The metalcore band Parkway Drive not only causes a musical furore in their home country of Australia, but also celebrates great success far away from the continent. The five-member ensemble from Byron Bay owes its high profile in Europe to hits like "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" as well as numerous festival appearances and tours.
In 2003, Winston McCall, Jeff Ling, Luke Kilpatrick, Brett Versteeg and Ben Gordon formed Parkway Drive - PWD for short - in Byron Bay in the Australian state of New South Wales. With the exception of bassist Brett Versteeg, who is replaced by Shaun Cash before he in turn gives up his post to Jia O'Connor, all the founding members are still a permanent part of the group today.
Parkway Drive caused an initial stir within their fan community with a split CD that they recorded together with the likewise Australian metalcore combo I Killed The Prom Queen. 2004 sees the release of their first record (EP) "Don't Close Your Eyes" - and a year later Parkway Drive celebrate with a studio album. "Killing With A Smile" brings them their breakthrough with Australian metalcore followers.
From Down Under to the top of the international metal Olympus
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After the success of their second LP "Horizons", the band also makes a name for themselves in the metalcore scene in the USA. At the same time, Parkway Drive tours all over Europe, which also send the German fan community into raptures. In 2009, Parkway Drive release a DVD with show excerpts, which they pepper with interesting background information about the band.
With the album "Deep Blue", Parkway Drive continue their successful path in 2010 and tour in Japan, among other places. For the first time, the band landed in the international charts with their songs. Over the years, several Parkway Drive albums landed in the German album charts, including "Deep Blue", "Atlas", "Ire", "Reverence" and "Viva The Underdogs".
Parkway Drive prove changeability
Typical for the Parkway Drive sound are at first the classic stylistic features of metalcore - a hard mix of extreme metal and hardcore punk. This changes with the fourth and the fifth LP of the guys around Winston McCall. "Atlas" and "Ire" sound more melodic and profound, which does not please all die-hard followers of the band. Nevertheless, the band opens up access to music fans of other directions this way.
They continue on this course with the release of their album "Reverence", whose success confirms that the band can still inspire many listeners after the change of direction. In 2018 and 2019, Parkway Drive are among the headliners of the Full Force music festival, which is considered a mecca for metal, hardcore and punk fans. Likewise, in 2019, the band will be among the main acts at the famous Wacken Open Air.
With all the fame the five boys from Down Under have earned in a short time, they don't miss the opportunity to sell tickets for smaller Parkway Drive shows. This puts them in more intimate contact with their followers, who of course appreciate the special gigs.
In spring 2020, Parkway Drive will deliver the soundtrack to their own feature film "Viva The Underdogs", which traces their rise from proverbial underdogs to headliners of globally hot festivals. A special highlight are three hits that the ensemble translates into German.
