The ban… Read Full Bio ↴Parkway Drive is a metalcore band from Byron Bay, Australia.
The band formed in the summer of 2003, their name coming from the street they used to practice on in their home town of Byron Bay, Australia. Not long after they had formed, they released a split EP with Adelaide band I Killed The Prom Queen. Later that year, the band also made an appearance on the Byron Bay Hardcore compilation What We've Built, preceded by their debut EP, Don't Close Your Eyes.
In May 2005 the PwD headed to the USA to record their debut album with renowned metal producer, Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (who is responsible for acclaimed releases from the likes of Unearth, August Burns Red, Underoath and Johnny Truant.)
Since the release of Don't Close Your Eyes, Parkway Drive have rapidly accumulated a loyal fanbase Australia-wide, courtesy of support slots for international acts including Hatebreed, In Flames, Chimaira, Shadows Fall, As I Lay Dying, Bleeding Through, Alexisonfire, and performances at Metal for The Brain 2005 and Australia's Hardcore 2005. They have built quite a strong reputation within the music industry, this led to their signing with Epitaph record label.
In June 2006 they released Killing With a Smile in the United States during August of that year.
In late May 2006, second bass player Shaun Cash left the band for personal reasons with the full support of the rest of the members. The band soon found a replacement in their "merch guy" and long-time friend, Jia "Pie" O'Connor. Now a permanent part of the line-up, he played with them for the rest of their first international tour in the United Kingdom, and Europe, and later dates in the United States.
In October 2006, they were billed as the Australian contingent on the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour, playing alongside Anti-Flag, Underoath, Thursday, Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday and Saosin. During November and December 2006, they appeared at the Homebake Festival, Sound Fest, Resist Records' tour, Soundwave Festival and Gravity G Festival before returning to the UK and Europe.
On 3 March 2007, a new song was previewed to a crowd at Underworld entitled "The Siren's Song". The song would later feature on Horizons. They were placed on the bill for the U.S. Vans Warped Tour 2007 as the only Australian band on the tour. On 15 August, Winston McCall appeared in an interview on the short.fast.loud show on Australia's Triple J Radio station in which he previewed a track off Horizons entitled "Boneyards".
Horizons was released on 6 October 2007. The album was generally acclaimed by critics and fans alike; especially Blunt Magazine, who wrote that the album 'simply slays from the get go' and awarded it 10/10, and planet-loud.com, which suggested that it would 'set the benchmark for metal albums to come'. It debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Charts. After the release of Horizons, the band toured through the US, Australia and Europe with such bands such as Killswitch Engage, Bury Your Dead, Darkest Hour and others.
In February/March 2008, Parkway teamed up with Byron Bay bands/friends 50 lions and Word Up!, to complete the Surf Rats Tour of east coast Australia. This tour (travelling to towns not listed on the standard touring circuit) was based around surfing big surf spots on the way.
On 12 December 2008 while performing at UNSW Roundhouse, Parkway Drive announced that they were filming a DVD of the show, which would include footage of the performance and a few songs from other bands featured in the Sweat Fest Tour. On 18 January 2009, Parkway Drive announced their headlining US tour with Stick to Your Guns and Mychildren Mybride. On 28 January to 1 February 2009, Parkway Drive went on a tour in Japan with Shai Hulud and Crystal Lake. Parkway Drive played at the 2009 Bamboozle Lineup at the Giant's Stadium parking lots; as well as being confirmed at 2009's Download Festival.
In May 2009, Parkway Drive announced that they would be releasing a live DVD and an Australian tour was also announced with August Burns Red and Architects in support of it. It was on this tour that the band performed a new song entitled "Unrest."
On 11 January 2022, the band announced a North American tour in May and June, supported by Hatebreed, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Stick to Your Guns. However, on 6 April, they announced the cancellation of the tour, stating that "the relentless nature of being in this band has given us very little time to reflect on who we are as individuals, who we want to be and the toll it is taking on ourselves and our friendships". On 23 May, it was announced that for their mental health, Parkway Drive would be taking a break from activity, but clarified that they "are here to stay".
