About 50% of my friends love Parkway Drive and the rest hate them. I understand both sides as well.
But love them or hate them, one cannot deny the fact that they're technically Australia's biggest band overseas right now. Bigger than Temper Trap? Perhaps. Certainly bigger than Tame Impala. But maybe not as big as Empire of the Sun or Pendulum. But they're definately on the cusp of something great.
I first saw Parkway Drive many years ago. I think they were supporting I kIlled The Prom Queen. I distinctly remember Prom Queen pretty much getting annihilated. Poor guys. Even with a room half full of shirtless teeanges doing haymakers, I had that feeling that Parkway were going to be pretty big. at the time, they sounded different. They blended punk, metal and hardcore so well. All genres that are major influences for the band.
I also remember the members being extremely lovely. Meeting the fans after their shows and you could see that even though the band were still breaking through, the kids were already looking up to them. They were living the dream so to speak.
Fast forward to 2010 and they've just toured Australia on the back of their latest effort, Deep Blue. All shows sold out bar the Brisbane one and that was because the Riverstage is massive and is the only place they're allowed to play in Brisbane.
The remarkable thing about the guys is that they're still as humble, juvenile, and grounded a they were all those years ago. Now they're touring relentlessly throughout Europe and selling out shows in the USA. Certainly after signing with Epitaph Records the world has been their oyster. Even so, they still tour and tour and tour. It's part of their genetic makeup for sure.
The reasons for not liking them is as I mentioned before, understandable. For starters the straight -edge culture can get on people's nerves. Actually not really the culture itself, more the people within it. It's great to not drink and smoke. In fact I applaud it. The thing that gets on people's nerves and it goes for religion as well, is the preaching. Holy crap you're a bad person if you drink and smoke stop doing it. At the end of the day, it's about choice, and like religion, please don't force something Im not interested in on me. Thanks. But please go ahead and enjoy not drinking. Not having a hang over is pretty cool I must admit.
Parkway Drive are known straight-edgers. Winston Mcall is a vegan as well. And a damn nice guy. But so are alot of other bands as well. Rise Against are famous for their hardline preachy stance on animal cruelty, being vegetarians, and are proud straight-edgers.
As for the music, well Deep Blue for me is their best album yet. It's cleaner, it has more metal in it and I simply love the idea of a concept album. It's an album about a guy who is trying to find himself in a world that is somewhat against him. And the guy overcoming his problems. Roughly that's what it is.
Killing with a Smile made people sit up and listen, Horizon gave people more of the first and left us wanting more, and Deep Blue has more or less cemented their place in Australia, if not the world's alt-rock scene forever.
The DVD gave us all an insight into their being, and what the future holds for them.
In their own right, Parkway Drive are headlining their own shows. I am yet to go to a bad gig in fact. The fact that they get reasonably big American hardcore bands to support them shows how far they have come.
The fact that they won an ARIA, and the fact that last night, their Live at Festival Hall DVD was shown on ABC2, shows that we oughta be proud of our biggest Australian band right now.
They've done the hard yards just like alot of our up and coming bands. Bands look to them as a benchmark. I feel that Australians just don't realise how big they are now. Especially overseas.
But we will soon you can be sure.
They've set the benchmark now for metal-core. Amity Affliction are probably next off the rank. They have good management with Staples MGMT and BoomTown Records. Just like Parkway Drive had with Graham Nixon and his record label, Resist Records. The fact that the band have never signed a contract with Graham to manage them shows the level of trust there, and the commitment for both parties. It's little things like that, that we find missing in our fickle and at times, bare industry.
I don't hate them. And I can certainly pick out bits that they could imrpove on greatly. But overall, I am proud that they're an Australia band, flying the flag for our music scene. Why are we waiting for the next Powderfinger, The Saints, ACDC? We have a band taking on the world in a headlock and Australian music fans barely blink and eye.
Stop talking about supporting Australian music and actually support it!!!
