I remember reading about Parkway Drive in Kerrang! on my way to Copenhell 2018 and thinking there was no way they could live up to the hype. Then, after I’d seen them in concert I declared to myself that I thought they were world beaters, able to go toe-to-toe with any band in the world. Now at Resurrection Fest was a chance to watch them again and see if the hype was real or I’d gotten it wrong.
….I was not wrong. Parkway Drive are one of the best bands in the world right now and look like they can’t be stopped on their road to world domination. They’re not here to take part. They’re here to take over.
The show started off with the press being cleared out of the media area, we just assumed the area was closing for the night because it was far after midnight by now after the delayed Slayer show earlier. However, emerging behind us we saw torch bearers lighting the way for a procession. I couldn’t believe it, the band was actually going to walk straight through the thousands of people to get to the front of the stage. I still have no idea how they got everyone to move but the tone was set for the night ahead as the band climbed over the barriers.
They get to the stage and it’s not long before it all kicks off. A slow melody for a minute or so for the intro vocals of Wishing Wells off 2018’s record ‘Reverence’, followed by Prey and then Vice Grip, all of which are individual sounds with great guitar riffs designed to get your head banging with hardly a breath between them.
At Copenhell they had the precision and the passion. At Resurrection Fest they added theatrics to the mix, from the entrance walk to the pyrotechnics, fireworks and orchestra (yes actual wind and string instruments being played on stage). We play on through the set with heavy explosive songs like Idols and Anchors from 2007’s album ‘Horizons’, then Writings on the Wall from ‘Ire’ followed by the devastating Absolute Power.
I’ve talked before about Winston McCall’s vocals, after writing my thoughts when seeing them at Copenhell 2018 I said “he holds the audience’s attention and won’t accept anything less!” and it just rings so true this year again. He is a tour de force of a frontman, one of the band’s most recognisable elements. And I definitely feel like Jeff Ling’s guitar parts were particularly exceptional and the guitarist himself was a lot more engaging with the crowd, mouthing along all of their lyrics! It’s always great to see when a band enjoys their own music.
By the time we get to the encore songs, Parkway Drive set Resurrection Fest alight. Literally. The whole stage was in flames and that’s before the fiery torch bearers entered the stage to add even more to the atmosphere. The diversity of entertainment Parkway Drive managed to fit into their slot would make you think they had played a full three hour concert on their own, they absolutely hit it out of the park and please bear in mind their set had been delayed by almost an hour so by now they were playing well past 2 a.m.!
There’s no denying it, Parkway Drive stole the show.
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For work and family reasons, I’ve been forced to skip the warm-up evening yesterday, although it would’ve been interesting to see female rockers L7 and Swedish metal band MUSTASCH. Also billed were NEUROSIS, TURNSTILE and Danish cult phemenon RED WARSZAWA.
I drove from Jutland last night, because I have an early meeting in the centre of Copenhagen. Right after the meeting and a quick lunch, I head out to the festival site. For someone from Jutland, Copenhagen equals traffic chaos, but I find my way to the festival site and change from shirt and jacket into a more appropriate Carcass t-shirt and camouflage shorts.
My first date today is with Delila Paz and the rest of THE LAST INTERNATIONALE. I’ve been enjoying listening to some of their material on Spotify the past couple of weeks. It’s not metal in any way, but more of a retro protest rock kind of thing. It works fine and it’s a nice and slow beginning of the festival. The trio play the small stage, Pandemonium, which is a good thing, because The Last Internationale is in my mind a club band rather than a band for the big stages – at least for now. Their music is infectiously groovy, though, so I reckon The Last Internationale’s potential shouldn’t be underestimated. Apart from a guitar that is far too low in the mix most of the gig, everything is in place.
Today is also the day when the Danish national team meets Australia in the World Cup in Russia. I’m not sure if the 1-1 draw between the two teams is a good thing or a bad thing for the atmosphere during the following PARKWAY DRIVE concert on the Helviti stage, but the Australian metalcore veterans seem to be received well enough by the Copenhell crowd.
Sadly enough, it’s been a really dry May this year, which means that open fire is not allowed in the area around Copenhagen. Consequently, the supposedly gigantic pyros Parkway Drive have been carrying around with them on this tour are a no-go. What a bummer for both audience and band, but probably best for the environment.
Nevertheless, for those who are metalcore fans, I’m certain that this is a memorable gig. I’m not a fan, to be honest, but there are passable riffs here and there, and it’s an entertaining show by a through-and-through sympathetic band. For me, this is mostly metalcore cliches and rather predictably so.
