Review: Parkway Drive @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Celebrating their 20th anniversary, Parkway Drive proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are one of Australia’s greatest live acts.
Words by Belinda Quick // Images by Justin White
Parkway Drive, I Prevail, The Ghost Inside & Void of Vision @ AEC Arena 27/09/24
“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.” - Edgar Allan Poe.
For time immemorial, great literaturists have pondered the fantasy of reality. At times, as above, a cautious musing, I choose to interpret each and all articulations as wonderful ‘Wishing Wells’; recognition that each one of us has the opportunity to truly live out our wildest imaginings. A precious gift to be enjoyed to the fullest extent, it is there for the taking and born of our own creation. For the most fortunate, those with the boldest intent and who act bravely with conviction, the philosophy is destined and the dream will come to life.
No such greater example exists of the ability to achieve the unimaginable than Parkway Drive. From humble beginnings, the boys of Byron Bay are now 20 years later the men who make up “Australia's greatest ever metal export.” A history that began in back rooms of local youth centres, the patriarchs of heavy music in our country have achieved ultimate success, their reputation reaching the heights of acclaim abroad. Truthfully, theirs epitomises the legendary journey of belief, brotherhood, perseverance and ‘Reverence’.
Still daylight outside, Void of Vision emerges as a nightmarish harbinger of imminent ‘Oblivion’. Jack Bergin, kneeling with torturous headgear, his ever-vigorous performance dictated its displacement early on. Begging to see ‘Blood for Blood’, the earliness of the hour is insignificant, as Adelaide is led ‘Into the Dark’. The second and third offerings from last week's LP release What I'll Leave Behind – ‘Gamma Knife’ and ‘Empty’ – are full of violent energy. With limited time left at the ‘Altar’, VOV says goodbye to ‘The Lonely People’ growing in number by the minute.
The story of The Ghost Inside is perhaps the most surreal and astonishing of all that appear tonight. In 2015, surviving unconscionable and fatal tragedy, they emerged from the literal ashes with an even stronger ‘Death Grip’ on life and each other. This is a band that ‘Earn It’ - every second, breath, opportunity and accolade. Songs from Searching for Solace, one of 2024’s albums of the year, are highlighted throughout their set, but for a moment we're taken back to 2020’s self-titled reinvention, applying further force to the ‘Pressure Point’.
No one dares beg for ‘Mercy’ from the relentlessness; we will wait until later to ‘Wash It Away’, the pain of the past and the pit. Like the ‘Dark Horse’ of fate, The Ghost Inside proves man’s strength in self-control and capacity to outrun any ‘Avalanche’ that threatens his path. Waking up victorious in the ‘Aftermath’, the gratitude is felt by those on either side “running the circle pit and the singalong” with the band who first played in Australia right here in Adelaide, alongside pioneers I Killed the Prom Queen. Maintaining the force of a freight train until the finish, the set closes with eternal favourite, ‘Engine 45’.
Rereleasing the expanded edition of 2022’s True Power, Michigan's finest, I Prevail, announce themselves via terrifying Lynchian montages projected on dual LED screens. Death's effigy warning ‘There's Fear in Letting Go’, the ravenous crowd welcomes the curtain-raisers by echoing back their own words in acapella. Wild scenes already unfolding, just the sophomore song threatens to send several home in a ‘Body Bag’. Choreographed ‘Self-Destruction’ ensues as circle pits emerge on either side of the stage. Both the best and ‘Bad Things’ seem prophesied in this performance, as the hooded messenger reappears.
Metal crowds are known for their enigmatic affinity for saccharine pop, so the cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Page’ satisfies many a guilty pleasure – the enjoyment is as ‘Visceral’ as the band's heaviest reckonings which recommence without a single stutter, hiccup, pause or ‘Choke’. Chaos continues, mirroring the devastation of a ‘Hurricane’, the crowd jump and simultaneously ‘Bow Down’. ‘Gasoline’ poured on the fire a final time; an almost infernal heat radiates well after I Prevail has left the stage.
Kerrang! has described this anniversary tour as “utterly mind-blowing”, while Parkway Drive themselves attest that “never could we imagine” such a spectacle, an outpouring of love and a production of this calibre. 20 years in the making, tonight stands in testament to the reward of dedication. To reinterpret Poe’s words once more, “All we see or seem, Is (not) but a dream within a dream" – it is so much more and entirely possible to achieve.
A pause is taken to rejoice together before ‘Carrion’ erupts. Predators and ‘Prey’ unite as one. Adelaide “did not come to fuck around” and Winston McCall recognises this. A ‘Glitch’ in the matrix ensues and one wonders if this is the vision these humble men saw as ‘Sleepwalkers’, dreaming of this fantastic life. Pyrotechnics ignite as dancers writhe on the now lowered suspension bridge. Bobbing and weaving like a prizefighter, McCall tightens his ‘Vice Grip’ on an increasingly rabid audience.
Moving into the ‘Boneyards’ of time's past, Michael Crafter of the aforementioned IKTPQ joins the band to add further dimension to this “perfect fucking world.” A titular track from the exemplary tertiary album ‘Horizons’, the title, “one of my favourites,” sees Jeff Ling ascend as fireworks rain down amongst a coventry in ‘Cemetery Bloom’. Inverting the negative to black leathers, McCall chants into ‘The Void’ alone, before his brethren rejoin.
“Killing with a medley/mashup with a smile,” the third act opens with 2005’s most incendiary tracks. ‘Anasasis (Xenophobia)’ is a life moment realised; ‘Mutiny’ is threatened as we go back to where it all began. With “10 seconds to take a breath,” gasp deep and ‘Smoke ‘Em If You've Got Them’, ‘Romance is Dead’ and so are we all. ‘Dedicated’ to pushing through, the tour's sixth audience recommits with conviction to our ‘Idols and Anchors’. The leader amasses himself in the crowd to this defining track as the pit swarms around him. Carried by subjects back to the centrepoint, the night grows ‘Darker Still’.
Metal axe duelling with symphonic sword, the band's emblem lowers and is illuminated with flame; ‘Chronos’ ticks towards time. The behemoth ‘Bottom Feeder’ closing main proceedings, luck affords us an encore. A second chance given is then “‘Crushed’ by the hands of God.” Fire in McCall's ‘Wild Eyes’ is matched by the flames across the mammothly dressed stage. An overwhelming spectacle, the immensity of this occasion is difficult to encapsulate, even after all these words.
This is the biggest band, delivering “the biggest production in Australian heavy music history. Full stop.” Looking out upon their legions, a dream come to life, Parkway Drive stand arm in arm, as the closing rejoice is heard: “Now and forever, Viva the Underdogs!”
Check out the full gallery of images here.
