Parkway Drive – Deep Blue
Release Date: June 29. 2010
Record Label: Epitaph
You know what lives in the deep blue ocean? Sharks do. And on their third album, Deep Blue, it sounds like Parkway Drive has been living every week like it’s Shark Week. What we have is 13 tracks full of ferocity, shredding, and urgency. In fact, I’ve heard that Great Whites incite a mosh pit while listening to this album before heading out to snack on a surfer off the Australian coast.
After working with producer Adam Dutkiewicz on their first two albums, the Aussies turned to Joe Barresi to produce Deep Blue. The end result is Parkway Drive’s best album to date, pushing their metalcore boundaries to create their rawest and heaviest sound ever. Guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling maintain their auditory assault, but this time the addition of some mood and atmosphere elements to their killer riffs and breakdowns separates the musicianship from previous efforts. Tracks like the opening “Samsara” and “Sleepwaker” are examples of this, with the latter being one of the best metal songs of 2010. Paced by charged-up, hurricane-inducing guitar riffs and Winston McCall’s pulverizing vocals, the song will rip right through your speakers.
The musicianship continues to be impressive throughout, as Parkway Drive fuses a lot of melodies with their powerful breakdowns and break-neck drumming. “Wreckage” uses this technique, while the slow burn of “Alone,” (which features a nice clean picked guitar intro) balances the two styles admirably. Speaking of breakdowns, “Pressures” unleashes a frenzied beauty in middle that’ll definitely please the headbangers. “Deliver Me” is absolutely crushing, and “Hollow” (featuring some growls from The Warriors’ lead man, Marshall Lichtenwaldt) will please fans of earlier Parkway material.
But it’s not all ambience and breakdowns on Deep Blue. They mix in some thrash and punk in “Karma” (drummer Ben Gordon kills it here) and “Home Is For The Heartless,” in which Bad Religion guitarist (and head honcho of Epitaph) Brett Gurewitz joins in on the fun and sings along with McCall’s gnarly yell. All in all, Deep Blue is a smorgasbord of ass-kicking.
The theme of Deep Blue is bleak – you won’t be finding much optimism in McCall’s lyrics. But that’s okay, not everything in life is roses. This album isn’t a downer, rather it’s something to vent along with during tough times. Parkway Drive stuck to their word by promising and delivering the heaviest and most personal album of their career – or as I would put it: the soundtrack to Shark Week.
i had listened to the first two albums by these guys and didnt get into them, then i saw them at warped tour this past sunday and they floored me. i love this album, the best metal album since The Powerless Rise, def making my top 10. just a great fun record. also the price of warped admission is worth seeing them alone
the best metal album since The Powerless Rise, def making my top 10. just a great fun record. also the price of warped admission is worth seeing them alone
The best metal album since the one that came out a little over a month ago? Ok.
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