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PARKWAY DRIVE
+ I Prevail + The Ghost Inside
+ Void of Vision
@ RAC Arena, Perth,
30th September 2024
(Live Review)

Review by Stephanie Jewell

Photos (Adelaide, 27th September 2024) by Michael Selge (@oz.craftypics)

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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Metal fans of Perth were in for a treat when Parkway Drive decided to finish their 20 Year Anniversary Tour on the west coast. They were bringing a show that had to be upgraded from a smaller venue over two sold out nights into Perth’s crown jewel music venue at RAC Arena, due to the overwhelming demand for tickets. Parkway Drive had brought a slew of incredible supports on this tour, with many fans buying tickets to see their favorite bands on the lineup. As each band took to the stage, the packed metal crowd became even more frenzied than before, as fans young and old crammed amongst each other, eager for what was to come.

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Void Of Vision @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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Void of Vision

The first support to open the night were Void of Vision, who brought their heavy industrial metalcore sound over all the way from Melbourne to join Parkway Drive on this tour. This intense band has been around since 2013, releasing their fourth studio album in September, with a strong following in the metal scene. Many of their music videos feature horror movie-esque themes which, if you have seen their Instagram, you will recognize. Void of Vision took to the stage in complete darkness, with lights lifting just enough to show singer and frontman Jack Bergin wearing headgear reminiscent of an electric shock cage around his head. Fans will recognize this from the cover of their latest album, What I’ll Leave Behind.

As the lights came up fully, he had replaced the headgear with a cap, launching straight into the first song of their set. The erratic energy from Void of Vision proved them to be the perfect opener for Parkway Drive, setting the tone for the rest of the evening to come with a fantastic stage presence and great crowd engagement. Bergin encouraged circle pits early on and throughout Void of Vision’s set and the early crowd were stoked to oblige, especially through the song Alter. Fans in the crowd were able to get up close and personal to Bergin as he joined in the furor on the floor in the pit, singing from amongst the crowd. For an opener, they were an incredible choice and got the crowd warmed up for what was to come. If you enjoy bands like Make Them Suffer, you will really like Void of Vision.

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The Ghost Inside @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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The Ghost Inside

The Ghost Inside, hailing from California in the USA, had a lot of Australian fans in the crowd eagerly waiting to see them. It was their first ever show in Perth and the first time The Ghost Inside had been to Australia. The Ghost Inside were celebrating their own 20-year anniversary as a band, having formed in 2004. Thankfully the crowd didn’t have to wait too long as The Ghost Inside were the second support on the lineup for Parkway Drive. There were plenty of cheers and applause and f*ck yeah’s as the heavy metal heavyweights took to the stage, with a phenomenal opening number that laid down an intense and solid foundation for their set to come. Launching into Death Grip with screaming vocals and over driven guitars, followed by crowd favorite Pressure Point, which saw fans throw their hands in the air and moshing hard. They played some newer tracks including Wash It Away featuring clean vocals and an incredible hook.

Talking to the crowd, frontman Jonathan Vigil expressed that the Parkway Drive 20 Year Anniversary Tour was the most fun tour that The Ghost Inside have had in a really long time. He got raw and vulnerable when talking about the 2015 head on collision bus crash that occurred when they were on tour near Texas, where both drivers lost their lives, many of the band and crew ended up in critical condition in hospital for many weeks, and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk lost a leg. Vigil said he had always dreamt of this moment and never thought he would be able to come back to music and touring in this capacity, paying homage to the many supportive fans and friends along the way.

Vigil kept thanking fans for being there throughout the night, appreciative of everyone who was at the arena early to see their set. The crowd were as happy that The Ghost Inside were standing before them on stage as the band were to be there, as more circle pits started and they ripped open their set with an older song, Dark Horse, complete with super-fast screaming vocals that continued with double kick drumming. The rounded out the end of their set with Aftermath, a song with an insanely wicked breakdown and lyrics about getting a second chance, with Vigil telling the crowd that you don’t get a second chance at life often and how grateful he was to be here. They ended on Engine 45 to the roaring cheers of the crowd, an absolutely fantastic song to close with, promising to see the crowd again next year. This was only the second support, but holy shit they were incredible, continuing to set the tone for what was to come and raising the bar again.

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I Prevail @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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I Prevail

With half of the night already complete, the final support was delivered by American metal band I Prevail. Their style is more along the lines of alternative metal with some pop-punk and hip hop elements scattered throughout their tracks, offering something different to the previous supports of the night. The crowd was super packed by this point and when they were told to make some noise, they did! I Prevail launched into their very heavy metal cover of Blank Space by Taylor Swift, which went platinum in 2019 in the US. The cover was heavy and had a lot of double kick madness that was well received by the packed-out crowd.

