The Sound Of Violence
There has been a lot of anticipation surrounding the release of this new Parkway Drive album. As a live unit they’ve delivered shows with such a chaotic consistency, the number of people interested in the band alone has increased substantially. Previous records have presented an above average Metalcore band into the scene, but nothing has ever really stood out as being particularly mind blowing, until now. The band have kept Metalcore elements throughout the album, but they’ve expanded so much further than that. Instead of doing what so many other bands end up doing, dying by the sword of ‘Metalcore by numbers’, Parkway Drive have attempted to make a more interesting sounding album, to very positive results.
If you’ve been a Parkway Drive fan since the start you may be a little confused at reading that they’ve enveloped a whole range of influences, whether they be Thrash, Death or even Nu Metal (and you can pinpoint that in to one track alone with Dying To Believe) but after giving this album a good few spins it is quite clear that Ire could really springboard them on to the next level. Perhaps the biggest standout performance on the record is that of vocalist Winston McCall. On some of the chorus breakdowns, he bends his voice to perfectly suit the riff, before launching into a tirade. Consistently throughout the record he continues to be the leading light on this new, more exciting, sounding Parkway Drive. Alongside the superb vocals, the guitar work on this album also stands out hugely. Jeffrey Ling’s contribution on this album consists of a mix between huge furious Parkway Drive style riffs and intricate guitar solos. Yes intricate little guitar solos. This direction had already perked its head up when the band released Vice Grip earlier in the Summer and the influences on this track alone really pull from your more classic sounding Heavy Metal bands with the delicate guitar licks and chest pumping chants. When this progresses further with tracks like Fractures and Vicious you won’t be able to help smiling at just how well they’ve been able to nail it on this record. There is of course still plenty here that will keep the older fans more than happy, from the crushing Dedicated to the intense Bottom Feeder.
It is genuinely exciting when a band reaches out from its central groundwork. The band have indeed grown up on the Metalcore scene, and those fans are unlikely to abandon them, but with this more expansive and deliberately different sounding record, Ire could be the start of something very special for the guys in Parkway Drive. Live the band are incredibly powerful, and listening through the tracks on this album it is clear that so many of them will translate brilliantly on stage. Overall then, this is a well produced, excellent Metal album. The Hardcore aspect may be a little more limited than probably expected, but Parkway Drive have delivered a record which will more than likely sit amongst those illustrious ‘Album Of The Year’ run downs in a couple of months.