This past Sunday the Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive brought their unique blend of metal madness to the Fillmore Charlotte in support of their latest album “Ire.” The near capacity crowd was warmed up and ready to go from strong performances by the opening bands during which the crowd surfing had gotten quite intense. Awaiting the band to take the stage, fans took part in a venue wide sing along to the ’80s soundtrack being played over the sound system. It was quite a sight to see a crowd of metalcore fans swaying and singing to “I Want To Know What Love Is” by Foreigner and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It wasn’t long before the chants of “Parkway Drive!” began and the lights dimmed.
The band opened with “Destroyer” from the new record as confetti cannons exploded and threw colored confetti bits onto the audience. Frontman Winston McCall was in command of the show early on as he led the rest of the band through a solid set. The energy of the crowd was intense and McCall took full advantage of it urging the fans to form the biggest f*cking circle pit he ever saw. The guitars of Jeff Ling and Luke “Pig” Kilpatrick were in fine form especially on the new tracks which feature a lot more guitar harmonies than their older tunes. They had a nice lighting rig that took up the back of the stage changing colors and patterns from song to song and drummer Ben “Gaz” Gordon had a large riser for his kit, keeping him visible to the audience. Things really heated up as the band ripped into their big single “Vice Grip” as the sea of bodies surfing toward the stage got larger and larger and the plumes of CO2 rose on stage. The sound quality was exceptional with a heavy drum and bass feel but not overpowering the vocals and guitars. McCall continued his showmanship throughout the evening interacting with the audience and has never sounded better live. One of the biggest crowd reactions of the evening was for “Romance Is Dead” from Parkway Drive’s debut album “Killing With a Smile.” It was nice to hear a setlist mixed with a great combination of older and newer songs. Their set closed with a rousing peformance of “Swing” before the lights dimmed and the audience chants of “Parkway Drive!” began yet again. It was clear that the audience hadn’t had enough of Parkway Drive yet and the band returned for an encore with the punishing “Crushed” from the new record before ending the night with a sing-a-long version of “Home Is For the Heartless” complete with more confetti and CO2.
The show was chaotic and grueling as a great metal show should be and fans left the venue hot and sweaty and perhaps a little bruised and battered. If you asked them if it was worth it, you would have gotten a resounding “Hell Yeah!” from the crowd and I have no doubt that the next time Parkway Drive comes to town the fans will be back and begging for more. Be sure to check out the “Ire” tour when it rolls through town and experience a great night of metalcore Aussie style!
Setlist:
Destroyer
Dying To Believe
Carrion
Dark Days
Karma
Vice Grip
Idols and Anchors
Deliver Me
Wild Eyes
Bottom Feeder
Romance Is Dead
Swing
Encore:
Crushed
Home Is For the Heartless
We would like to thank Michele Stephens from Epitaph Records for the credentials to review the show.
