The stage is set – both metaphorically and physically – as Parkway Drive (PWD) undertake the first leg of their 2024 Australian tour, celebrating their two-decade career as a collective.
Bringing Australian up-and-comers (or maybe we can finally say 'breakthrough') Void Of Vision, melodic hardcore heavyweights The Ghost Inside, and Grammy-nominated metalcore act I, Prevail; this touring package is a force to be reckoned with, and feels all-too-fitting in aligning with the band's ethos, roots, and inspiration.
With a package of this size, it being a Wednesday (18 September), and a consideration to their younger fans – there were plenty of them – the gates to Brisbane Entertainment Centre opened unusually early, with Void Of Vision kicking off the evening as the sun slowly set in Boondall.
For the uninitiated, those living under a rock, or those without good taste, Void Of Vision are one of Australia's hottest up-and-coming modern metal acts that have exemplified similarities to that of PWD when considering their touring mentality and determination to grind, grow, and continue to push their own boundaries.
Void of Vision burst onto the stage with their signature mixture of huge breakdowns and heavy double-kick, layered with electronic elements and garnished with the emotional vocals which are signature to vocalist Jack Bergin.
With a short set list, the quartet wasted no time in seamlessly sliding through their songs, including tracks such as 'Into The Dark', 'Empty', 'Altar', and absolute crowd favourite, 'The Lonely People'.
With a slowly filling room – multiple reports of traffic congestion and the earlier than usual kick-off time – VoV called for their pit-goers to spin the room in two separate locations.
Two locations you may ask – well, there appears to be a larger-than-average barricade almost splitting the room into two, with a conspicuous looking large black box in the centre of the room, and some adornment hanging from the scaffolding above. To most punters, this is surely part of the rumoured production PWD have installed for this tour.
VoV have continued to grow their sound over the last several years through the inclusion of additional synths, clean vocals, and a more mature writing style. However, to not acknowledge the performance that Bergin displayed in his delivery would be criminal.
While generally considered a dirty or harsh vocalist, during track 'Empty' Bergin's performance was faultless. With support of guitarist and (dare I say primary) clean vocalist James McKendrick, the pair lifted the performance to be larger than I've seen from the act (and I've been a fan of these guys for years now).
Closing their set out with 'The Lonely People', Bergin called for dual walls of death from each side of the room, to be met with rowing. If 2023 was the year of 'old man yells at people chanting for shoeys at concerts', then 2024 is 'old man yells at people rowing, in indoor venues, for metalcore bands'. But hey, that's just my opinion.
VoV have truly shown their deservedness of being on tour packages of this stature, and I implore you to take yourself to one of their many regular shows to familiarise yourself with them before the only time you'll be able to see them will be at an arena
Building on the energy already brought to the arena by VoV – and in my opinion, earlier than they should have been slotted – Californian melodic hardcore/ metalcore quintet The Ghost Inside took the stage, albeit slower, and with more care than their opening colleagues.
The Ghost Inside - image © Clea-marie ThorneI raise this specifically for those that may not be familiar with TGI's impressive, and incredibly sad history. In 2015, the band's tour bus was involved in a head-on collision between Texas and Arizona. Sadly, some of the touring party lost their lives, and others – including the band – sustained lifelong injuries.
One of these injuries being to that of drummer Andrew Tkaczyk losing a leg. To not get weighed down on the tragedy affecting this phenomenal outfit, witnessing Tkaczyk walk to stage, take his seat, remove his prosthetic leg and perch himself on his custom built secondary kick pedal was seriously some cool stuff (I would definitely suggest a quick search for the details of its execution); then to be met with his bandmates was a near surreal feeling.
Having built a cult following both within Australia and internationally through an almost identical career timespan as that of Parkway Drive (with TGI's first release also coming out in 2004), I know a vast amount of people in attendance may very well have been here to see this act.
With their last visit down under being in 2020 to co-headline Unify Gathering, there is a likelihood that some of these diehard fans may not have seen the band since 2013, when the band last toured the country before taking their hiatus post-2015's tragedy.
The decision to have them in a supporting capacity behind I, Prevail struck me as slightly odd – a sentiment shared with a number of people this reviewer spoke to on the evening. However, it's hard to argue with two Grammy nominations and an almost obsessive fanbase, so this can be overlooked (but man, I would have loved a longer set from TGI).
The Ghost Inside - image © Clea-marie ThorneWith the crushing commencement of opening track 'Death Grip', leading into 'Earn It' and then 'Pressure Point', it's obvious the band know what their fans want after such a long gap between visits, and are not above 'giving the people what they want', instead of solely pushing a new record or single.
