Parkway Drive
The metalcore band Parkway Drive not only causes a musical sensation in their home country of Australia, but also celebrates great success far away from the continent. The five-piece ensemble from Byron Bay owes its high profile in Europe to hits like "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" as well as numerous festival appearances and tours.

In 2003 Winston McCall, Jeff Ling, Luke Kilpatrick, Brett Versteeg and Ben Gordon founded Parkway Drive - PWD for short - in Byron Bay in the Australian state of New South Wales. Except for bassist Brett Versteeg, who was replaced by Shaun Cash before he in turn gave his position to Jia O'Connor, all founding members are still an integral part of the group today.

Parkway Drive caused an initial stir within their fan base with a split CD, which they recorded together with the Australian metalcore combo I Killed The Prom Queen. In 2004 their first recording (EP) "Don't Close Your Eyes" was released - and a year later Parkway Drive celebrated their premiere with a studio album. "Killing With A Smile" brings them a breakthrough with Australian Metalcore fans.

After the success of the second LP "Horizons", the band is also making a name for itself in the US metalcore scene. At the same time, Parkway Drive tours throughout Europe are on the schedule, which also cause the German fan base to storm with enthusiasm. In 2009, Parkway Drive released a DVD with excerpts from the show, which they peppered with interesting background information about the band.

With the album "Deep Blue" Parkway Drive continued their successful path in 2010 and toured in Japan, among other places. For the first time the band lands in the international charts with their songs. Over the years, several Parkway Drive albums have landed in the German album charts, including “Deep Blue”, “Atlas”, “Ire”, “Reverence” and “Viva The Underdogs”.

Typical of the Parkway Drive sound are the classic stylistic features of metalcore - a hard mix of extreme metal and hardcore punk. That changes with the fourth and fifth LP by the guys around Winston McCall. "Atlas" and "Ire" sound more melodic and profound, which doesn't appeal to all die-hard fans of the band. Nevertheless, the band opens up access to music fans of other directions in this way.

They continue on this course with the release of their album "Reverence", the success of which confirms that the band can still inspire many listeners after the change of direction. In 2018 and 2019, Parkway Drive will be among the headliners of the Full Force music festival, which is considered a mecca for metal, hardcore and punk fans. The band is also one of the main acts at the famous Wacken Open Air in 2019.

With all the fame that the five boys from Down Under have achieved in a short time, they still sell tickets for smaller Parkway Drive shows. This puts them in more intimate contact with their followers, who of course appreciate the special gigs.

In spring 2020, Parkway Drive will deliver the soundtrack to their own feature film "Viva The Underdogs", which traces the rise from the proverbial underdog to the headliner of the world's hippest festivals. A special highlight are three hits, which the ensemble translates into German.