First up were Structures, a young band from Canada making their first trip over to the UK. They started developing a dedicated fanbase in 2011 after releasing their debut full length album ‘Divided By‘ through Sumerian Records, and I was surprised at just how many people in attendance were clearly already fans of this band. A big pit formed, and they had quite a few people singing their lyrics back to them, quite a rarity when you’re the first band on a four band bill. Sound wise the band was very tight, and the frontman got the audience as hyped up as he possibly could. As someone who’d not heard of them before they left me very impressed.
7/10
Second up was The Word Alive, a band that has been over here quite a few times, from Arizona USA. They play some fairly standard metalcore, nothing any metalcore fan wouldn’t have heard before. Although the band sounded decent, and the crowd in general seemed to dig them, they didn’t leave much of an impression on me like Structures did. Static performance, and no material that really resonated with me.
5/10
Next up was the main support act, New York heavy hitters, Emmure. Almost ten years of ferocious deathcore has seen them become one of the most divisive bands in metal today. People either seem to have massive love for the band, or massive hatred for the band. Luckily, the fairly young audience seemed to love them, and the band received a crowd reaction worthy of headliners. Their mixture of almost spoken lyrics, vicious growls, dissonant chords and signature breakdowns sounded massive in the fairly big venue, and went down a storm.
8/10
Then finally the band everyone had been waiting for took to the stage. Anyone who has seen this great Australian band before knows that they’re arguably the best and most fun live band around. This night was no exception, playing to the craziest crowd reaction I’ve ever seen. The high production values of the stageshow in terms of the enchanting lights and enormous projected backdrop just increased the experience tenfold. I went to a lot of shows in 2012, and with the exception of Sabbath at Download, this was the best I’ve been to. Parkway Drive is one of metalcores shining beacons, and they’ve set the standard for live performances. Incredible show.
10/10