'Mercy' had the now near-capacity room screaming in unison at "life's swinging hard, but I'm swinging harder," before the moshpit opened up to sheer carnage. Maintaining the peppering of newer tracks alongside classics, TGI delivered an emotional and impressive rendition of 'Wash It Away', with a personal highlight of this performance being the quality of vocals delivered from bassist/ vocalist, Jim Riley.
For the most part a historically-adequate vocalist in providing some contrast to the iconic and gravelly voice of lead vocalist, Jonathan Vigil, Riley has obviously put in the work over the last several years with the improvement obvious.
Thematically, TGI has always pushed for 'triumph over tragedy', and determination to persevere regardless of the challenges faced (and this began pre-2015; they've forever preached the same positivity), which leads into a short but heartfelt address from Vigil, speaking to the band's love of Australia and of course Parkway Drive, before launching into emotionally charged 'Dark Horse'.
Closing out their set with absolute bangers 'Avalanche', 'Aftermath' and 'Engine 45', the only things missing from this set was the inclusion of few extra songs (maybe some of my favourite B-sides) – nine songs for a band with such a cult following seems almost criminal, however here's hoping we are graced with their return in the near future.
I, Prevail - image © Clea-marie ThorneMoving onto main support act for the evening, I, Prevail. If TGI is for the parents, then I, Prevail is for the kids (a slight exaggeration). Briefly mentioned earlier, the sheer volume of younger fans, many barely pushing their teens, was brilliant to see – hardcore really is for all ages. Among the hundreds of I, Prevail shirts in the sea of thousands, the star power of this act is undeniable when observing the response from their engaged, enraged, and excited fans.
Kicking into their set with theatric audio and visual displays that were reminiscent of the most recent Bring Me The Horizon production, with a tinge of Sleep Token to the iconography and tone with evil, dark, and foreboding messages of the end approaching, I, Prevail built tension before the release, which was executed flawlessly as they launched into 'There's Fear In Letting Go' with a driving, sing-song chorus; one of my personal favourites from the American five-piece (who perform as a six-piece live).
Variations of these visuals were revisited multiple times throughout their set, however I failed to understand the greater thematic message further than setting a spooky or eerie tone.
While I, Prevail are stylistically not my first-choice of metal flavour, their intermittent balls-to-the-walls breakdowns and heavy sections are a reprieve to their more standardised metalcore sections. 'Body Bag', 'Choke', 'Bow Down' and 'Gasoline' all delivered on the heavy with some seriously down-tuned guitars from time to time.
Not to discredit the exceptional talent of all members of the band, their sound for me is one that often falls by the wayside in the giant mass that is modern metal and metalcore as a genre.
I, Prevail - image © Clea-marie ThorneThe highlight of I, Prevail's set was their live rendition of arguably their breakthrough track, 'Blank Space' (a cover of Taylor Swift). We are met with the preface, delivered from heavy vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe, that he personally finds no joy in performing this song, and that it has long been off their set list rotation.
Understandably, to play the same T-Swift song night in and night out may become quite repetitive and mundane, however as mentioned by Vanlerberghe, this is for the fans; and I tell you what, the fans bloody loved it. Whether you like I, Prevail, T-Swift, both, or neither, it's hard to not enjoy the obnoxiously over-the-top rendition of this absolute ear worm of a song.
The pièce de resistance of the evening, Parkway Drive's set began before they stepped foot into the arena. As mentioned earlier, rigging, fixtures and the peculiar stage layout had raised questions from intrigued punters: Are we getting fire? Are we getting Winno doing some P!NK aerial manoeuvres? Are we going to see the band in the crowd?
For the most part, the answer was yes (maybe next decade we'll get some aerial manoeuvres – a man can dream). Giant black flags emerged from the back of the arena as the cameras panned to the band entering the arena through the crowd (with support from a security escort, of course) similarly to what was seen at previous festival appearances.
Parkway Drive - image © Clea-marie ThorneThe band take to what is revealed as a small stage in the centre of the crowd. During a set filled to the brim with easter eggs, the quintet taking to this small stage, opening with an absolute ripper of a track 'Carrion' set the tone for what was to come. Where this intimate initiation to their set felt like a nod to their history of performing to small crowds on small stages in small rooms, this is near where those similarities fade.
I swear I say this every time I am lucky enough to see these Byron boys perform, but this new production is once again a step higher into the stratosphere. 'Carrion' was followed by 'Prey', 'Glitch', and 'Sleepwalker'; it quickly became evident punters were in for a smorgasbord of PWD's impressive catalogue.
At the conclusion of 'Sleepwalker', the 'true' stage was revealed as the giant black curtain dropped from the stage fixtures. Revealed, the stage looked like a freeway underpass, with industrial fixtures, dirt piles, and a giant drum rig.
