Parkway Drive

Think of Byron Bay and you think of lush, green hills, crystal blue waters, sandy beaches, kombi driving surfers and hippies standing on a street corner playing a bongo drum.

Scratch beneath the surface though, and you?ll find a burgeoning hardcore scene, a million miles removed from the earthy acoustic music for which the area is better known.

But on a stretch of road called Parkway Drive there has been something special bubbling away, unbeknownst to most. Brought about with the intention of playing a type of music that blends the intricate riffs and melodies of metal, with the conviction, emotion and breakdowns of hardcore, in the summer of 2003 Parkway Drive the band, was born. Not long after forming they unleashed their brutality on the world via a split EP with Adelaide's I Killed The Prom Queen and in the same year an appearance on the Byron Bay Hardcore compilation "What We've Built", preceded their debut EP "Don't Close Your Eyes".

Packed with some of the most crushing breakdowns and slaytanic riffs the release of "Don't Close Your Eyes" set the scene buzzing with a metal core meld that lives up to the status as one of the most talked about up and comers on the scene.

Parkway Drive has amassed a huge amount of respect in a very short amount of time in both the metal and hardcore communities. In May 2005 the band headed to the USA to record their debut album with renowned metal producer and Killwitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (who is responsible for acclaimed releases from the likes of Unearth, Killswitch Engage and From Autumn To Ashes) at Zing Studio in Massachusetts.
The result is 'Killing With A Smile', 11 tracks of pure rage, and without question Parkway Drive's finest hour to date. With a massive sound that encompasses Swe-death riffs, punishing breakdowns, thick rhythms, mayhem inducing blastbeats and a technical precision that borders on frightening, Parkway Drive transcend clichéd labels like 'metalcore' with ease.

This is an album that will appeal to all fans of extreme music, a fact reflected in the diverse crowds that flock to Parkway Drive's packed out live shows, where it's not unusual to see metal fanatics flying around the pit with their hardcore siblings.