Palladium, Cologne, Germany8th February 2019
Parkway Drive - “Reverence EU/UK” Tour 2019 - Special Guests: Killswitch Engage, Thy Art Is Murder
Following their successful festival tour in June and July 2018 with literally scorching headline appearances at Rock Am Ring / Rock Im Park and With Full Force Festival, the Australian Metalcore giants PARKWAY DRIVE announced their headline European tour for January and February 2019. It were the biggest shows the Australian quintet has ever played in Europe. The capacity of the Palladium of 4,000 people was sold-out for two days in a row in barely no time, which was probably also due to the fact that PARKWAY DRIVE have teamed up with two excellent support acts: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and their fellow Australians THY ART IS MURDER.
Thy Art Is Murder
Australia’s finest in Deathcore, THY ART IS MURDER from Sydney, had the honour of opening the evening. The band has formed in 2006, and since then they have released a total of four albums with ‘Dear Desolation’ in August 2017 being the latest. https://www.facebook.com/thyartismurder / http://www.thyartismurder.net
Music & Performance
Exactly on time at 7pm, the five members of THY ART IS MURDER went on stage and performed the opener ‘Dear Desolation’ from their latest album, riling the crowd up with their much-loved combination of primal blast beats and growls. In the front, a few hundred people had already gathered to celebrate their idol’s gig in style. Growler in chief CJ McMahon, on his most terrifying A-game, lurched over the crowd in intimidating dominance with his custom black hoodie cloak, tearing through the band’s back catalogue including 2012’s ‘Reign Of Darkness’. The insane drumming speed, together with the scorching guitars and CJ’s guttural growling set off the mosh pit in the front, while the rest of the already well-filled hall stood there in a kind of ‘shock and awe’ limbo. Especially for the German tour dates, THY ART IS MURDER played the RAMMSTEIN cover ‘Du Hast’, which got the signature Deathcore treatment, and stirred things up.
On a sad note, however the sheer impact of the band was dampened a little by the level of volume, which was clearly lower than during the later acts. Other than that, THY ART IS MURDER definitely put themselves on the map for 4,000 listeners on that evening with their 30-minute set.
Setlist
01. Dear Desolation
02. The Purest Strain of Hate
03. Holy War
04. Du Hast (Rammstein Cover)
05. Reign of Darkness
06. The Son of Misery
07. Puppet Master
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7 / 10
Killswitch Engage
The American Metalcore band KILLSWITCH ENGAGE from Westfield, Massachusetts, are a true heavyweight of the genre, formed in 1999 from the ashes of two bands called OVERCAST and AFTERSHOCK. Since then they released seven studio albums and two live albums, selling over four million records in the United States alone in the process. https://www.facebook.com/killswitchengage / http://www.killswitchengage.com
Music & Performance
With barely more than 15 minutes, the stage break was refreshingly quick, and around 7:45pm the speakers started blasting the THIN LIZZY classic ‘Boys are back in Town’, which was brutally interrupted by the band members playing the opener ‘Strength of the Mind’ from the 2015 album ‘Incarnate’. With singer Jesse Leach back at the mic since 2012, the band sounded tight as ever during their two-decade lifespan. Lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was wearing his signature sweatband and never stood still for any longer than a second, as well as the rest of the band members, who exuded huge levels of energy. The hall was also full enough for extended crowd surf tours.
With the song ‘Always’, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE documented that they can also master the slower, more melodic spectrum, and after 45 minutes the spectacle ended with ‘in Due Time’, with the people being notably warmed up for the main act.
Setlist
01. Strength of the Mind
02. The End of Heartache
03. Beyond the Flames
04. My Curse
05. Rose of Sharyn
06. Daylight Dies
07. Hate by Design
08. Always
09. My Last Serenade
10. The New Awakening
11. In Due Time
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.8 / 10
Parkway Drive
The five guys from Byron Bay, New South Wales in Australia are currently the undisputed kings of Metalcore. Since their inception in 2003, PARKWAY DRIVE have continuously evolved, and by churning out album after album (six so far) and relentless touring, they have established themselves as household names for this genre. Their last two albums (‘Ire’ from 2015 and ‘Reverence’ from 2018) not only dominated the Australian charts but achieved high positions in the charts of the rest of the Western world as well, underscoring the band’s growing popularity. Check out www.parkwaydriverock.com / https://www.facebook.com/parkwaydrive.
Music & Performance
Shortly before 9pm, security paved a way through the crowd, and the lights went low. In the back of the hall, the band members of PARKWAY DRIVE started to make their way towards the stage accompanied by black-clad men carrying torches. They assumed their positions on the stage, and greeted the audience, with singer Winston McCall speaking the introductory words of the opener ‘Wishing Wells’. As soon as the drums kicked in, the stage was turned into a visually cacophonous flurry of glaring white light, smog and pyrotechnics, while the whole ground floor of the Palladium became a giant mosh pit, where any resistance turned out to be futile. Undying fan favourite, 2007s ‘Carrion’, incited one of the nights most intense and hair-raising sing-alongs early into the show. The setlist continued with smash hit after smash hit, and the crowd went from amped to rabid in the matter of a verse. Nearly the entire floor turned into a mosh pit within a blink of an eye into the song and everyone rushed each other in a pit of blissful chaos, accompanied by fireworks and deafening riffage.
It was as if no band came before them and no band would ever come after them. Everyone in attendance was engulfed in that very moment. Things took a more solemn turn, as - after a slightly extended song break, during which the stage remained in complete darkness - the carefully accentuated lights revealed four classic string players elevated on four pedestals, who performed the song ‘Writings on the Wall’ from the 2016 masterpiece ‘Ire’, as well as the subsequent song ‘Shadow Boxing’ from ‘Reverence’. PARKWAY DRIVE concluded the main part with the acoustic rendition of ‘The Colour of Leaving’, during which Winston was only accompanied by a Cello, which made the song unbearably intense, and kept the 4.000 strong crowd screaming for more. A few moments later, the band heeded the calls, and Winston returned, lighting a Molotov cocktail in front of the screaming crowd, which he threw with a giant bang right into the huge stage drape bearing the band’s logo.
After this spectacle, the rest of the band joined him, half of stage was literally set ablaze, and with the words ‘Cologne! We’re not fucking done!’ PARKWAY DRIVE kicked off their encore with the infernal ‘Crushed’, during which the assault on the senses was completed by huge fireballs and giant firecrackers, which were set off right before the refrain. The last song of the night was ‘Bottom Feeder’, which was introduced by Winston thanking everyone for coming out with a giant boyish grin on his face, and which led everyone in the crowd to unleash whatever was left in the tank. PARKWAY DRIVE certainly pushed boundaries that night in terms of live performances, and one simply has to pay to respect the band’s evolving sound and powerful performance style, which makes PARKWAY DRIVE one of the few a “must-not-miss” acts out there.
Setlist
01. Wishing Wells
02. Prey
03. Carrion
04. Vice Grip
05. Karma
06. Cemetery Bloom
07. The Void
08. Idols And Anchors
09. Dedicated
10. Absolute Power
11. Writings on the Wall (with live string quartet)
12. Shadow Boxing
13. Wild Eyes
14. Chronos
15. The Colour of Leaving (Only with cello)
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16. Crushed
17. Bottom Feeder
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 10
Light: 10
Total: 10 / 10
All Pictures by Marc Junge
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