Less predictable is the next live experience on the Pandemonium stage. I’ve been listening to ZEAL AND ARDOR a few times during the past month or so, and I’m not at all sure what I am to expect. The concept of mixing negro spirituals with black metal is both paradoxical and weird from the outset, and exactly how it’ll work live in front of an audience and in the early evening, that’s one of those make or break situations. I’ve probably not expected it to work as well as it turns out to do.
The next 45 minutes are an amazing showcase of how not-so-common blends can also work in front of a metal crowd. When you look at people’s faces, reactions range from disbelief and wonder to complete surrender to the world of Swiss-American Manuel Gagneux, whose vision this is a result of. I’m in the latter camp. The whole setup is simple with no fancy costumes, no gimmicks, no nothing, but the power of the melodies and voices that come out of those six human beings on stage is fascinating and almost hypnotising. If this had been an after dark show, it might have been even more impressive, who knows, but I’m just appreciative of the fact that I got to experience this up-and-coming wonder of the metal scene.
Here’s a snippet of the song ‘Servants’:
Zeal and Ardor setlist:
1. Sacrilegium I
2. In Ashes
3. Servants
4. Come On Down
5. Blood in the River
6. Fire of Motion
7. Waste
8. You Ain’t Coming Back
9. We Can’t Be Found
10. Built on Ashes
11. Ship on Fire
12. Gravedigger’s Chant
13. Row Row
14. Devil Is Fine
15. Don’t You Dare
16. Baphomet
We’ve become much more accustomed to the fact that you can mix operatic singing with metal these days. When NIGHTWISH started out, this wasn’t common at all. Their Oceanborn album made a big impression on many a metal fan, myself included, when it was released back in 1998, and the Finnish band around Toumas Holopainen have kept impressing continuously over the past two decades, both with ambitious albums and great live performances. When Floor Jansen joined Nightwish, the band gained a front woman who was more metal than her predecessors – in fact, possibly more metal than the rest of the band.
Tonight, here in Copenhagen, she is as metal as we’ve gotten used to over those past few years. The guy next to me happens to be a walking, talking Jansen-pedia, and he informs me that this beautiful Dutch woman has a one-and-a-half-year old son, that she played in After Forever before (hey! I knew that, mate!) and that the sound guy should turn up the volume on her voice. I have to agree.
That, however, is probably the only fault I can find on this show. Because a show it is. Nightwish is in every respect a show band. The backdrop is an awesome looking video wall, the band are all over the stage, taking the piss on eachother, and generally just seeming to be happy about what they do together.
Nightwish are touring on the back of the Decades best-of album, which was released earlier this year. Not surprising, then, that this is a best-of show. Although you could argue that any Nightwish show is a best-of show.
It strikes me that the thing that makes Nightwish relevant after all of these years is that they combine total cheesiness with a genuine love for both pop and heaviness as well as a tinge of madness in their compostions. That’s why tons of fans have an enjoyable show tonight – even if Floor’s amazing voice is too low in the mix.
Nightwish setlist:
1. End of All Hope
2. Wish I Had an Angel
3. Come Cover Me
4. Gethsemane
5. Élan
6. Amaranth
7. I Want My Tears Back
8. Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean
9. Nemo
10. Slaying the Dreamer
11. The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter II: Life; Chapter III: The Toolmaker)
12. Ghost Love Score
This is an evening of strong front woman. Possibly the two strongest front women in metal at the moment, in fact. ARCH ENEMY are going from strength to strength, touring like mad and putting out one great album after the other. Their popularity is certainly well-earned – through hard work and a collection of fantastic songs.
Alissa White-Gluz and her hardy men deliver a kick-arse show on this Thursday evening. The dust rises to the Copenhagen sky as the moshpit grows in front of the stage to the sound of opener ‘The World Is Yours’ from the 2017 album by the same title. This is just the first lesson in melodic death metal. Another ten follow over the course of a gig that could easily have lasted another hour if you ask me. As always, the highlight for me is ‘My Apocalypse’. I think I will put it in my will that this song should be played at my funeral – that and Paradise Lost’s ‘Beneath Broken Earth’. Perfect party music!
