Parkway Drive – Deep Blue
Generic deathcore band PARKWAY DRIVE has created another generic deathcore album, this one with their latest, Deep Blue. By generic, I don’t even mean a cool generic like As I Lay Dying – in this case I dub PARKWAY DRIVE as generic borecore. I tried to find at least one good thing to say about this band, and I can’t find much to say besides that there is a cool riff here and there, and the artwork for Deep Blue is pretty rad. PARKWAY DRIVE fully imitates numerous deathcore and metalcore bands to form a sound that I’ve heard a million times before. And since each song on Deep Blue sounds exactly the same, it was not pleasant sitting through this release. The scene kids absolutely love this band, so good for PARKWAY DRIVE, I guess. No seriously, good for them.
PARKWAY DRIVE’s music is made up of meh metalcore with tritone breakdowns. If you’re looking for a band doing something new, or even looking for a semi good sounding generic core band, look elsewhere. If you’re a fan of deathcore and those br00tal tritone breakdowns, and your brain isn’t complex enough to comprehend anything other than a breakdown being balls heavy, chances are you already know about this band.
I’m a big fan of Epitaph Records, but this just isn’t my thing. PARKWAY DRIVE isn’t a horrible band, but they just aren’t anything special. Looking at Epitaph’s release schedule, I’ll have to wait for the new Bad Religion and Social Distortion.
Rating: 3 / 10
Label: Epitaph Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/parkwaydrive
By Alex Gilbert
“deathcore”
Bitch, say what?
What a fucking hater to write a whole article about how YOU THINK a band sucks. Got some news for you, shithead… That CD is not generic shitcore, it’s actually a great CD. i think YOUR faggot bands are trash. You are wasting valuable space arguing a subjective experience-- personal taste in music. Nobody gives a fuck what your opinion is of Parkway Drive. I hate this fucking site. All i read is hater shit and insensitive, remarks from spoiled little 14 year olds. Never a positive comment, just bullshit posts about how bad every band sucks… So enlighten me, you negative little prick… How’s your band doing? How many albums sold? How’s the tour going? How come you know so fucking much about music, yet will never see a fraction of the success that Parkway Drive has had? Because you’re a self-righteous steaming load of cat shit living with his parents. So again, nobody gives a flying fuck about your opinions, so fuck off and stop shit talking bands because you are jealous that you can’t do any better (you’re deluded as fuck). Tomorrow you’ll be back at work bagging groceries and the guys from PD will be playing a show and getting more pussy than a litterbox while you come home and hump on your stuffed animals. Man, what a shit life they have compared to yours!
So music is all about success and selling albums? Mr. Fucko, yes I’m soooo jealous of PD. No need to e-scream -- band just isn’t my thing, and when I get pestered mercilessly to review something I don’t like, then yes this may happen. But anyhows, everyone has their own opinions whether they like PD or now (I’m not the ONLY one who doesn’t like PD), so be open minded and love life, dude.
no, you’re right… music isn’t about selling as many copies as you can and making as much money as possible. i was just making a point that “somebody” likes the band, or else they wouldn’t be signed, have a fan base, be on tour, and have made several albums.
what points can i agree with you on… yes, i can agree that at first listen, the CD does sorta blend together for the most part… not much variation in the songs. after listening to it several times, they become more distinct and enjoyable.
to be honest with you, i’m not even a huge fan of theirs. i had listened to “horizons” and “killing with a smile”, and thought they were, as you put it, generic metalcore. in fact, the only reason i even listened to them in the first place was because i kept hearing the name. i decided to give them another chance with “deep blue”, and the first three tracks in particular, i really thought were badass, and this album caught my interest after hearing them. that’s my opinion, and obviously isn’t going to be shared by everyone. have you seen the video for “sleepwalker”? that is one of the most innovative, artistic videos in both concept and visual presentation. that video is far from the generic shitty metalcore videos i’m used to seeing for the past 10 years. if you haven’t seen it, i’d recommend you at least watch it.
i apologize if you were put in the position to review something you weren’t wanting to. it was my impression that you were just posting the review just out of pure negativity, just to criticize *something*. i’ve seen it a lot on these comments. such negativity (who am i to talk about that, right?) but it’s just a knee-jerk reaction after reading so many insensitive and stupid comments. i can handle people hating on bands, but when things happen like Chi Cheng got in his accident, or The Rev from Avenged Sevenfold died… and i read such hateful, inconsiderate, disrespectful comments like “awesome! now maybe the band will finally break up!” or “it’s a shame it was only him and not the whole band” — what kind of fucking hate-monger is that much of a prick to post comments like that? that’s what makes my blood boil, and that’s why your review triggered the outburst of anger that it did. ironically, my hateful and immature post was a response against the very thing i was posting *about*. i guess i’ve found that you can’t make people with no respect for human life and loss be respectful. they’ll just respond with more hate and disrespect; so that’s the only way you can get them to feel what it is they’re dishing out, themselves.
