Live Review: Parkway Drive @ John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Full disclosure: I’m a fan of all four bands who took the stage at John Cain Arena (or John McClane Arena, as a special guest would say, later in the night) in Melbourne last night (24 September), but the more gigs I go to, the more I prioritise ensuring I’ve eaten something nice before heading to the show. And that, my friends, is not arena food. Unfortunately, it was also why I missed out on seeing Void Of Vision and The Ghost Inside.

Taking my seat during I Prevail’s set, it was immediately apparent that I was in for a treat, the American alternative metal band ripping through bangers like Body Bag, Choke, Hurricane, and Gasoline. It turns out that they were a great choice to perform ahead of last night’s headliners, Parkway Drive, as they effortlessly got circle pits spinning, kids crowd surfing, and headbangs from the seated areas.

Before Parkway Drive began their set, it was easy to ask too many questions. I’d already heard a lot about the show before my attendance, with friends attending the Melbourne show just two days before and mates who went to the Sydney and Brisbane gigs.

Was the show really going to be as amazing as it was hyped up to be? Could Parkway Drive really maintain the energy required to host an epic two-hour set? Would the Killing With A Smile medley actually work?

From the moment the lights dimmed, and the five members of Parkway Drive—vocalist Winston McCall, guitarists Jeff Ling and Luke Kilpatrick, drummer Ben Gordon, and bassist Jia O'Connor, accompanied by a crew—made their way through the stands and then the general admission floor of the arena to the stage, all questions or doubts faded from my mind.

This was no ordinary stage. Parkway Drive really went all out with the production on this tour: a smaller, square-shaped stage that could allow a drum kit or person to rise from underneath to above was in the general admission area. After two songs, a bridge (I’m calling it a moat) descended from the rig above our eyesight, allowing the band members to run from stage to stage.

Parkway Drive opened with the always iconic Carrion, and from its opening riff, it was evident that the band would deliver a night we wouldn’t forget. As it’s one of those songs every Parkway Drive fan knows off by heart, McCall would throw some lines to the audience – not because he couldn’t handle them, but because a Parkway Drive show is all about connection.

After an anthemic rendition of Prey, the band, staring straight ahead, strode across the moat to the main stage and charged into Glitch, with breakdancers providing their best hard-style dancing. At any other show, breakdancers might have been distracting. At this show, it was anything but: it was the first of many moments that proved that Parkway Drive give us spectacles.

Somehow, the energy didn’t let up, and at song six on the set, Parkway Drive went back in time, playing one of the heaviest tracks in their expansive discography in Boneyards. Joined by special guest Michael Crafter (the vocalist of Australian metalcore bands I Killed The Prom Queen and Confession), the band offered a spectacular performance that served as anything but cringey nostalgia.

Instead, McCall took the opportunity to showcase just how far the band has come, telling the audience that without I Killed The Prom Queen taking Parkway Drive under their wings when they were still some nobodies from Byron Bay, they wouldn’t be where they are today. And what a shame that would be.

During the Killing With A Medley or Mashup With A Smile segment, everything about Parkway Drive and what we were witnessing in real time began to make sense.

This was a band that could stand up with any metalcore giant, and has become the most successful heavy metal band to ever come out of Australia. This was a band that loved and respected their roots, the communities that built them. It wasn’t all about riffs or juvenile shouts of “cry me a fucking river, bitch” – it was about making music, and the people behind it, personal, and approachable.

Parkway Drive absolutely slayed through those medley cuts – Gimme A D, Anasasis (Xenophontis), Mutiny, It's Hard To Speak Without A Tongue, Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em, and Romance Is Dead. While it was a ten-minute medley, I doubt even the most diehard Killing With A Smile enthusiasts could walk away feeling dissatisfied, as the band focused on the album’s best and heaviest moments.

The feeling of connection returned again in a more direct fashion during Idols & Anchors, when McCall performed the track from within the moshpit and commanded a “Winston Roundabout” around him. This has been happening at Parkway Drive shows for years, but somehow, it didn’t feel cliché or silly; it was just as special as the first time the band did it.

After wrapping up the main set with Darker Still, which, it must be said, has seen McCall make marked improvements as a singer and an energetic rendition of Bottom Feeder, it was time for the most dramatic moment of the night: the pyro for Crushed.

The pyro is something I haven’t mentioned until now because, honestly, there was a lot of pyro throughout Parkway Drive’s set. The first sparks went off during Glitch while Wishing Wells and Dedicated saw sparks and pyrotechnics warm up the room. Wishing Wells literally began with McCall getting doused in rain. And, during Horizons, the moat mentioned above rose up high, Ling playing an epic solo and looking every part the hero he is on record and live. Ling later duetted with a string section, which was stunning.

During Crushed, though, Parkway Drive took pyrotechnics and drummer in the spinning circle to a whole new level.

The song opened with a drum solo from Gordon. McCall was on the middle stage, and before we knew it, the middle stage and the main stage were surrounded by fire during the chorus. However, it was at the end of the song that the fun began: the moat, which McCall was standing on at this point, lifted into the air, and when he screamed “CRUSHED”, the fire went out everywhere. In two words, it was fucking epic.

Parkway Drive closed the show with the classic Wild Eyes – the only bummer of the set is just one song from Atlas and one from Deep Blue (Sleepwalker). A rousing performance with all five members back on the middle stage, there was no other way to say farewell to the band than “VIVA THE UNDERDOGS”. Cue the streamers.

A warning: this show is intense. This show is not for the faint of heart. This is a show that stays with you. This is a show that honours the past and looks excitedly to the future. This is a show that pays respect to fans and the band’s past selves. This is a show that satisfies and returns the love you’ve given.

This is a band that flips off tall poppy syndrome: Parkway Drive won’t apologise for being successful or having the ability to elevate their show to brand-new heights. I’ve never seen a performance like what I saw last night, certainly not from any Australian band, and I’ve been to a lot of shows. Parkway Drive didn’t just raise the bar last night, but they showed what’s possible for heavy music in Australia. And it’s glorious.