From the laid back, beachfront town of Byron Bay, Australia, this band started in 2003 when they took the name of parkway drive, the name of the street where all the late night jam sessions used to took place as they practiced their favorite music.
It was obvious that these 5 band mates were seriously hardcore metal men that could pound it out in style. The charisma of the group is undeniable and they have an uncanny ability to connect with every member in the audience. They look more like surfer dudes with an edge, but make no mistake these guys are heavy metal to the bone.
Killing with a Smile was the first full-length album by the group.
This was released in August 2005 and the band revved up their notoriously frantic pace of performances and tours. Parkway Drive became a strong act as they performed for headlining shows around Australia and spread their wings to other countries as well. The touring has been the vehicle that they used to really crank up their fan base and visibility.
Current Parkway Drive band members
– Winston McCall – front man and vocals
– Ben Gordon – percussionist/drums
– Jeff Ling – guitarist
– Luke Kilpatrick – guitarist
– “Pipey” O’Connor – bass guitarist
They started playing to American audiences in August of 2006 when Epitaph Records signed the group in June and then released “Killing with a Smile” to American fans. Enormous success for the group started in 2006 while on the Taste of Chaos Tour and their favorites like Underoath, Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, and Saosin were part of the set. Parkway Drive merch sales thrived as fans wanted souvenirs of the tour appearances. The Homebake Festival, Soundwave Festival, Gravity G Festival, and Sound Fest, where the group played in the last 2 months of 2006, sealed their position as a fan favorite.
The group enjoyed continued success through 2007 when they played at Underworld, which included the first live performance of “The Siren’s Song”. When asked to participate in the 2007 US Vans Warped Tour, Parkway Drive was the only Australian band to win the honor. When they released their album, “Horizons” in October, 2007, it scored a 10/10 from Blunt Magazine. Going straight to #6 on the ARIA charts upon its release, the album managed to stay in the top 40 for many weeks. With a sound that resembled Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”, the “Horizons” album’s success was attributable to the US Vans Warped Tour in 2007 and Parkway Drive’s exclusive position as the only Australian band on the tour was partly responsible.
Music Highlights in Brief: Album Releases were: 2005 release of Killing with a Smile 2007 release of Horizons. Singles and Music Videos include: Boneyards
2008 release of Smoke ‘em if Ya got ‘em
When Parkway Drive announced they were headlining a US tour in January 2009 they included some of the favorites like Stick to Your Guns and MyChildren MyBride and are still on the cross-country tour. T-shirts, posters, hoodies and other parkway drive merchandise are selling well as fans can’t get enough of the new metal icons that are the heaviest of the new metal bands. “Idols and Anchors” and “Romance is Dead” are 2 songs getting a lot of airplay, while “Carrion” and “Guns for Show, Knives for a Pro” are still being downloaded frequently.
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