so now that i see you had the capability and decency to respond to my insulting, rude post in a calm and mature manner, you now have my respect, and my apologies for being such a dick to you. i jumped to conclusions and took my anger at all of ‘those people’ out against you, and I was wrong for doing that.
i just want to see love for music, love for people and life. i say to those here or elsewhere… if you don’t like the band, then don’t post a negative comment saying that they suck or you wish they would die, etc. just don’t post at all. i thought forums and comment areas were for people to post constructive thoughts or to respectfully discuss things about the topic at hand.
if i were a moderator here or on another similar site, people would be immediately banned for posting comments that are simply hater posts whose only point is to say that a band sucks, they are sellouts, or otherwise have no redeeming quality to them… like mine above… ;)
all whatever aside though, i wish to never see such horrible comments, especially on death announcements, etc. it’s just so… inhuman. a person without respect or tact, but with enough hatred and indifference to make such comments, regardless to if you think the person was in the shittiest band you’ve ever heard… it’s still a person with friends, family and fans.
on a final, lighter note — you gotta admit, if you read my post from an objective view, and don’t take it seriously/personally… it’s funny as hell. i went off the handle and it made me laugh reading it again.
WTF Mr. Fucko he’s not fucking right. ( oh and btw have you taken the time to truly listen to the fuckn cd? It’s deeper than just brutal fucking riffs you musically retarded shit! While I doubt any of you could come up with something half as good as the tapping in home is for the heartless, or what about the blast beats and double kick in unrest, Do you actually understand the lyrics? I doubt you could even understand that the musical homophobic texture they provide is unlike any other in their genre. Just think about how far they’ve comming from composing on a shipwrecked ship on the shores of Byron to having more fans cheer their name than you’ve could even comprehend. And they did all of this without selling out to the mainstream media fuck MTV fuck vh1 they did their own way by their fucking means! How? By BEING FUCKING TALENTED YOU DIPSHIT! Tell me if you’ve ever heard them on the radio before? Everyone is validated to have an opinion and my opinion is your a half deaf monkey who happens to lack the comprehension to understand what it takes to come up with a song like idols and anchors, horizons, dead weight, pressures, hollow, pandora, it’s hard to speak without a tongue, and so on and so forth. Please enlighten me, what the fuck have you accomplished lately?
I meant homophobic xD hahaha reading that again totally made me loose my thunder lol. Fuck.
Wow the second time my iPhone changes the word okay third time charm: homophonic texture. Woo! Lol
Deathcore? I don’t think so. If you’re going to talk shit on the “core” genres, at least know what said genres sound like. You clearly do not. Try again.
Parkway Drive is a metalcore band and this is a metalcore record. If you don’t like breakdowns or bands who don’t look “metal” enough, then you won’t like this record. Period.
You’re waiting for the new Bad Religion? I’m pretty sure their record will sound more predictable than anything Parkway Drive has ever done (and I’ve been a BR fan for years).
speaking of the lyrics, i really like the lyrics on this CD. some of the stuff is very poetic, even. i love the metaphorical stuff like this line: “Decaying towers of steel reach with crooked spires for the heavens, like bones of the hollow chest of this town, torn wide for the scavengers.”
more lines that i love:
“See, you can win the rat race but you’re still nothing but a fucking rat.”
“If home is where the heart is, why do I feel so fucking heartless?”
“I’m shedding skins and faces, past loves and bitter hatreds.”
“I am the consequence of complete collapse. I am the horror you created. The mind fuck you instigated. I am the seed of self-destruction, the bitter taste of life’s regret.”
