A Short History Of Parkway Drive

Posted by drewloupsen on October 23, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

One of the most popular metalcore bands today is Parkway Drive. The band was formed back in 2002 in New South Wales, Australia. So far there are three albums under their names and these are: Killing With A Smile, Horizons, and Deep Blue. And aside from the albums, there are now high demand for great Parkway Drive merch today.

Byron Bay, the hometown where the band was exactly started, is actually a very peaceful, quiet and idyllic town with sandy beaches and lush tropical vegetation. It is considered by many as a backpacker’s top destination down under. Therefore it comes as a big surprise to learn that a metalcore band like Parkway Drive would be formed from this village.

The band has for its members: Winston McCall at vocals, Jeff Ling and Luke Kilpatrick playing guitars, Ben Gordon in charge of percussion, and Jia O’Connor playing the bass guitar.

The Origin of Parkway Drive

Unlike other band names, Parkway Drive got their name in a not so mysterious way. Back in 2002 when they were still getting started, they used to practice in the garage of a house that was on Parkway Drive. It is as simple as that.

Come some months after their formation, the band released a split EP together with another band which was the I Killed The Prom Queen. The EP was called the “I Killed The Prom Queen / Parkway Drive Split CD.

It was Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz who then produced the first of their Parkway Drive albums and it was titled Killing With A Smile. The album was launched in August of 2005 under Epitaph Records.

A year later, Shaun Cash who was playing the bass guitar for the band, decided to leave. He was soon replaced by Jia “Pie” O’Connor who immediately played with them during the band’s first international tour in Europe and the rest of the United States.

Parkway Drive’s first album was then praised by critics for its technical precision and for its appeal to all the extreme music fanatics.

The band’s second album was released on the 6th of October, 2007 and titled, Horizons. Its hit single “The Siren’s Song” was included there. “The Siren’s Song” was originally played by the band at Underworld just a few months before the release of the album. Soon after that they went on a tour of the U.S., Australia, and Europe.

The album immediately rose to the number 6 spot of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Chart. It also ranked at number 27 in the Top Heatseekers chart. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Chart.

The latest of the Parkway Drive albums is Deep Blue which was released on June 29, 2010 under Epitaph Records. It was recorded in Los Angeles, California. It was also the longest interval from their last released album which was three years ago. Deep Blue debuted at no. 2 in the ARIA charts and at no. 39 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Winston McCall described this third album as telling the story of a man who finally realized that his life was full of lies. The man soon went on a journey that saw him going to the depths of the ocean and back again in his quest for the truth.

With their three successful albums and equally successful world tours, and not to mention the demand for their band merch, Parkway Drive is not only Australia’s most famous metalcore bands, but also among the best around the globe.

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Get the Best of Metalcore with Parkway Drive

Posted by drewloupsen on July 27, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia is home to the band Parkway Drive. It was in 2002 that band members first came together. From that time, the group has been able to release two split albums, two albums, one EP and one DVD.

Band History

Parkway Drive has a unique story to its name. The band name is lifted from a real street in Byron Bay. This street was the location of what was known as Parkway House, a real physical structure where the band members, Jeff Ling, Shaun Cash, Brett Versteeg, Winston McCall, Like Kilpatrick and Ben Gordon, converged and practiced. The six man band later collaborated with I Killed the Prom Queen to come up with the split EP “I Killed the Prom Queen/Parkway Drive.”

In the following year, Parkway Drive came up with their first eight track EP “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” This first solo work was so well received in their home country that the band eventually saw the growth of a loyal fan base. Things started to look up even more for the band after other bands like Shadows Fall and Hatebreed performed in the same band events.

In 2005, the band experienced a notable development after having traveled to the US to start work on their very first album. The album was released under the title “Killing with a Smile” and was subsequently promoted by the group through a tour. After a year, the group signed up with Epitaph Records and it was then that their album made it to US shores. It was also at this point though that changes loomed in for the band as bassist Shaun Cash left for personal reasons.

