About Parkway Drive
Parkway Drive are an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. Parkway Drive have released seven studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled Ten Years of Parkway Drive. The band's latest three albums have reached number 1 of the Australian ARIA Charts – Ire , Reverence , and Darker Still .
The band's line-up has been consistent since the addition of bassist Jia O'Connor in 2006, with Brett Versteeg having left in 2004 and Shaun Cash in 2006.
Parkway Drive were formed at the beginning of 2003. The band took their name from the street where their home rehearsal space and live venue, 'The Parkway House', was located. The 2009 documentary Parkway Drive: The DVD explains that there was a lack of venues for punk rock and hardcore punk bands to practice and perform and that 'Parkway House' was like 'a little oasis for us and all our friends'. The group played their first show at the Byron Bay Youth Centre where I Killed the Prom Queen vocalist Michael Crafter, visiting from Adelaide, also first saw the group and gained their interest. The I Killed the Prom Queen / Parkway Drive: Split CD was released June 2003 and both groups toured Australia over the rest of the year. After signing with Resist Records, the band released the Don't Close Your Eyes EP in 2004 and opened for Shadows Fall, Chimaira, Hatebreed and Alexisonfire on subsequent Australian tours. Winston McCall commented on the EP in early 2005 that he was surprised that "for six songs it's done amazing for us...I'm surprised that kids picked it up so well." Following Brett Versteeg's replacement by Shaun Cash, Parkway Drive flew to the United States where they recorded their debut full-length Killing with a Smile with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz in just two weeks. Manager Graham Nixon later noted that 'it was not the "done thing" for an Australian band to head overseas and work with a producer of that sort of calibre'. The album debuted in the Australian Album charts at 39. In 2006 the group toured in Europe and later returned to North America. In late May 2006, bass player Shaun Cash left the band for personal reasons with full support from the rest of the members. He was replaced by their "merch guy" and long-time friend, Jia "Pie" O'Connor. Parkway Drive signed to American punk label Epitaph in June 2006.
In July and August 2007, Parkway Drive appeared on that year's Warped Tour in the US. On 24 July 2007, Horizons was announced for release, and its track listing was revealed. On 20 August, "Boneyards" was posted on the band's Myspace profile. Horizons was made available for streaming on 1 October, and was released on 6 October through Epitaph. In October, the band toured across Australia, before going on tour in Europe with Comeback Kid, Cancer Bats, the Warriors, and This Is Hell the following month. A music video for "Boneyards" was posted online on 23 November. In December, the band went on a west coast US tour alongside XDeathstarx.
In January and February 2008, the band went on a US tour alongside Killswitch Engage, the Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die. Following this, the band performed at the Groezrock festival in Belgium, and went on an Australian tour with Have Heart, Antagonist and Break Even. In July and August, the band supported Darkest Hour on the Trash & Burn tour. During the tour, the band performed at Robot Mosh Fest. In April and May 2009, the band went on a tour of the US with Stick to Your Guns and MyChildren MyBride. The band appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May.
On 23 March 2010, Parkway Drive entered the studio to begin recording their third album, Deep Blue, with producer Joe Barresi. According to their lead vocalist Winston McCall, this was to be their rawest and heaviest record to date. According to a blog that posted on Myspace on 1 April, they had finished tracking the drums for the album. According to a blog posted on 8 April, Parkway Drive were half finished with rhythm guitars, bass and vocals for the upcoming untitled album. On 17 April, Parkway Drive officially announced that they finished recording the forthcoming album, and added a studio diary video to their Myspace.
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