I could put every line in here… and it’s not just the lyrics, but the eloquence and structure of them are very impressive to me.
how about track 1 going into track 2 … EXISTENCE IS SUFFERING. then you get your ass whipped by “Unrest”, then take a third ass kicking with “Sleepwalker”; which the more I listened to that song and watched that video, the more I realized how fantastic that song is… (not to say any of the other tracks are lame).
i guess i can agree with mr. jackson in the fact that i cannot see them as sellouts or posers. they have kept a very low profile and still gained success. they’re certainly not plastered all over the media and this and that. i agree that they do stand apart from the relentless drudgery of uninspired, lackluster bands that are just flooding the heavy music scene for damn near the last decade. about 1/25 CD’s i listen to these days actually gets my attention. not even that, probably. it’s all so boring i wish the whole metal scene would just collapse on itself sometimes.
personally, each year, there are only about 2-5 CD’s that come out that I can actually say are great albums. there are hundreds more that I can’t even finish listening through the CD because they have no interesting riffs or song structure. this is imperative to keep your brain awake. i can only listen to about 15 minutes of the standard open chord, string-muted… triplets… with a total lack of innovation. i have to explain to my girlfriend that even though it ‘sounds’ technical and hard to play, as a guitar player myself, i point out that most of the song, the guitar player isn’t even fretting any notes! they’re just chugging a pattern on open, palm-muted strings or doing triplets on the low string. while that has its place in this type of music, it should be used sparingly and appropriately. fact — interesting riffs and progressions make the difference. fact — vocal patterns and inflections make the difference. yes, there is a formula and it takes a certain mesh of musical talents to succeed in putting together this type of material. too often, you have bands with band members who are on different wavelengths; they don’t fit together artistically to form that chemistry that is necessary to create good music, so they just end up emulating what they are already hearing. shit begets shit.
so my counter-review of Parkway Drive -- Deep Blue: the album is fucking fantastic, it will likely be only of those select 2, 3, 4 CD’s that will come out this year that keep me even listening to music. back in 1994 when korn’s debut album came out… that was totally innovative, mind-blowing material. there was nothing out there that even sounded close to what they were doing. it was emotional, aggressive, down-tuned as fuck (A-tuning at the time was something very few, if any bands played in). of course, they went downhill from that CD, but partly because they became the archetype for a whole new genre/generation of music. then after 5 years of copycats trying to imitate the raw emotion and energy of that CD… we had another breakthrough. slipknot’s 1999 self-titled debut. blew everyone the fuck away. it was fast, heavy, brutal, and once again… the scene was temporarily renewed. since then, only a few bands have come out with something that sets a new standard and turns the whole scene in a new direction (which becomes stale after a short time; rinse and repeat).
anyways… enough of my opinions of music and what it oughta be. i can only thank those bands that put out those select two or three CD’s each year that temporarily renew my fading hope that music will one day hit another renaissance so to speak, and make me interested in listening to it again. i’m really struggling to get by with only a few CD’s a year. music was my LIFE throughout the 90′s and early 2000′s. now it’s an afterthought. sad situation. maybe i’m just getting old hehe… (30).
thank you parkway drive for putting out a CD that will help pull me through yet another year of monotonous albums. deep blue, at first listen is “pretty decent”, at 10th or 20th listen is “fucking art”.
just my personal opinions there since we’re talking. for every hardcore fan, there is a person who absolutely despises the same band… and that will hold true forever.
eww…yeah bad review. The album is very musical w/ a ton of great lyrics. You shouldn’t just focus on how heavy a record is just because it falls in a Metal category. There’s great music w/ some super hot production. Yeah, maybe some of the breakdowns aren’t super complex and heavy LIKE EVEYONE ELSE, but the technicality and musicianship should be the true highlight here. To give a really great band w/ a really solid album an awful review like that speaks volumes of the type of music critic we truely have here.
I would think that the people that review the music here are musicians. I guess I was wrong. You really should have a 2nd review of this album from a credible critic. Oh yeah…just because a band isn’t “your thing” doesn’t mean you publish a bad review.
Thank you for mentioning the intro, samsara that leads to unrest which comes out and kicks you in the ass. ” war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, existence is suffering!” ” so you can win the rat race but your still nothing but a fuckn rat so seek that crown cause in a kingdom of fools true ignorance reigns supreme” how can you talk shit about a band you know nothing of. You may hear the music, but you don’t truly listen.
So
Mr Jackson, I know they are a big band, and I’m very happy for their success (like I already said) -- hey, I’d rather have the kids listening to this than NSYNC, but would also like the kids at least be aware of other forms of metal on this hype level. I never dissed on any lyrical content and I understand there’s a lot of meaning, just the music itself turned me off -- again, not my thing and if it’s yours, then cool. I understand many bands give a lot of lyrical substance to ponder, and music is supposed to be all about the message, right? Never saw PD live so that may change my mind if I see them, and Mr. Fucko, yes, very cool video work , I just still don’t like the song that much, and yeah, I’m sick of a million bands shooting a music video throwing it down and swinging their guitars like swords of excalibur -- not enough art these days. Oh, and deathcore isn’t just an Emmure style, there’s a ton of deathcore with metalcore in it -- PD def has a lot of deathcore, ok, and yes a lot of metalcore. Label it whatever. Think of the Vans Warped Tour. Amazing tour that has easily made its mark in music culture, a lot of great bands, and a lot of not so great bands. Not everyone can be pleased. If the Vans Warped Tour was compiled of bands that ONLY YOU like, who would go? Tie that with this.
