Parkway Drive Albums – A Glimpse To The Band’s Success

Parkway Drive is a metalcore band formed in 2002 in New South Wales, Australia. They currently have three released albums: Killing With A Smile, Horizons, and Deep Blue. They also have great Parkway Drive merch for their legions of fans to wear.

The band’s hometown is Byron Bay, described as an idyllic, tranquil paradise of sandy beaches and lush tropical foliage. It is a backpacker’s haven and has gained a tourist destination status through the years. It is therefore quite surprising that a metalcore band like the Parkway Drive would emerge from this quiet town.

Their current band line up is: Winston McCall at vocals, Ben Gordon at drums, Jeff Ling with guitar, Jia O’Connor at bass guitar, and Luke Kilpatrick also at guitar.

How Parkway Drive Was Started

There is no great mystery or weird story behind the band’s name, unlike those from other groups. They used to practice in a house was located on Parkway Drive. When it came time to come up with their own band, they did not have to go far.

Come some months after their formation, the band released a split EP together with another band which was the I Killed The Prom Queen. The EP was called the “I Killed The Prom Queen / Parkway Drive Split CD.

Then in 2005 the band went to the United States to record the first of their Parkway Drive albums, the Killing Me With A Smile which was released in August of 2005 under Epitaph Records. It was produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz.

But just some months after that, their bass guitarist at that time, Shaun Cash, decided to leave the band and he was replaced by Jia O’Connor. Jia was already with the band when they kicked off their first international tour of the U.S. and Europe.

Parkway Drive’s first album was then praised by critics for its technical precision and for its appeal to all the extreme music fanatics.

On October 6, 2007 the band’s next album, Horizons, was released. It contained their hit single “The Sirens’ Song” which they originally played before a crowd at Underworld a few months earlier. They immediately followed the album’s release with a tour of the United States, Europe, and Australia.

The album debuted at the number 6 spot of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Chart and also at the 27th spot of the Top Heatseekers chart.

After three long years of waiting, Deep Blue was finally released. It is the third and latest, as of to date, of their album releases and it was launched on June 29, 2010. The band recorded it in Los Angeles, California still under the Epitaph Records. It was the longest time of interval since they release another album but it was worth it as it ranked almost immediately to the 2nd spot of the ARIA charts.

Parkway Drive described this album as telling the story of a man who realized that his life was full of lies and so embarked on a journey to find the truth. He went everywhere, including at the bottom of the sea and went back again.

With their three successful albums and equally successful world tours, and not to mention the demand for their band merch, Parkway Drive is not only Australia’s most famous metalcore bands, but also among the best around the globe.