Arch Enemy setlist:
1. The World Is Yours
2. War Eternal
3. My Apocalypse
4. The Race
5. You Will Know My Name
6. Ravenous
7. The Eagle Flies Alone
8. First Day in Hell
9. As the Pages Burn
10. We Will Rise
11. Nemesis
AVENGED SEVENFOLD are the headliner of the evening. I’m there. I listen. I try to keep an open mind. I don’t get why they are so popular. They are like…Helloween, Maiden, Metallica and some other stuff put into a pot. They are all bands I love to bits, but Avenged Sevenfold are not them, and they don’t strike the right chord for me. The rest of this gig becomes a well-deserved break until I’m heading over to Pandemonium to see a band I find far more interesting, namely the up-and-coming Danish band MØL.
I’ve only listened to MØL’s music very briefly before the festival, which is why I arrive with very few expectations as to what I’ll be hearing. It turns out to be intense stuff. I can see why they are able to build themselves a name right now. They are a sort of combination of shoegaze, 90s alternative rock and black metal. Their universe is one of dark, simple melodies and total rip & tear. This is most definitely a band you’d want to see live for the experience. Very dark matter indeed.
MØL’s gig concludes my first day, even if I’d love to see SOULFLY who close Thursday, also on the Pandemonium stage. A man has to acknowledge his age and limitations and find his bed if he’s expected to do a bit of work the next day – and get ready for another two days at Copenhell, of course.
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Today, Australian metal masters Parkway Drive unleash a new song and video for “Prey”. The track is from the band’s sixth studio album, Reverence, out May 4 on Epitaph.
In the vital and volatile “Prey”, Parkway Drive channel their furious energy into thrashing rhythms and ferocious vocal work while delivering deeply infectious melodies. “Prey” is a gang-vocal-driven anthem that unfolds in both punishing riffs and intricate guitar lines.
Watch the epic performance video for “Prey” now: https://youtu.be/WL_8ZY89dP4
Reverence is the band’s most sonically adventurous album and the most personal from the Byron Bay group. With its barrage of heart-shredding anthems, the album was closely informed by a series of tragedies the band had endured over the past few years, including the untimely loss of two loved ones. “We took stock of what we had and realized what actually mattered. What we went through was horrendous,” says frontman Winston McCall.
“I hope Reverence is the kind of album that redefines what people expect of us, in the sense that you can now expect the unexpected. This time around we’ve taken more risks, and I don’t think we’ve ever sounded more interesting,” says McCall.
Produced by longtime Parkway Drive sound engineer George Hadjichristou, Reverence arrives as the follow-up to 2015’s IRE—Parkway Drive’s most hugely successful album to date and a major force in boosting their ever-growing worldwide following. In addition to broadening the band’s sonic palette, Reverence offers up some of Parkway Drive’s most devastating songs yet.
TRACKLIST FOR REVERENCE:
1. Wishing Wells
2. Prey
3. Absolute Power
4. Cemetery Bloom
5. The Void
6. I Hope You Rot
7. Shadow Boxing
8. In Blood
9. Chronos
10. The Colour Of Leaving
Along with McCall, Parkway Drive features guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling, bassist Jia O’Connor, and drummer Ben Gordon. Formed in Byron Bay in 2002, the band has released five studio albums, all on Epitaph: Killing with a Smile (2005), Horizons (2007), Deep Blue (2010), Atlas (2012), and IRE (2015). With all five albums certified gold in Australia, Parkway Drive have also released two platinum-selling DVDs (2012’s Home is for the Heartless and 2009’s Parkway Drive: The DVD).
Globally praised for their powerful live show, Parkway Drive will return to Europe and United Kingdom this Summer to play some of the biggest festivals on the continent, as well as a handful of headlining shows. Please see below for full details.