Let’s not pay attention to the lyrics? Do you play guitar? Or any other musical instrument for that matter? How good is your musical theory ? I bet you couldn’t come up with any solo half as good as the ones in pressures. My point is, are you even qualified to write a review? I mean fuck who the fuck r U to call them ” borecore” or that every song sounds exactly the same, listen to unrest and the alone. Now tell me, WTF ?! Are you deaf!!? Now listen to home is for the heartless and hollow, again: did you even listen to the album? Or did you just Skip through it? I draw a great deal of not only musical inspiration but also personal style in MY guitar playing through listen to Jeff ling and Luke kilpatrick do their thing. You honestly don’t give them enough credit. Next time you guys are gunna review a pwd cd I hope you choose someone who understands it.
Let’s not pay attention to the lyrics? Do you play guitar? Or any other musical instrument for that matter? How good is your musical theory ? I bet you couldn’t come up with any solo half as good as the ones in pressures. My point is, are you even qualified to write a review? I mean fuck who the fuck r U to call them ” borecore” or that every song sounds exactly the same, listen to unrest and the alone. Now tell me, WTF ?! Are you deaf!!? Now listen to home is for the heartless and hollow, again: did you even listen to the album? I draw a great deal of not only musical inspiration but also personal style in MY guitar playing through listen to Jeff ling and Luke kilpatrick do their thing. You honestly don’t give them enough credit. Next time you guys are gunna review a pwd cd I hope you choose someone who understands it.
well, let’s keep it calm. alexsmn is trying to keep it respectable and humble. was he off in his review? that’s a completely subjective question — so is the question “do you think that this album/band is good”? it’s going to differ for every person according to their taste in music. for instance, mr. jackson, although i agree with you about PD and this album, what if someone asked you to review (for instance… insert any band/artist that *you* personally cannot stand)… say, lady gaga’s newest CD? (i don’t even know what she sounds like, just the first thing that came to mind) — could you be truly *objective* and fairly review an album you have a complete distaste for; even struggled to listen through?
that is the ultimate issue here. i appreciate alex’s calm responses and not responding with angry rebuttals. at the same time, i agree with mr jackson’s perspective and his appreciation for this band’s talent.
i think the ultimate problem is simply this: reviews are supposed to be pure and objective, non-biased, etc. you are to take this product, set aside personal taste, try your hardest to appreciate the album for its merit and artistic value, and then point out as many positive aspects as you can find, as well as constructively criticize any points you find to be disappointing or lacking.
this is where the review ultimately fails the “rules” of objective review. in fairness, you should’ve pointed out at least a few things that were positive, unique, interesting; what you heard on this album. this should be balanced with *constructive* criticism. you did mention two positive things, though they comprised only a few words of the overall review — that you enjoyed the artwork and “there were a few good riffs here and there”. all in all, you just immediately came out and slammed everything about the music, then very shortly mentioned that if you were forced to find anything positive about this album… you enjoyed the art, and “there were a few good riffs here and there”, without mentioning what songs those riffs were in… what made them cool, etc. it’s sort of like putting a piece of glitter on a huge steaming pile of shit. you still just really see a pile of shit.
my review of your review: it was extremely packed with negative comments. these negative comments were written without specific examples, or even suggestions as to how you felt they could have improved the songs to make them better. this invalidates your claims of how terrible everything was, for the simple reason that you failed to examine and explain what made them so bad, which leads the reader to discredit your points as simply personal opinion. you did succeed in mentioning at least 2 things that were positive, which was a good attempt at creating that critical antithesis to your previous disparaging remarks… but unfortunately, they were terse and half hearted, so the review ultimately is received as a subjective experience of your personal taste in music, vs. an objective experience where you could temporarily view the album from a neutral position, offering both acclaim and criticism in an equal proportion.
that is the problem that has pitted people against your review, and ultimately towards you, as the person who wrote it.
maybe you could consider giving the album another listen *while* reading the lyrics, and taking it all in, collectively? (as painful as it may be to you). at the same time, make an effort to decipher the theme/message of the album (it’s not hard, trust me… the theme is pretty clear)… then possibly revising or re-writing your review, making sure to write it to include the crucial qualities that i mentioned? — the qualities of a “good” review (and reviewer)?