On 7 June, following a series of teasers released on various social media, the band unveiled a brand new single entitled "Glitch" along with a music video. On 8 June, the band announced that their Fall 2022 European tour with Lorna Shore and While She Sleeps would continue as scheduled with a rebrand, and new music to accompany said tour. On 6 July, the band released the second single "The Greatest Fear" and its corresponding music video. At the same time, they officially announced that their seventh studio album, Darker Still, was set for release on 9 September 2022, whilst also revealing the album cover and the track list.
Discography:
Albums
- 2005 - Killing with a Smile (Resist Records, Epitaph Records)
- 2007 - Horizons (Resist Records, Burning Heart Records, Epitaph Records)
- 2010 - Deep Blue (Resist Records, Epitah Records, Burning Heart)
- 2012 - Atlas (Resist Records, Epitah Records, Burning Heart)
- 2015 - I.R.E.
- 2018 - Reverence
- 2022 - Darker Still
Other Releases:
- 2003 - Split EP with I Killed The Prom Queen
- 2004 - Don’t Close Your Eyes EP (Resist Records)
- 2006 - Don’t Close Your Eyes (Reissue) EP (Resist Records)
- n/a - “What We’ve Built” BBHC compilation
- 2006 - Smoke ‘Em If Ya Got ‘Em (Resist Records)
- 2007 - Boneyards (Resist Records)
- 2009 - Parkway Drive: The DVD
Members:
Current:
Winston McCall - Vocals (2003–present)
Jeff Ling - Lead guitar (2003–present)
Luke "Pig" Kilpatrick - Rhythm guitar (2003–present)
Ben "Gaz" Gordon - Drums (2003–present)
Jia "Pie" O'Connor - Bass (2006–present)
Former:
Shaun "Cashy" Cash - Bass (2004–2006)
Brett "Lagg" Versteeg - Bass & backing vocals (2003–2004)
Blue and the Grey
Parkway Drive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Cold sea, please don't let me sink
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home
I stood at the shore and spoke to the ocean
I stood in the water and let my guts spill
I said "You and me, we're not so different, I see my reflection in all that you do"
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know that yours is too
I sat on the rooftop and screamed at the sky
I sat on the edge until I knew deep inside
Like the sky, I will always be empty
The horizon, my love, forever just out of reach
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know that yours is too
Distance was born when the sea and the sky grew apart
Loneliness was born the day I let you go
I let you go
So now I stand at the shore and speak to the ocean
I stand in the water and let my guts spill
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know that yours is too
Dear sky,
Dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Cold sea, please don't let me sink
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home
Dear sky
, in this song, Parkway Drive contemplates the fragility of life and the emptiness that one can feel even in the midst of natural beauty. The lyrics powerfully express the feeling of being lost and alone with the use of metaphors such as the sky and the sea. The singer pleads with the sky not to cry for him, but instead to be a beacon of hope that he can never reach. Similarly, he begs the cold sea to wrap its arms around him and carry him home, as he fears sinking into loneliness and despair.
The singer's introspection is captured through the line "We both keep our secrets," as he recognizes the shared struggle he has with the sea. The use of nature, the sky, the sea, and the horizon, highlights the vastness and awe-inspiring beauty of the world, but also underscores the sense of smallness and insignificance that one can feel in the face of the universe.