Later on, fellow bass player Brett Versteeg left the group too. Fortunately, Jia “Pie” O’Connor who had been friends with the band members for some time agreed to take on the role of bass player. The band was able to organize more tours, increasing their positive reputation among Australian fans and tour merch buyers. As a result of their expanding popularity, the EP “Don’t Close Your Eyes” was released again. It carried tracks from the Byron Bay Hardcore compilation and from the split EP. It wasn’t long before the second Parkway Drive album, “Horizons” saw the light of day.

Studio Albums Released

It was the band’s first album “Killing with a Smile” that really introduced the group internationally after having been released in the US in 2006, only a year after its recording. The work was perhaps given a good initial reputation because of the participation of Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage as producer.

Although the first album was a good one, it was the second album, “Horizons” that really solidified the band’s international foothold. It has reached multi platinum status in the US and is on the sixth slot on the ARIA charts. To date, it is the band’s bestselling album made more appealing by the live performances included in it.

The band’s fans have something to look forward to in 2010 as an addition will be made to the Parkway Drive discography. Vocalist Winston McCall has revealed that a third Parkway Drive album is in the works. He calls it the band’s “rawest and heaviest record to date.” Fans can dig up more information about the album from the band’s official blog. The title of the yet to be released work is still unknown but its initial release will be before the Vans Warped Tour starts on June 2010.

Filed under Arts, Entertainment and Music · Tagged with , ,

Get the Best of Metalcore with Parkway Drive

Posted by drewloupsen on May 16, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia is home to the band Parkway Drive. It was in 2002 that band members first came together. From that time, the group has been able to release two split albums, two albums, one EP and one DVD.

Band History

Parkway Drive has a unique story to its name. The band name is lifted from a real street in Byron Bay. This street was the location of what was known as Parkway House, a real physical structure where the band members, Jeff Ling, Shaun Cash, Brett Versteeg, Winston McCall, Like Kilpatrick and Ben Gordon, converged and practiced. The six man band later collaborated with I Killed the Prom Queen to come up with the split EP “I Killed the Prom Queen/Parkway Drive.”

In the succeeding year, the band released “Don’t Close Your Eyes” which was their first EP with eight tracks. It was this first solo EP that eventually paved the way for the formation of a strong following for the band. A number of other bands, notably Hatebreed and Shadow Fall contributed to Parkway Drive’s fan base expansion after having performed in the same events.

In 2005, the band experienced a notable development after having traveled to the US to start work on their very first album. The album was released under the title “Killing with a Smile” and was subsequently promoted by the group through a tour. After a year, the group signed up with Epitaph Records and it was then that their album made it to US shores. It was also at this point though that changes loomed in for the band as bassist Shaun Cash left for personal reasons.

It was a double blow for the group because Brett Versteeg who also handled bass left as well. A friend of the group Jia “Pie” O’Connor was tapped to take on the bass player spot. Despite the changes, Australian fans and tour merch customers continued to multiply especially after the band’s tours. A further boost to their popularity was the second release of the EP “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” This second release contained songs from the Byron Bay Hardcore compilation and their split EP. The second Parkway Drive Album “Horizons” was also well received.

Studio Albums Released

It was “Killing with a Smile,” the band’s first album that really gave them their first big international break when it was released in the US in 2006. One contributory factor to its success is its producer, Adam Dutkiewicz, who is popularly associated with Killswitch Engage.

October 2007 saw the release of their second album called “Horizons.” Fans highly anticipated the release since they played a few songs that were going to be in the album live. Both critics and fans enjoyed the album, making its way to number six on the ARIA Charters. It is now the bestselling release in the band’s history and has reached multi-platinum status in Europe.

The band’s fans have something to look forward to in 2010 as an addition will be made to the Parkway Drive discography. Vocalist Winston McCall has revealed that a third Parkway Drive album is in the works. He calls it the band’s “rawest and heaviest record to date.” Fans can dig up more information about the album from the band’s official blog. The title of the yet to be released work is still unknown but its initial release will be before the Vans Warped Tour starts on June 2010.

Filed under Arts, Entertainment and Music · Tagged with , ,