What happens when you put two Australian bands and one British band inside Brixton Academy, along with nearly 5,000 people? A huge party, complete with confetti, plenty of pyrotechnics, and anthems about the state of the world today. Aussie outfit Parkway Drive have brought their ‘IRE’ worldwide tour to the UK and boy, did they create a ruddy good party.
Fellow Aussies Thy Art Is Murder kick off proceedings, which sees a stellar performance from stand-in vocalist Nick Arthur of Molotov Solution. His bellowing growls simply shine through the pummelling riffs that they dish out, and any fears about whether or not he’d be able to step up to fill in the shoes of ex-vocalist CJ McMahon have been put to rest by the time they wrap up with ‘Holy War’.
Determined to do their home country proud, Bury Tomorrow struggle with their sound in such a vast venue at first but, in next to no time, they race through a mix of material from their latest album, whilst taking a nod to older material such as ‘Lionheart’. The vocal interplay between Dani Winter-Bates and Jason Cameron is stunning, and helps them carry off the huge-sounding ‘Earthbound’ and the heavy, gritty ‘Sceptres’.
The set that ensues from Parkway Drive can only be described as pure madness. Confetti guns signal their arrival, before they dive in with opener ‘Destroyer’. Each track from thereon in is delivered with brutal force – bursts of technical riffs and demonic drum work come forth in the shape of ‘Karma’, whilst the crowd is quick to take over during ‘Carrion’, yelling the words back at the boys with passion and conviction.
Throughout the course of the night, frontman Winston McCall consistently demonstrates his raw, punishing vocals whilst being utterly mesmerising – it really is difficult to take your eyes off him as he commands the crowd to move, time and time again. He delivers ‘Bottom Feeder’ and ‘Crushed’, tracks full of anguish and hate, in an aggressive manner. Each track they perform is fleshed out with frenetic adrenaline, and topped off with punchy, dynamic riffs.
Signing off with a red flare and ‘Home Is For the Heartless’, Parkway Drive have proven that they’re one of the best metal bands in the scene. ‘Ire’ is their latest creation in a long line of albums fuelled by global economics, politics, and other hot topics in between – and, in a bold, brash and simply brilliant manner, they’ve brought that album into a live setting in the best way possible.
