Parkway DriveThis morning, Bluesfest shocked loyal attendees and the wider music-listening public by revealing that Byron Bay metalcore band Parkway Drive would lead its second artist announcement. Yep, they’re performing alongside Split Enz, Buddy Guy, The Black Crowes, Erykah Badu, and many others.
Parkway Drive are the most successful band to ever come out of the region, and one of Australia’s biggest names—especially internationally. But, if you’re not attuned to the heavy music scene, there’s a fair chance that they’re a band that’s slipped your radar. Or, they’re entirely not your thing. Completely fair, either way.
With coverage on the band stretching back to 2010 on The Music – perhaps even further – they’re an act we’ve followed closely as they’ve gone from performing at clubs, dive bars, and local youth centres across the country, to the world-conquering behemoth they are now, that headlines major international festivals and sold out an entire arena tour of Australia in 2024.
On a personal note, I’ve observed Parkway Drive’s career for over 15 years. A band I discovered in high school, I’ve had the privilege of watching them perform live in festival and headline show settings, and the honour of interviewing them a couple of times, including for this The Music cover story from 2022.
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As we noted in our Bluesfest second announcement news story, Parkway Drive formed in Byron Bay in 2003. The teenage metal underdogs always felt they could go places and put the spotlight on where they grew up. Flash forward to today, and the band have accomplished more than any heavy act from Australia could dream of.
In 2007, they became the standard-bearers for Australian metalcore with their second album, Horizons. It’s been up-and-up from the early days: Parkway Drive have amassed four #1 albums on the ARIA Albums Charts, six ARIA Gold albums, two Platinum DVDs, three ARIA Music Awards, and the 2024 APRA Award for Most Performed Hard Rock / Heavy Metal Work.
They’ve played on stages with Metallica, Slipknot and Lamb of God. They’ve headlined arena tours in Australia and Europe. They had their own episode of Australian Story. Drummer Ben Gordon taught Chris Hemsworth how to play the drums. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2024, their music taking them further than they could have ever imagined.
If you’re heading to Bluesfest this April and wondering where to start with a band like Parkway Drive, we’ve chosen ten songs you need to know. These are tracks that take listeners on the band’s grand journey.
Romance Is Dead – from Killing With A Smile (2005)
One of Parkway Drive’s signature early tracks, the band quickly showed just how strong their songwriting – and musical abilities – are. Notably, there were no clean vocals in Parkway Drive’s early music, just pure guttural screams from Winston McCall and neck-snapping breakdowns. Romance Is Dead is just one example of where the band were at then.
There’s also an element of cheekiness from McCall, who took aim at bands of the time that wrote songs about depression or suicidal ideation to sound “trendy.” It remains one of their strongest songs, and during the band’s Killing With A Smile medley on their 20th anniversary tour, it proved to be a show-stealer.
Carrion – from Horizons (2007)
Perhaps the earliest hint of the slower, melodic side Parkway Drive would show in later releases, Carrion is a certified anthem. It’s been described as “metal for punk kids and emo as anything,” while Horizons itself builds on the brutality of Killing With A Smile and moves in a new direction.
“Carrion/ In a moment I’m lost” remains the band’s coolest call-and-response.
Deliver Me – from Deep Blue (2010)
For the Parkway Drive lovers who read this: yes, we could have gone with Karma or Sleepwalker. But there’s something epic about the chugging intensity of Deliver Me, its visceral rage, raw production, and an outstanding time change showcasing the band’s strengths.
The song’s far-reaching impact was witnessed in 2016 when, out of nowhere, former Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo joined Parkway on stage to scream “DELIVER ME” with Winston McCall. An unforgettable moment.
Wild Eyes – from Atlas (2012)
Wild Eyes is that song. It’s the track that kickstarted Parkway Drive’s trajectory for their following three albums – for better or worse, depending on who you ask – but there’s no doubt that it’s one of the band’s most epic songs.
From the opening “Woah oh’s” to the breakneck guitar riffs, Wild Eyes announces its intentions from the outset: you’re going to remember this song. The breakdowns are as sweet as the call-and-response, and the line “Viva the Underdogs” ended up the name of the band’s 2020 documentary, which you should load up on Netflix now.
Vice Grip – from Ire (2015)
If you thought Parkway Drive sounded melodic on Atlas, they turned it up a notch on Ire. Vice Grip exemplifies “modern” Parkway: a classic metal sound with bright guitars, call-and-response choruses, guitar solos – unheard of on Killing With A Smile – and timeless production. We can feel the pyro now.
Prey – from Reverence (2018)
Reverence followed the blueprint presented by Ire but took things further. On Prey, Parkway Drive delivered a stadium-level, festival-headline-ready anthem. It’s heavy enough to be considered metal, but it’s a far cry from their early days. It’s the perfect song to introduce for someone who isn’t necessarily into metal, and the ultimate festival song.
Wishing Wells – from Reverence (2018)
The intro of Wishing Wells is a major hint at what would happen on Parkway Drive’s next album. With a spoken-word couple of verses from McCall, backed by acoustic guitar and a menacing breeze, Wishing Wells blooms into a heavy metal classic.
Guitarist Jeff Ling channels his inner Kirk Hammett (of Metallica fame) here, with Wah pedals bringing something new to the signature Parkway sound. McCall stretches his vocals, all while the band shares an epic tale of “killing gods.”
Glitch – from Darker Still (2022)
Nu-metal is the last thing anybody expected from Parkway Drive in 2022 (or ever), but that’s where Glitch ends up in the rap-metal inspired verses and the music video that looks like it’s just broken out of a 2000s time capsule. But the riffing is still great fun, and the breakdown is genuinely thrilling.
Darker Still – from Darker Still (2022)
When The Music interviewed McCall about Darker Still in 2022, we quizzed him about the title track, which is a near-seven-minute opus featuring acoustic guitars, whistling, mostly clean singing, and an incredible guitar solo.
McCall told The Music at the time, “When we first started this band, we could not even conceive of writing a song like that. It took us 20 years to learn how to do that.” You’ll want your lighters out for this one.
Sacred – standalone single (2025)
Nobody expected Parkway Drive to get this heavy again. Opening with Winston McCall’s call of an “unbroken heart,” the riff points to the classic metal-leaning sound Parkway Drive mastered on their last couple of albums. And the chorus, with a gang sing-along, is as epic as it is nostalgic.
But it’s the breakdown where Parkway Drive shocks, with venomous instrumentals leading to the deepest growls McCall has unleashed in a Parkway song in years. It’s oh-so-satisfying and leaves the door wide open for whatever comes next.
You can catch Parkway Drive at Bluesfest 2026. Tickets are available here.
