Anybody who is into heavy music knows the name Parkway Drive. Whether youre a lover or a hater, youve heard of them. In case youve been living under a rock, heres a bit about the band. Parkway Drive is a 5 piece metal/hardcore band form the small hippy town of Byron Bay. They have released a number of EPs and 4 full length albums which includes their most recent release, Atlas.

I have been a follower of this band for many years; they are my favourite band when it comes to recorded music and live performance. This review is going to be bias, but I would like to take you on my own Parkway Drive journey leading to the latest release.

Back in 2005, I was at high school where I was handed a burnt CD simply titled ‘PWD’, my mate said this was the best thing he have ever heard, it was a Friday and I ran a lunch time radio show over my schools PA system, without listening to it, I just put it on. I put on track number 10, the classic Parkway track Smoke Em If You Got Em. Within 45 seconds my radio show was over, as blast beats tore through the school with vocals screaming “DIE”, I knew I had stumbled onto something. There wasnt a day I didnt go without listening to that debut album, Killing With A Smile.

In November of 2006, the day came when I saw this band for the first time, it was at Star Bar in Wollongong, I paid $12 and I still have that ticket. There was 50 kids max and the stage could hardly fit the band, which was in just a small corner. From that moment, they became my favorite band, with such a small venue and stage, they destroyed the place. Since that night in November, I honestly cant count the amount of times I have seen this band, Ive seen them in three different states, over 20 different venues, ranging from small to large. I havent missed a hometown show in Byron Bay for 5 years, which are hands down the best shows. The stature of this band is massive, they can sell out Hordern Pavilion in Sydney and get 8,000+ at Brisbanes River stage, but they never sell out a hometown show, which takes place at their old high school. Ive taken friends along to these shows because they are a true Parkway Drive show, no barrier, no security just a band and their fans fucking shit up. Ive walked out of these shows and seen broken noses, arms, legs and even a ripped jaw; these shows really show the bands true nature.

The pinnacle and most 360 moment for me and this band was when I saw them side of stage at the 2012 Big Day Out, although enjoying the show, I couldnt help but think back to that first time I saw them live, and the amount of times Ive seen them since then, it was a truly incredible experience. But for the first time, I was given the opportunity to see the crowd from the bands point of view, playing to a mass crowd like Big Day Out and having kids sing back every word, for me was overwhelming, let alone how that must feel for them.

Atlas is an evolution of Parkway Drive and their progression as a band, although every album has gone from strength to strength and they never travel down the same road musically, Atlas is a prime example of a band that know exactly what they are writing. The music on this album is proof of their experience of not only being in a band for 10 years, but the personal experiences the band have faced together with their slave labor like touring schedule.

Tracks like Old Ghosts/New Regrets shows familiarity to earlier albums, Killing with a Smile and Horizons, its short, fast and its heavy; I was fortunate enough to see this track live in Byron earlier this year, even before it had a name and I was blown away, the heaviness was powerful. First single Dark Days is a track that really sets this album up well, its a perfect example of what the whole album is going to be, its epic in parts, and super heavy on others, especially with its massive breakdown at the end.

With Atlas following third album Deep Blue which helped Parkway truly break the world market in a big way, Atlas will see the world fan base grow further, and this little band from Byron Bay will be playing bigger shows overseas than on home soil.

Atlas is available now through Epitaph Records

- Trent R