If you asked any Australian metalhead to nominate a band that represents something akin to a modern metal fairytale, most, if not all, would say Parkway Drive. Simply remaining solid and active as a band for 20 years is a difficult and impressive feat, particularly in heavy music. But what Byron Bay’s greatest musical success story has achieved in 20 years is nothing short of astounding. In 2003, they were larrikins moshing with their mates in Byron Bay community halls. Seven albums later, they’re a household name that has catapulted metal towards the mainstream, and they’re selling out stadiums in a national anniversary tour supported by some of the biggest names in metalcore. Somehow it feels like the quintet are just getting started in this triumphant new chapter of their already legendary career. Tonight is the first show of the tour, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, no less – props to Brisbane, this is the add-on show as the original sole Brisbane date sold out so quickly. Having last seen the band when they pulled off a magnificent, pyro-driven set at Good Things Festival, I have high expectations for the spectacle that awaits us tonight.
Melburnian metalcore mavericks Void of Vision have the great but daunting honour of opening the proceedings tonight, and they deliver a polished, tight and fierce performance to the gathering crowd of eager earlybirds. The quartet launches straight into a dystopian industrial-core audiovisual experience propelled by strobes and chunky riffs. Guitarists James McKendrick and Mitch Fairlie must be in an unholy low tuning to make up for the absence of a bassist, and this booming low end combined with frontman Jack Bergin’s feral core screams successfully gets a jump pit going by the second track. The crowd loosens up further with a succession of ravecore bangers including recent single Empty and Altar, for which Jack exquisitely builds the tension with an extended intro which then dissolves into two swirling circle pits when the riff finally kicks in. Jack remarks that bands like Parkway Drive are the reason why Void of Vision can do what they do, and tonight, they’ve crushed it.
A cinematic intro reveals Californian metalcore veterans The Ghost Inside, who after many incredibly difficult years seem to be back at the top of their game. Opening with the punishing Death Grip, the quintet crash in with a colossal sound that immediately fuels throwdowns in the pit. Unfortunately, the drum kit kicks are turned up so high in the live mix that it is a little distracting. Nevertheless, the band maintains intensity and precision in their performance, and you’ve really got to hand it to drummer Andrew Tkaczyk who pummels tirelessly through these brutally heavy tracks with one leg. We’re treated to a career-spanning catalogue of hits, including Pressure Point, Dark Horse and Mercy, whose swaggering groove fires up the circle pit and inspires a singalong. Frontman Jonathan Vigil recounts the story of their tragic tour bus crash from nearly a decade ago, remarking that this tour with Parkway Drive feels like their second chance at greatness after rising from the ashes. I’m sensing a theme for the night here – making dreams come true against all odds. Wrapping it up with The Ghost Inside staple Engine 45, it’s a compelling set from the Cali gents that deserved a more balanced live mix.
Production value begins to rise exponentially with the arrival of Michigan rock sensations I Prevail. A creepy hooded figure on the BEC’s giant video screens announces that “this is the beginning of the end”, then the band emerge on stage to deafening cheers from the now packed crowd, who are pretty amped up as the six-piece open with There’s Fear in Letting Go. A bright neon lyric video backdrop teams up with relentless strobes to create a futuristic, slightly unsettling cyberpop-fuelled rage rave. This live mix is perfection – pristine and punchy, and showing off the dual (and duel) talents of frontmen Brian Burkheiser and Erik Vanleberghe, whose crisp back-and-forth clean to harsh dynamic is electrifying. All members of the band are true showmen, oozing effortless charisma.
Seething circle pits surge for Body Bag and Self-Destruction, and there’s a primal intensity in the latter that culminates in mosh mayhem. Their famous cover of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space goes hard, particularly when the band unexpectedly barrels into a deathcore breakdown halfway through. I think Taylor would be proud to see the multitude of black shirts fight dancing to one of her beloved bops. Brian asks for more circle pits and is rewarded with veritable maelstroms for heavier tracks like Visceral and Choke. After the rousing Hurricane, there’s a final interruption from our faceless serial killer video MC, and then the set closes out with the one-two punch of Bow Down and Gasoline that send the mosh further into a frenzy.