PARKWAY DRIVE TOUR DATES
June 1st, 2018 – Nijmegen, FortaRock (NL) – TICKETS
June 2nd,2018 – Nürburgring, Rock Am Ring (DE) – TICKETS
June 3rd, 2018 – Nürnberg, Rock Im Park (DE) – TICKETS
June 5th, 2018 – Lyon, Le Radiant (FR) – TICKETS
June 6th, 2018 – Dornbirn, Conrad Sohm Open Air (AT) – TICKETS
June 7th, 2018 – Interlaken, Greenfield (CH) – TICKETS
June 9th, 2018 – Donington, Download Festival (UK) – TICKETS
June 14th, 2018 – Nickelsdorf, Nova Rock (AT) – TICKETS
June 15th, 2018 – Wroclaw, A2 (PL) – TICKETS
June 16th, 2018 – Gräfenhainichen, With Full Force (DE) – TICKETS
June 18th, 2017 – Stockholm, Fryshuset (SE) – TICKETS
June 19th, 2018 – Oslo, Rockefeller (NO) – TICKETS
June 20th, 2018 – Gothenburg, Pustervik (SE) – TICKETS
June 21st, 2018 – Copenhagen, Copenhell (DK) – TICKETS
June 22nd, 2018 – Dessel, Graspop (BE) – TICKETS
June 23rd, 2018 – Clisson, Hellfest (FR) – TICKETS
June 26th, 2018 – Roma, Rock in Roma (IT) – TICKETS
June 28th, 2018 – Airfield, Panensky Tynec Aerodrome (CZ) – TICKETS
June 29th, 2018 – Madrid, Download Festival (ES) – TICKETS
June 30th, 2018 – Vana-Vigala, Hard Rock Laager (EST) – TICKETS
July 1st, 2018 – Helsinki, Tuska Open Air (FI) TICKETS
Credit: Kane Hibberd
For more information on Parkway Drive, visit:
http://www.parkwaydriverock.com/
https://www.facebook.com/parkwaydrive
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Epitaph Records is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Reverence, the sixth studio album from Australian metal band Parkway Drive. Due out May 4, Reverence is the most sonically adventurous and emotionally intense effort yet from the Byron Bay-based five-piece.
“Reverence represents the most honest and personal record we have ever created,” says Parkway Drive frontman Winston McCall. “It has been born through pain, sacrifice, and conviction, with the ultimate goal of expanding not only what Parkway Drive stand for musically, but who we are as people. Thank you for listening.”
Today marks the premiere of “The Void,” one of the many heart-shredding anthems featured on Reverence. Directed by Allan Hardy, the video fully channels the furious energy of “The Void,” a track built on thrashing rhythms, ferocious vocal work, and deeply infectious melodies.
Watch “The Void” https://youtu.be/cAY2bCmm8e0
Produced by longtime Parkway Drive sound engineer George Hadjichristou, Reverence arrives as the follow-up to 2015’s IRE—Parkway Drive’s most hugely successful album to date and a major force in boosting their ever-growing worldwide following. In addition to broadening the band’s sonic palette, Reverence offers up some of Parkway Drive’s most devastating songs yet.
TRACKLIST FOR REVERENCE:
1. Wishing Wells
2. Prey
3. Absolute Power
4. Cemetery Bloom
5. The Void
6. I Hope You Rot
7. Shadow Boxing
8. In Blood
9. Chronos
10. The Colour Of Leaving
Along with McCall, Parkway Drive features guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling, bassist Jia O’Connor, and drummer Ben Gordon. Formed in Byron Bay in 2002, the band has released five studio albums, all on Epitaph: Killing with a Smile (2005), Horizons (2007), Deep Blue (2010),Atlas (2012), and IRE (2015). With all five albums certified gold in Australia, Parkway Drive have also released two platinum-selling DVDs (2012’sHome is for the Heartless and 2009’s Parkway Drive: The DVD).
A few days ago, Parkway Drive announced two surprise shows in Brussels (AB Club) on March 13th and London (Underworld) on March 16th. Both shows were completely sold out in less than an hour.
They will return to Europe and United Kingdom this Summer to play some of the biggest festivals on the continent, as well as a handful of headlining shows. Please see below for full details.
PARKWAY DRIVE TOUR DATES
June 1st, 2018 – Nijmegen, FortaRock (NL) – TICKETS
June 2nd,2018 – Nürburgring, Rock Am Ring (DE) – TICKETS
June 3rd, 2018 – Nürnberg, Rock Im Park (DE) – TICKETS
June 5th, 2018 – Lyon, Le Radiant (FR) – TICKETS
June 6th, 2018 – Dornbirn, Conrad Sohm Open Air (AT) – TICKETS
June 7th, 2018 – Interlaken, Greenfield (CH) – TICKETS
June 9th, 2018 – Donington, Download Festival (UK) – TICKETS
June 14th, 2018 – Nickelsdorf, Nova Rock (AT) – TICKETS
June 15th, 2018 – Wroclaw, A2 (PL) – TICKETS
June 16th, 2018 – Gräfenhainichen, With Full Force (DE) – TICKETS
June 18th, 2017 – Stockholm, Fryshuset (SE) – TICKETS
June 19th, 2018 – Oslo, Rockefeller (NO) – TICKETS
June 20th, 2018 – Gothenburg, Pustervik (SE) – TICKETS
June 21st, 2018 – Copenhagen, Copenhell (DK) – TICKETS
June 22nd, 2018 – Dessel, Graspop (BE) – TICKETS
June 23rd, 2018 – Clisson, Hellfest (FR) – TICKETS
June 26th, 2018 – Roma, Rock in Roma (IT) – TICKETS
June 28th, 2018 – Airfield, Panensky Tynec Aerodrome (CZ) – TICKETS
June 29th, 2018 – Madrid, Download Festival (ES) – TICKETS
June 30th, 2018 – Vana-Vigala, Hard Rock Laager (EST) – TICKETS
July 1st, 2018 – Helsinki, Tuska Open Air (FI) – TICKETS
Credit: Kane Hibberd
]]>AUSTRALIAN METAL BAND TO TOUR EUROPE AND U.K. IN JUNE
Australian metal band Parkway Drive share their new single “Wishing Wells” and its accompanying video. The track is Parkway Drive’s first new offering since their massively successful and critically praised 2015 album Ire.
