

Hate Eternal: “Lake Ablaze” by Decibel Magazine

** Hate Eternal’s new album, Phoenix Amongst the Ashes, is in stores and online May 10, 2011. Check out another track, “Haunting Abound”, and pre-order the album here.