There were plenty of deep breaths in and out as instructed from the stage, before the crowd were told to jump and bounce to the tune of throaty metal growls. They switched things up when asking the crowd to please sing along to Hurricane as the song means a lot to them. The band left the stage while an audio-visual clip played, bringing it back loud and heavy. I Prevail came back with screaming heavy metal vocals, screeching over driven guitars and hard-hitting double kick drum delights for their final songs of their set. The crowd were screaming for more as the last notes rang out. The crowd were well and truly warmed up and ready for Parkway Drive.

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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Parkway Drive

Finally, it was time for the moment that everyone had been waiting for, Parkway Drive, to celebrate the end of their 20 Year Anniversary Tour in style, on stage in Perth. In the lead up to writing this review, I thought ‘how the hell do I even write about something that was so mind blowingly phenomenal as this?’ This was truly a once in a lifetime event, that I very much doubt any other band could top. Parkway Drive first formed in 2003.

The entrance alone was incredible. The lights surrounding the stage were darkened to pitch black and a spotlight shone on the back right corner of the arena. A massive flag was billowing as Parkway Drive made their entrance like boxers about to take to the ring in the fight of their lives. Vocalist and frontman Winston McCall was donned in all white including a long baggy white jacket with a huge hood lowered to cover his face like some sort of messiah as the crowd parted like a moses wave before him. Jeff Ling, Luke Kilpatrick, Ben Gordon and Jia O’Connor followed, contrasted in darker outfits. Parkway Drive made their way to the stage, flanked by flag bearers, before taking their position to the raucous cheers and thundering applause from the jam-packed crowd before them, launching straight into their first song, Carrion. The whole crowd were singing every word back to the band as heavy bass notes bounced around the stage amongst shredding riffs and Ben Gordon showed us why he is a double kick master.

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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The crowd had been initiated into the church of Parkway Drive as they took it up a notch with their next song, Prey. The whole arena was jumping, singing along and clapping along. As a soundscape played overhead, the fabric shroud behind the band fell, revealing a scaffold backdrop structure of metal beams silhouetted against smoke, with Parkway Drive taking their places as a catwalk was lowered from the ceiling. The first pyrotechnics were seen with sparks shooting out of the staging as the first riffs of Glitch rang out. The pyro continued with flames shooting upwards along the front of the stage, as Glitch ended with sparks. Sleepwalker was played next, which saw a gnarly circle pit formed at the front of the stage as the riffs were shred and drums hit harder than I’ve ever heard. Their next song was Vice Grip, with the crowd singing the chorus straight back to the band. They have definitely come a long way and grown enormously as a band, since their 2003 days playing house parties where people were jumping off of balconies!

Parkway Drive brought a guest vocalist out to help them with their next song. Boneyards. This was a nostalgic moment for the band, taking it all back to where it first began, as I Killed The Prom Queen vocalist, Michael Crafter joined Parkway Drive on stage. Crafter first saw Parkway Drive play in Byron Bay in their very early days of 2003, and enjoyed what he saw so much that he took them on tour with I Killed The Prom Queen later that year. Winston told the crowd about how that gave the 5 mates playing in a basement, their first real break and changed the course of their lives. Twenty years later, he was happy to repay the favor and be joined by Crafter for Boneyards. The crowd was energized and frenzied into a circle pit as the double kick drumming hit every note hard and the guitars shredded on stage, overlaid with Winston and Crafter’s growling vocals that could rip your rib cage right out of your chest.

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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There were lightscapes and spotlights over Winston and the band for their next songs, Horizons, followed by Cemetery Bloom and The Void. This saw intricate finger picking then sliding into heavy riffs with screaming growling vocals. The catwalk stage rose up, taking with it Jeff Ling as he was tearing into an epic guitar solo, silhouetted in smoke and fog as sparks poured from the bottom of the stage. This was truly an epic performance! As the stage returned to its original position with the rest of the stage in smoky darkness, a spotlight showed Winston now in a black outfit as dancers surrounded him. With fists punching in the air from the crowd, Parkway Drive turned the heat up during The Void, with pyro sparks shooting up from the front of the stage. It was an impressive layering of sparks, smoke shooting upwards and sparks shooting out from different parts of the stage and the set around the band.

