Parkway DriveThy Art Is Murder are old hands at playing major occasions by now, and were beneficiaries of a largely receptive, sold-out crowd. The room rapidly filled throughout their half-hour set. There were few surprises for anyone who had caught the road-hardened crew during the past couple of years, but bruising slabs of deathcore like The Purest Strain Of Hate, alongside circle-pit inducing Slaves Beyond Death and Reign Of Darkness were executed with efficiency.
Heavy music personality Jamey Jasta often suggests on his podcast that bands need to regenerate their fan-base every few years, as real-life responsibilities and changing tastes ensure some punters inevitably move on. Although possessing seniority over the main act, Killswitch Engage revelled in the prospect of winning over younger converts, while satisfying the existing diehards who greeted them as headliners in their own right. Kicking off with singalong favourite Rose Of Sharyn, the Massachusetts metalcore mob's likeable presence (guitarist/class clown Adam Dutkiewicz was in typically wise-cracking form) and energy was apparent. Perhaps the 50-minute affair lost some momentum in its midsection, but a barrage of arms-around-your-mates anthems, including My Last Serenade, The End Of Heartache and My Curse concluded proceedings in fine fashion.
If you sought to witness Parkway Drive perform plenty of early material in the live environment, the rapturously received Horizons heritage jaunt earlier this year was really your opportunity. Conversely, while initial releases were referenced (Idols And Anchors, Carrion, Karma's mosh-inducing violence), this set was predominantly based around the group's past two records, Ire and Reverence. Both LPs are bursting with fare custom-built for levelling large venues. Even dubbing much of the Byron Bay outfit's recent output as metalcore seems ill-fitting, but the opening one-two of Wishing Wells' intensity and infectious Prey quickly rendered any such purists' concerns obsolete. Thy Art Is Murder axeman Andy Marsh ably substituted for new father Jeff Ling, although the latter's enthusiasm was missed somewhat.
That aside, in addition to being able to work a crowd better than most, this time around Parkway Drive boasted the pyrotechnic-spouting, eye-boggling arena-metal production values to match their studio ambitions, heightening the impact of these already visceral songs. Frontman Winston McCall noted that it had taken some time to be able to bring such a presentation Down Under. The wait was worth it. A blinding light show, more flames than a season of Chicago Fire, live strings on a couple of tracks and the much-vaunted, 360-degree spinning drum kit during Crushed all enhanced the spectacle. If Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had a penchant for harsh vocals and beatdowns, they'd surely have approved.
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As the debate rages on regarding who the next generation of metal festival headliners will be, Parkway Drive again proved that they're ready to take the mantle.