The song expresses the pain of letting go of someone and the inevitability of distance that can arise between people, a metaphor for the distance between the sea and the sky. The final lines "I let you go" emphasize the pain of acceptance and the process of moving forward, even if that means embracing the harsh reality of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear sky
Addressing the sky as a symbol of hope and asking it to listen
Dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Asking the sky to not pity me, but to be the hope that I cannot attain or achieve on my own
Cold sea, please don't let me sink
Asking the sea, which represents overwhelming hardships, to not let me be consumed by it
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home
Metaphorically asking the sea to embrace and support me, and lead me to a place of refuge
I stood at the shore and spoke to the ocean
Reflecting on a moment of being vulnerable and open with the symbolic representation of life's struggles
I stood in the water and let my guts spill
Expressing that in a moment of openness, being fully transparent about my deepest troubles
I said "You and me, we're not so different, I see my reflection in all that you do"
Comparing myself to the sea and acknowledging that we both keep secrets and carry sadness
We both keep our secrets
Acknowledging that the sea and I both hold onto hidden pain and inner turmoil
We're both, oh so blue
Using the color blue to symbolize sadness and recognizing that we both carry that emotion
My heart is full of darkness
Admitting to being weighed down by profound despair
I know that yours is too
Recognizing that the sea is also burdened by hidden pain and despair
I sat on the rooftop and screamed at the sky
Imagery of yelling at the sky, indicating frustration and desperation
I sat on the edge until I knew deep inside
Reflecting on a moment of introspection and self-discovery
Like the sky, I will always be empty
Comparing oneself to the sky and acknowledging that there will always be a sense of emptiness
The horizon, my love, forever just out of reach
Acknowledging that the distant horizon represents a dream or goal that is seemingly impossible to attain
Distance was born when the sea and the sky grew apart
Using the separation of the sky and sea to illustrate the idea that hardships and struggles create a sense of distance from hope and happiness
Loneliness was born the day I let you go
Emphasizing the pain of losing someone or something that brought comfort and companionship
So now I stand at the shore and speak to the ocean
Returning to the earlier imagery of being vulnerable with the sea and continuing that conversation
Dear sky, dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Repeating the opening lines to reinforce the idea that hope is something that cannot be attained without the help of a greater force or power
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Benjamin Michael Gordon, Jeffrey Cleve Ling, Luke Kilpatrick, Winston Thomas McCall
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@staz8485
Dear sky,
Dear sky don't cry for me,
(cry for me)
Be the hope I could never reach
Cold sea,
Please don't let me sink,
(don't let me sink)
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home
I stood at the shore and spoke to the ocean
I stood in the water and let my guts spill
I said "You and me, we're not so different,
I see my reflection in all that you do"
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know that yours is too
I sat on the rooftop and screamed at the sky
I sat on the edge until I knew deep inside,
Like the sky, I will always be empty
The horizon, my love, forever just out of reach
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know that yours is too
Distance was born when the sea and the sky grew apart
Loneliness was born the day I let you go
I let you go!
So now I stand at the shore and speak to the ocean
I stand in the water and let, let my guts spill
Let my guts spill
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know, I know that yours is too
Dear sky,
Dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Cold sea, please don't let me sink
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home
Dear Sky!
@Rahul09402
My interpretation of the lyrics:
Dear sky
Dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Cold sea, please don't let me sink
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home.
Initially, this man (let's consider he's Winston himself) is sitting on the top of a cliff, overseeing the sea and the sky. He is very sad and depressed with all the pain and suffering he has caused to his loved ones and other fellow persons, and is tormented by this guilt, which is burning him from the inside. He knows, there's no turning back now, that he has to face the consequences for his past doings. Repenting and brooding over won't relieve him.
So, wiping away his tears, he cries to nature: "Oh mother, please take me away from here. I am just a burden to you and everyone around me. People suffer because of me, I don't want them to suffer anymore. So please carry me away from here, to a place of complete solitude, to ...*HOME* (pointing towards the sky).
I stood at the shore and spoke to the ocean
I stood in the water and let my guts spill
I said "You and me, we're not so different, I see my reflection in all that you do"
Winston, here is talking to his dark side, to the darkness inside him which has made him hollow from the inside. He screamed and screamed, cursing his evil mind which has led him to be the person he is today. No matter what good he did, it turned out to hurt others (so in a way his' and the devil's actions were the same).
We both keep our secrets
We're both, oh so blue
My heart is full of darkness
I know that yours is too
This is yet another one of his conversations with his dark side, he says his evil mind has affected every part of his body, and even made his heart impure.