A soundscape of thunder and lightning played overhead as a waterfall fell from the roof, directly over Winston as they slammed everyone back to earth with Wishing Wells. There were plenty of head banging, moshing and circle pits as the crowd continued to be amazed and have a good time. Parkway Drive launched into their next track, which was a Killing With A Smile medley, which included a mish mash of Gimme A D, Anasasis, Mutiny, It’s Hard To Speak Without A Tongue, Smoke ‘Em If Ya Got ‘Em and Romance Is Dead. This was while smoke turrets show out of the stage, as the fastest drumming and riff shredding provided an incredibly heavy breakdown. Flames shot out of the front of the stage and behind the band at the back of the stage, as well as all around the catwalk stage during Dedicated. I was about 4m back from the stage at this point, and it was hot! Winston appeared in the centre of the crowd, enjoying the circle pit that was forming around him. The crowd work was insane and next level! The whole crowd were singing along and loving every second of it as Winston crowd surfed his way back to the main stage in a truly rock star move.

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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The next part of the set slowed down as a string quartet descended from the heavens on the catwalk stage like beautiful angels of death, and Jeff Ling launched into an insane guitar solo for Idols And Anchors right alongside them. The strings paired beautifully, and Winston was like a conductor of an orchestra as the violins and cellos shredded amongst a backdrop of smoke and lights and shredding riffs, launching into Chronos. The solos were electrifying and gave me goosebumps watching all of the musicians on stage! The energy amongst the floor was electric!

Winston asked everyone to pull out their phones and light up like stars as the whistling of Darker Still began. It was such an incredible sight to witness as RAC Arena lit up like a Christmas tree and the whole crowd sang along to this slower track. The guitars were insane but especially during this song, allowing for arguably one of the best solos of the whole night. The heavy breakdown of Darker Still and Winston’s gravelly vocals washed over the crowd, captivating them all with every move he made. The circular PWD sign had unfolded like a beautiful silent flower unfurling from the top rafters of the arena. As the song hit the heaviest part, flames shot out of the PWD sign in a magnificently glorious display as the guitars absolutely shredded to finish the song. It was already one of my favorite songs by Parkway Drive, but this was now locked into my core memories!

The band took a brief break, making fans think the concert was over, before reappearing for an encore with Winston telling the crowd that Perth had a special place in his heart and then kicking off the encore with Bottom Feeder. There was a huge moshpit in front of the stage and a circle pit of doom happening in the middle of the crowd as more pyrotechnics saw flames shooting out of the stage along with sparks. Then the lights on the stage darkened, and we knew we were in for something special. An atmospheric soundscape played as flames appeared on top of the scaffolding that was holding the drum kit in place, along the front and back of the stage and the front with dancers surrounding Winston and chanting. Parkway Drive launched into the next song, Crushed, followed by their finale, Wild Eyes.

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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The drum cage began to spin and rotate with Ben Gordon strapped in. Even while drumming upside down, no easy feat to achieve, he was not missing a beat, proving the amount of talent and capabilities the drummer has, while flames shot out horizontally and vertically around him. Flames shot up from along the front of the stage as though they had been summoned and Winston sang the lyrics to the crowd and the crowd sang them back, he was the Messiah, and we were all praying at the Parkway Drive altar! Winston took to the catwalk which rose him above the crowd one final time, and as the heavy breakdown hit, flames shot out sideways from the catwalk as it sat suspended above the crowds, as well as upwards from the stage and horizontally from the set behind the stage. This was an absolutely phenomenal and ambitious performance that Parkway Drive pulled off with ease, and the help of the many RAC Arena staff, tech crew, stagehands, and everyone behind the scenes.

Winston told the crowd how sentimental this 20 Year Anniversary Tour made him, and that nobody would have said that Parkway Drive would have ever gotten to this point 20 years ago. With the crowd absolutely cheering and roaring, he said ‘here is to another 20!’ as the night ended with a bang. This was an experience like no other. As I was leaving the arena, crowd members were calling it the gig of the year, and of their lifetime! It was definitely one I will never forget!

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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Setlist: Carrion, Prey, Glitch, Sleepwalker, Vice Grip, Boneyards, Horizons, Cemetery, The Void, Wishing Wells, KWAS Medley, Dedicated, Idols, Chronos, Darker Still, Bottom Feeder, Crushed, Wild Eyes

With thanks to AMNplify and Dallas Does PR for the access.

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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Follow PARKWAY DRIVE

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Parkway Drive @ AEC, Adelaide, 27th September, 2024 / Photo – @oz.craftypics

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Press Release 27th April 2024 (below) HERE

PARKWAY DRIVE
add 2nd Brisbane & Melbourne shows
due to overwhelming demand

20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR

with special guests

I PREVAIL (USA)
THE GHOST INSIDE (USA)
+ VOID OF VISION

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AMNPLIFY – DB