Live Review: Parkway Drive, I Killed The Prom Queen, Northlane & Survival

18 December 2012 | 10:17 am | Benny Doyle

As new album Atlas highlights and tonight’s show proves further, Parkway Drive are making the world their own.

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Gold Coast five-piece Survival might admit they are the odd band out on tonight's bill, but their straight-up hardcore stylings still bring on the required results – getting bodies moving. Their frontman is an absolute monster out front and the boys barely flinch considering the size of the stage and the weight of occasion. The all-Aussie onslaught continues with Northlane, and it's obvious from the get-go this Sydney crew are heirs to the domestic metalcore throne. Their tracks are punchy and colourful, the delivery is tight and the quintet, especially vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes, look nothing but focused, the pit heaving in approval. But if Northlane signal the future, then I Killed The Prom Queen are most definitely a relic of the past. The Adelaide metalcore trailblazers come across as dated and pedestrian; Jamie Hope's vocals are muddy, Jona Weinhofen desperately roams for the spotlight, while JJ Peters seems genuinely lethargic behind the kit. Not even a sharp Sharks In Your Mouth can salvage the set.

An extended wait for Byron's finest brings anticipation levels to the absolute brink, so when Parkway Drive do stride out beneath the curvature of the earth, the strains of Sparks soundtracking their entrance, the hill completely erupts. The quartet's current popularity can be gauged by the position of the circle pit, which these days barely gets within 15 metres of the stage such is the amount of bodies wanting to witness – not just thrash to – Australia's leading proponent of heavy. And in tune with this increased interest the lads have stepped up their production – premium lighting, provoking big screen visuals – without taking away from what got them to this point in the first place: the music. Recent singles such as Sleepwalker and Karma are aired early, Ben Gordon's kick drum sounding like machine gun fire, while earlier bruisers like Boneyards and Romance Is Dead are as crushing as ever. The four frontline members, meanwhile, look like they are having the time of their lives, running around like it's their first basement gig to a roomful of their mates. Socially conscious Dark Days gets a big response late, but it's Blue And The Grey that really allows Parkway, especially guitarists Jeff Ling and Pig Kilpatrick, to flex their new directive muscle, the climatic double-time thrash sounding next level comparatively to their older work. But we all know a couple of pieces are missing from the puzzle, and as expected Winston McCall leads the troops and crowd through a stirring one-two close of Home Is For The Heartless and Carrion. As new album Atlas highlights and tonight's show proves further, Parkway Drive are making the world their own.