I sat on the rooftop and screamed at the sky
I sat on the edge until I knew deep inside
Like the sky, I will always be empty
The horizon, my love, forever just out of reach
Winston says that this guilt has eaten him from the inside, he feels like he can never go back home (to the Almighty), and he will have to be answerable for each wrong he has done. The last line The horizon, my love, forever just out of reach is a metaphor of his relationship with God (both God and the horizon being infinite), even though he can see Him, he can never be with him.
*We both keep our secrets *
We're both, oh so blue
*My heart is full of darkness *
*I know that yours is too *
Distance was born when the sea and the sky grew apart
*Loneliness was born the day I let you go *
I let you go
Winston regrets destroying his relationship with his friends and loved ones. He is now completely alone, and has no one to care for him. Now he doesn't have anything, except for this huge pile of guilt!!
He compares this relationship with the sea and the sky. The sea and the sky carry each another's reflection, one cannot live without the other.
So now I stand at the shore and speak to the ocean
I stand in the water and let my guts spill
He's confessing everything, including all his dark secrets to the Almighty, in a final attempt to ask for forgiveness, although he knows very well that his doings are unforgivable.
*We both keep our secrets *
We're both, oh so blue
*My heart is full of darkness *
*I know that yours is too *
Dear sky
Dear sky don't cry for me, be the hope I could never reach
Cold sea, please don't let me sink
Wrap your arms around me and carry me home.
Dear sky......
With hands folded, pleading for God's forgiveness, he jumps into the sea.
THE END
@explorerrocker09
Ranking them is a difficult one, but
Killing With a Smile
Horizons
Deep Blue
IRE
Reverence
Killing with a smile was their second release but their first actual album, this is where they get labeled as a metalcore band as there's a lot of early 2000s metalcorey riffs in there but the album is different to any other metalcore album out there, tracks to listen to would be Pandora, gimme a D (really awesome track) Mutiny, it's hard to speak without a tongue, romance is dead and smoke em if you've got em.
Horizons is a solid metal album through and through, it's hard to not love every track off that album, plus the title track will blow you away, breaking point, five months, frostbite, idols and and anchors and sirens song are other stand out track for me but like I say the whole album is SOLID.
Deep Blue is a bit of a concept album, the lyrics tell a story through each song, the opening track sets the tone of the album and it goes from there. Different vibe and sound to Horizons the production sounds a lot more natural, once again there's a lot of stand out tracks on there (Sleepwalker, Wreckage, Deadweight, Alone, Deliver Me, Karma, Home is for the heartless, Leviathan I)
IRE once again a totally different vibe production wise, different guitar tones and production on the drums, a lot of new and different styles of songwriting so it might take a couple of listens to dig if you like the older stuff, overlooked by most but easily one of their best albums. Stand out tracks would be Destroyer, Vice Grip, Fractures, Vicious, Dying to Believe and A Deathless Song.
Reverence is their latest release, not one track on this album sounds the same, completely different from their old stuff but they have the chemistry to keep that parkway drive vibe going. Really good album tracks to listen to would be Wishing Wells (easily one of my favourites) absolute power, cemetery bloom, the void and Chronos.
@psicobot
After so much listening I believe this is absolutely the best song from Atlas. No doubt.
@nightwolf895
Agreed
@francozille672
I agreed with you, just perfect
@jamesgarbutt4633
such an important song
@daragh4316
The river, hands down 😂😂
@sjoerdboogert9896
isnt whole atlas just perfect?
@explorerrocker09
Ben Gordon goes beast mode the whole song, then completely lets loose at the end. The link up him and Jeff have when it comes to melodic parts/outros/guitar solos is unmatched, vibes are immaculate every time
@ciprianvidican1644
This song made me rise when there was no light. Hours and hours and hours on repeat. Absolutely my favorite song from their discography.
@taheiwolter4885
blue and the grey and horizons are parkway drives most underrated songs
@LuisRamos-hk2in
Five months, the cruise and its hard to speak without a tongue too