As fabulous as all the sets have been so far tonight, nothing could have prepared us for the extravaganza that Parkway Drive have in store. A montage of photos showing their stratospheric rise from humble beginnings sets the scene. Then the spotlight shines on the band who appear in the grandstands, brandishing a giant flag with frontman Winston McCall clad in a white hood, like a boxing match entry. They move in a regal procession through the crowd to take their place on a tiny square stage set up in the middle of the mosh. All 5 of them crammed on that small platform is oddly intimate and reminiscent of their earliest shows. Amid raucous chants, they rip into Carrion, which is a stellar choice of opener, instantly inspiring an arena-wide singalong and movement in the mosh, followed by jump pits for Prey.
Now the curtain falls dramatically to reveal the jaw-dropping set on the master stage. A colossal industrial steel beam structure with built-in drum riser frames the stage, and beneath it, four dancers undulate menacingly to a cinematic score. The band take the big stage and launch into Glitch as the dancers’ movements grow more violent and frenetic, acting out a visceral breaking free of restraints. Now things really start to kick off with a mind-boggling array of massive pyro blasts. Our first older track of the night is Sleepwalker, and boy, does it go off like a rocket. Winston announces that this show is about celebration tonight, and we all know what that means – the most unhinged mosh pits you can imagine.
The tribal chants of Vice Grip are followed by the ferocious Boneyards, another older track that stirs up no fewer than five circle pits surging simultaneously. The track is interrupted partway to reveal a very special guest appearance by none other than I Killed The Prom Queen’s Michael Crafter, to whom Winston pays tribute as IKTPQ gave Parkway Drive their first shows way back in the day. Then for Horizons, Winston tells us that he wrote this early on when he feared the band wouldn’t go the distance. But when lead guitarist Jeff Ling stands on the walkway, shredding to high heaven as it then literally rises up and emanates gigantic fireworks sparks, I think we can all safely say that hasn’t been the case. Winston dons a Matrix leather coat and a gnarly spiked microphone stand for The Void and Wishing Wells, both of which are punctuated by bursts of smoke and sparks to further fuel the rabid mosh.
The boys from Byron Bay have pulled out all the stops for this tour as they treat us to an extended medley of the heaviest breakdowns from their 2005 album ‘Killing With A Smile’ including Gimme A D, Smoke ‘Em If Ya Got ‘Em and Romance Is Dead. This provokes absolute carnage in the pit; the sea of black shirts move like a tornado of wild animals. At one point, Winston ends up elevated in the mosh, the circle pits swirling around him, and like the world’s best dad, he props a young lad from the crowd up on his shoulders. That’s a very special core memory formed for that kid. Then as Winston crowd surfs his way back to the stage, I think we’ve seen everything – but we’re not done yet. Another brief moment of darkness, then the walkway lowers to reveal a string trio who lend their orchestral rapture to Chronos, with a particularly impressive shred-off between Jeff and the Cellist.
Darker Still, already an intensely emotional track, hits me hard tonight with the addition of the live strings and the sight of the starry night sky of phone lights. A giant steel PWD logo is then lowered during Bottom Feeder, and it catches fire with brilliance as jump pit anarchy rages beneath it. But it’s during Crushed that the most awe-inspiring sights await. Echoing the music video for the track, the drum riser box begins to spin a full 180 degrees and back so drummer Ben Gordon is pounding the kit while completely upside down. And if this weren’t impressive enough, the most spectacular pyro display yet bursts from both the stage and the raised walkway as Winston growls at us majestically from on high. Closing out with the whole band back on the small stage for Wild Eyes, it feels like we’ve come full circle after experiencing the most exhilarating audiovisual assault on our senses.
Tonight was truly the most spectacular concert I have ever attended, but what resonated most throughout Parkway Drive’s set was how much they are still those fun-loving rascals from 20 years ago at their core. Even with all the glitz and glamour, there was such a deep sense of relatability, of family, that the band conveyed with their humble and authentic way of connecting with the many thousands of rapt, devoted fans present. All the money in the world can’t buy what Parkway Drive retain to this day, which is talent, class, and hearts of gold. And that, for me, is the real dream come true.
Thanks to Dallas Does PR