Parkway Drive - image © Clea-marie ThorneAdorning the stage, four dancers appear wearing garb adjacent to the same decayed, suburban, apocalyptic set design. The talent and choreography of these dancers was second to none, and while periodically peppered throughout the evening's set, added once again another 'wow' factor to the already impressive performance: flips, rolls, flails; all pure chaos in a perfectly orchestrated state.
Whispers had made their way to my ears of a special guest who would be appearing, and low and behold we were blessed with a surprise that only makes sense. Two thirds of the way through another crowd favourite – 'Boneyards' – vocalist, Winston McCall took to the centre of the room as light began to shine below him.
The centre stage slowly raised from below the line of sight, and to the absolute pleasure of the fans, Michael Crafter (ex-I Killed the Prom Queen, Confession) emerged and accompanied McCall in an absolutely crushing conclusion to the song.
Parkway Drive - image © Clea-marie ThorneWhile a surprise in the sense of 'wow, I wasn't expecting that,' to PWD fans familiar with their long (and well documented) history, would be very aware of the critical role Crafter had in the building and developing the Byron Bay metalcore icons – he has been there since day one with the outfit guiding, driving, and encouraging them throughout their formative, early years.
With but a moment of reprieve, PWD launch into one of my favourite tracks, 'Horizons', which has not been performed live since 2018! Not only did they perform this riffy metalcore masterpiece, but somehow, the exceptional production team have also been able to manage to rig a large indoor shower essentially that replicated pouring rain on McCall.
If you thought that was a blast from the past, wait until you hear about the affectionately named 'Medley With A Smile' or 'Killing With A Mashup' – a ten-minute plus medley of the band's breakthrough record, 'Killing With A Smile'. In the words of McCall, "we can't play the whole album, so we've taken the best bits of each song, and created this".
Man, it was absolutely insane. Hearing even pieces of classic metalcore anthems such as 'Gimme AD', 'It's Hard To Speak Without A Tongue', 'Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em' (I still remember seeing the video clip for this on late night 'Rage'), and even 'Romance Is Dead', this fan service rightly impressed and excited the thousands of fans.
To attempt thoroughly report on each of the 20-odd song set list, and each and every production point the band engaged to elevate their performance would result in an entire dissertation. However, I will do my best to succinctly sum up some of the wondrous events that continued throughout the evening.
Emerging from god knows where, McCall appeared encircled by fans, some three quarters towards the back of the room. If you ever thought PWD was not for the kids, have I got some news for you.
Parkway Drive - image © Clea-marie ThorneUpon emergence, McCall spotted a punter looking to be no older than 12 or so, revelling with their guardian and after a quick confirmation of consent from the guardian, McCall lifted little-legend Jack onto the platform, asking the crowd to form a circle pit around the two of them. As McCall lifted Jack to his shoulders the room erupted in cheers. This is hardcore, this is community. (Man, that little dude is going to remember that moment for the rest of his life.)
As many fans of modern PWD will be familiar with, they have introduced a number of new elements to their live performances including a string ensemble, and this was no different last night. The guitar vs. upright (electric) bass solo was not something I was expecting. Trust PWD to surprise you by doubling-down, leaving no stone unturned.
More than the expected pyrotechnics (and I say this tongue-in-cheek, as I'm truly not sure how they were able to execute this level of flame within an indoor venue), indoor rain, sparks and concussive bursts, a guest vocalist, back-up dancers, a string ensemble, a guitar vs. strings solo, multiple normal guitar solos, and aerial actions (such as raising and lowering the bridge between both the main and smaller stage), PWD must have exhausted all of the tools in their arsenal.
Parkway Drive - image © Clea-marie ThorneNope – what about a drum solo, with dancers where the drum rotates?! With what begins as a subdued beat syncopated adjacent to the sharp movements of the dancers, crescendoing into an elaborate, aggressive, and impressive drum solo, as the dancers throw Molotov mocktails around the stage, slowly setting it alight, drummer Ben Gordon shows off his impressive musicianship with a world-class drum solo.
Transitioning from this multi-minute drum and dance performance, PWD launched into 'Crushed' before taking a moment to reconvene on the centre stage to genuinely thank their fans for the decades of support.
What felt like a final nod and a 'thank you in action', the band returned to the smaller stage and began the chant to the lead line in 'Wild Eyes'. By way of context, it was established some many years ago that international fans – particularly those of non-English speaking backgrounds – would sing or chant the guitar riffs as if it were a soccer game.
This phenomenon has continued to grow and grow (and I personally believe, has led to their evolution in songwriting, crafting music that can be enjoyed without language barriers), and once again, this nod and crowd engagement felt nothing short of genuine, fun, and inclusive.
Parkway Drive's 20th anniversary tour is absolutely one not to be missed – they weren't lying when they said this was 'gonna be a big one'.
- written by Kerry RoweMore photos from the concert.
