Parkway Drive Profile‘Classical-core’ is having a moment right now (just check out Lorna Shore’s recent ticket sales), but Parkway Drive, Byron Bay’s heaviest sons - as is their habit - have taken things to a new level with their new live album and subsequent concert film/documentary HOME.
Having enlisted a 40-piece orchestra (and a choir) for a symphonic metalcore blow-out in the iconic Sydney Opera House, HOME was always going to be one of the most ambitious live metal albums of the year. Recorded back in 2025, the band demanded fans don black-tie for the exclusive event; 12 months later, the same stipulation was applied for the world premiere of the concert film, held at Sydney’s iconic State Theatre.
As they had done a year previously, metalheads once again donned their tuxedos and ballgowns for a celebration of the five surf rats who have proved time and time again that Australian heavy music can hold its own on the world stage. True to their ‘everyman’ nature, the band itself sat among the audience - dressed to the nines - for the screening, which combined footage of the show with fan interviews, family anecdotes (delivered from the seats of the concert hall) and behind-the-scenes footage of the whole thing coming together.
Unsurprisingly, the reception to the songs was overwhelmingly positive, each performance eliciting cheers from those watching along. The arrangements - courtesy of Tim Davies and Joel Farland - go far beyond confining violins, violas and cellos to chugging along with breakdowns.
Extended symphonic introductions, evil-sounding counter-melodies and gothic choral passages all significantly elevate the originals, with the footage itself nicely split between the orchestra and band. Opening one-two of Home is for the Heartless and Glitch sound as powerful as the studio counterparts, whilst an argument can be mounted that these renditions of Prey, Carrion and Crushed are the definitive versions.
In a similar move to Metallica’s S&M series, Parkway swapped many of its standard live staples for more dynamically diverse material for this performance. The live premiere of A Deathless Song, featuring Jenna McDougall (Tonight Alive, Hevenshe), is a particular success, while the triad of The Colour of Leaving, The Greatest Fear and Cemetery Bloom highlight the impressive vocal dynamism of frontman Winston McCall.
Australia’s Indigenous heritage is also front and centre here; an amped up Welcome to the Country kicks things off, overlaid in the film with footage of McCall descending from a Parkway-branded helicopter onto the Opera House sails with Indigenous performers dancing around him, whilst a pulverising rendition of Shadow Boxing features additional verses - some in Indigenous language - by emcee and Yuin and Thunghutti man Nooky (of Aussie hip-hop supergroup 3%).
Crushed is also beefed up by a didgeridoo player droning beneath its earth-shattering riffs. These elements are a wonderful showcase of the deep history of Australia on the world stage. However, the biggest highlight of the film is the fan stories woven throughout. In interviews shown between songs, we hear of fans who’ve lost children, are recovering from addiction, or who have made it through agonising cancer treatments, all brought together by a shared love of Parkway Drive (many of the fans interviewed are shown in attendance at the concert).
One feature is a single father who chose the song Glitch - his late wife’s favourite tune - for her funeral. The subsequent footage of the song’s performance - alongside cuts of the dad with his sons loving every second of it in the front row - is incredibly moving. In a band Q&A onstage at the premiere after the screening, guitarist Jeff Ling admitted that he’d been ‘crying like a baby’ while watching the footage. “We didn’t see the complete interviews until quite deep into the cut,” added McCall.
“We were really shocked at how forthcoming people were about their journey with this band, and how deep their connections was; after seeing that, we were very adamant that this project was about the people.” In the same way that these songs are enhanced by the strings, the setlist of HOME is bolstered - and in many ways reshaped - by the fan stories attached to it. A barnstorming success of both musical spirit and human-to-music connection. Viva the classical underdogs!
