Byron Bay, Australia; situated on the far north coast of New South Wales, it’s arguably one of this planet’s most idyllic tourist destinations. A tranquil paradise of immaculate sandy beaches and lush tropical rainforest, it’s full of surf retreats, hippie communes and backpacker hostels. Perhaps the most notable thing to come out of the place prior to 2003 were surfing champs and picturesque postcards, but all that cha...
Byron Bay, Australia; situated on the far north coast of New South Wales, it’s arguably one of this planet’s most idyllic tourist destinations. A tranquil paradise of immaculate sandy beaches and lush tropical rainforest, it’s full of surf retreats, hippie communes and backpacker hostels. Perhaps the most notable thing to come out of the place prior to 2003 were surfing champs and picturesque postcards, but all that changed with the spawning of Parkway Drive.
Blasting out of Byron, almost as an affront to the serenity of their surrounds, Parkway Drive quickly established themselves as the most formidable force Australian heavy hardcore had ever seen. A five-piece of awesome power and charisma, they caused a storm in their homeland that is quite literally without precedent. Charting in the national Top 40 with their utterly brutal 2005 full-length debut Killing With A Smile (Epitaph), headlining sold-out tours, gracing the covers of magazines, playing the Big Day Out and the Australasian leg of Taste Of Chaos ’06 – this has been reality for Parkway Drive at home the past few years. The Earth is next!
In October 2007, Parkway Drive unleashed their standout sophomore effort, Horizons. Recorded once again by Killing With A Smile producer and Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (As I Lay Dying, Underoath, Unearth, From Autumn To Ashes) at Zing Studios in Boston, MA, Horizons debuted at #6 on the ARIA chart (Australia’s version of Billboard charts), #1 on the Australian Artist chart and # 1 on the Independent chart.
With the sound, attitude and ability that took Australia by storm, Parkway Drive has spent the past few years focusing more sharply on forging their reputation on the world stage. Having already made inroads into North America and Europe via intensive touring, Parkway Drive spent a large part of 2008 crisscrossing North America and Europe including tours with Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die and Dillinger Escape Plan, sold out European / UK Tours, the US Thrash And Burn Tour and headlining the European Never Say Die Tour being just some of the highlights.
2009 was nothing but a blur for the Byron Bay quintet. Starting the year with a tour of SE Asia and Japan, followed by tours of the USA and Canada, Parkway Drive then embarked on an endless summer appearing at some of the largest heavy music festivals Europe and the UK has to offer including appearances at Download (UK), Greenfield (Switzerland), Hove Fest (Norway), Graspop (Belgium), West Coast Riot (Sweden) and many more.
In August the band released PARKWAY DRIVE: “The DVD” a 70 minute documentary looking at the rise and rise of the Byron juggernaut. Featuring archival footage dating right back to their very first shows, the film follows the quintet from humble beginnings on the beaches of the NSW North Coast to storming stages all over the world. Debuting at # 2 on the ARIA chart, within a week of its release, "The DVD" was certified Gold and a few months later achieved Platinum sales status. By year’s end it was Australia’s biggest selling local artist DVD and was crowned ‘Best Music DVD’ at the 2009 Rolling Stone Awards.
In March 2010 Parkway Drive returned to the studio to record their third album, Deep Blue. The hotly anticipated follow-up to 2007’s Horizons, Deep Blue raises the bar in every conceivable way. While maintaining the band’s uncompromising metallic-hardcore style at its core, it pushes into exciting new realms, drawing from a wider scope of influence, incorporating everything from anthemic punk to bloodcurdling death metal.
With improved musical abilities and a thoroughly inspired approach to songwriting, Parkway Drive have tied the music and lyrics together into one all-encompassing concept. “It’s basically about the search for truth in a world that seems to be devoid of that,” says vocalist and lyricist Winston McCall, explaining the narrative running through Deep Blue. “The story is told through the eyes of a man who wakes up and realises that his life is a lie and nothing he believes in is real. So he tries to find the truth within himself and his journey takes him to the bottom of the ocean and back again.”
Having recorded their first two albums with Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage, Deep Blue was tracked and mixed in Los Angeles, CA by Joe Barresi (Queens Of The Stone Age, Bad Religion, Tool), and mastered by legendary mastering engineer Brian Gardner.
Crisp, unprocessed and impossibly heavy, the production on Deep Blue brings out every nuance of Parkway Drive ‘s freshly re-focused sound.
“It’s definitely the Parkway record I’m most proud of,” claims Winston. “We felt like were in the deep-end recording with someone new, so to have it come out exactly how we wanted it, and pretty much exceed our expectations, is a big ask, but that’s exactly what Joe did for us.”
With 13 tracks in all, standouts include “Sleepwalker,” “Deliver Me” and “Unrest”. Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph owner Brett Gurewitz makes a guest vocal appearance on “Home is for the Heartless,” which brings epic punk rock choruses and crazed metallic finger-tapping guitar work into the established Parkway paradigm.
“We figure that song is going to be the most polarizing thing we’ve ever written,” Winston says. “People are either going to like it or they are going to hate it. I think it worked. That’s one of my favorite songs on the record!”
Already one of the most anticipated heavy releases of the year, Deep Blue represents an exciting new chapter in the story of Australia’s most successful hardcore band. Parkway Drive will land stateside this summer with explosive performances at the Vans Warped Tour in support of the new album.
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