Opening with ominous vocals and haunting acoustic guitar, “Wishing Wells” soon erupts into a furious and full-throttle metal assault. Captured in one shot, its starkly filmed video marks a deep departure from Parkway Drive’s usual high-production aesthetic. The video features front man Winston McCall giving a powerful close-up performance of “Wishing Wells” with fierce intensity.
Watch the video for “Wishing Wells” now
Listen to “Wishing Wells” on Spotify
According to Parkway Drive—frontman Winston McCall, guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling, bassist Jia O’Connor, and drummer Ben Gordon— “Wishing Wells” is a meditation on the pain and confusion of loss.
“‘Wishing Wells’ is the compression of grief into song,” says McCall. “It’s attempting to place blame when there is none, seeking answers where there is only emptiness, and ultimately trying to find some kind of reason and meaning to justify the ultimate loss we will all be faced with in life. This is how this chapter begins and will end.”
Known for their masterful live show, Parkway Drive will return to Europe and United Kingdom to play some of the biggest Summer festivals, as well as a handful of headlining shows. Please see below for full details.
PARKWAY DRIVE TOUR DATES
June 1st, 2018 – Nijmegen, FortaRock (NL) – TICKETS
June 2nd,2018 – Nürburgring, Rock Am Ring (DE) – TICKETS
June 3rd, 2018 – Nürnberg, Rock Im Park (DE) – TICKETS
June 6th, 2018 – Dornbirn, Conrad Sohm Open Air (AT) – TICKETS
June 7th, 2018 – Interlaken, Greenfield (CH) – TICKETS
June 9th, 2018 – Donington, Download Festival (UK) – TICKETS
June 14th, 2018 – Nickelsdorf, Nova Rock (AT) – TICKETS
June 15th, 2018 – Wroclaw, A2 (PL) – TICKETS
June 16th, 2018 – Gräfenhainichen, With Full Force (DE) – TICKETS
June 18th, 2017 – Stockholm, Fryshuset (SE) – TICKETS
June 19th, 2018 – Oslo, Rockefeller (NO) – TICKETS
June 20th, 2018 – Gothenburg, Pustervik (SE) – TICKETS
June 21st, 2018 – Copenhagen, Copenhell (DK) – TICKETS
June 22nd, 2018 – Dessel, Graspop (BE) – TICKETS
June 23rd, 2018 – Clisson, Hellfest (FR) – TICKETS
June 26th, 2018 – Roma, Rock in Roma (IT) – TICKETS
June 28th, 2018 – Airfield, Panensky Tynec Aerodrome (CZ) – TICKETS
June 29th, 2018 – Madrid, Download Festival (ES) – TICKETS
June 30th, 2018 – Vana-Vigala, Hard Rock Laager (EST) – TICKETS
July 1st, 2018 – Helsinki, Tuska Open Air (FI) – TICKETS
Formed in Byron Bay in 2002, Parkway Drive have released five studio albums, all on Epitaph: Killing with a Smile (2005), Horizons (2007), Deep Blue (2010), Atlas (2012), and IRE (2015). With all five albums certified gold in Australia, Parkway Drive have also released two platinum-selling DVDs (2012’s Home is for the Heartless and 2009’s Parkway Drive: The DVD).
For more information on Parkway Drive, visit:
http://www.parkwaydriverock.com/
https://www.facebook.com/parkwaydrive/
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