it’s up to you. your time is your own, and that is merely a suggestion to help pacify those who felt you were unfair, biased, and close-minded, possibly having formed at opinion of this album before you even pressed play? As a bonus, it is an avenue of redemption for yourself as a professional, competent reviewer/editor? just a thought. i’ll leave you with that, this stupid thing has enough ranting, as all of my posts tend to. i’ll spare you.
well if ur a fan of bands like bad religion an social ditortion, of course you wont like parkway drive. an oviously u hate metal. parkway drive sounds nothing along the lines of generic, not every song on the album is a winner, but apparently u dont look any farther than what you hear. lyrically the album is terrific in my opinion, each song flowing into one another to creat a story that actually goes pretty deep. mabey you should actually listen to songs like alone pressures an deliver me, which all incorperate very nice clean picked guitar play an diversity to go with the brutal breakdowns. an when it comes to vocals winston can pretty much do anything in this genre. all im saying is give it another look, with a bit more of an open mind. when u go in to review an album with the idea in ur head that it will suck ass, u forget to find the good in it. u dont want to find any good in it. which makes a negative close minded review that nobody will take seriously.
me like this review
Chinch, thanks for your feedback. Seriously, I’m happy PD has created an outlet for the kids which the music helps them along in life, and I’m glad they’re listening to PD instead of initiating violence or whatever, but I’m sure there are as many bad reviews for as many good reviews of PD. You say I could have broke the album down into more detail, but everything (riff wise) already sounded like something I’ve heard before a million times (like I said), and this is one of my only negative reviews -- I hate doing them, but again if I’m pestered to do it (yeah, and if someone doesn’t do research to find the person who’s more keen on PD), this happens. You’re right, I should’ve dove into the lyrics more, but just think if you’re not a fan of the instrumentation behind it, the music as a whole loses power, and it is called a “BAND”, right?! For as many who think I’m unbiased, are for as many who may think the mainstream metal scene is watered down. I know lyrics are powerful, but there are also a ton of powerful lyrics in other forms of underground music that people only think is about blood, gore, etc.
And Ben, I know about a million metal fans who absolutely love Bad Religion and Social Distortion -- those bands are legendary, and many metal bands will quote them as influence. Trust me on that one. Anyhows, keep them comments coming on SMN!
This band has changed my life, and I too love social d and bad religion, and apparently winston does too it he’ll include bad religions vocals in the album, how ever Alex, I’m not sure if you truly understand the music composed here, I personally adore and admire Mozart and Beethoven, and in our era I could classify these guys in the same league within their genre. Look at the musical compisition taking place, as I’ve said the way the change from a polyphonic texture tow homophonic texture is unlike any in band in their genre. I met winston, Jeff, ben, Luke, and jia at warped tour and they were all pretty humble about their music, slot like hadyn of the classical era. Except for Luke k. I commented on the tapping he played in idols and anchors and he just somewhat. Sat back thinking he’s the shit. Douche bag. Any Way getting off subject. Alex u pissed me off when you dismissed them because this album ” isn’t your thing”. back in mozarts day people said he used too many notes, yet no one could deny his musical genius.
well… ironically, this article has done something it may or may not have ever intended to do — draw lots of attention and comments. in that, i have to give alexsmn credit, he has created a battle of the wits. the resulting comments/discussion of the album have, in themselves, become a review of the album. you have the original review, which said alex (in his opinion) basically felt this was generic and uninspired, yet you have the huge backlash which is the complete antithesis to his article’s opinion, making this, in the end, *a full, and equally biased review* when taken as a whole — success! he has also succeeded in having me, for one, keep returning to read the latest comments on this page, when otherwise i would not have never looked back… so he’s increased site visits and interest.
on the other hand, mr. jackson has supplied a steady stream of interesting posts about the music, and has given me insights, some of which, i have even overlooked — and i have enjoyed reading his posts.
likewise, i have tried to put my 2 cents in on the band *and* referee the situation going on in general between corner A and corner B. haha…
either way, thanks to everyone for the dicussion… it has been very entertaining, and has brought something positive out of something that i originally felt was purely negative.
last observations — provocation is one way to get people to come out of the woodwork to defend something they believe in. the media does it on a constant basis… it’s not always a “healthy” way to bring interest to something, but it is an effective way to bring about an *emotional* response, which is usually the strongest you can get. that’s why controversy is so sought after these days… heated, emotional responses are always more powerful and interesting than the ‘eh… whatever’ responses.
in the end, i agree with those who think that this band has created an inspiring album with “deep blue”. to be honest, i never gave them too much attention other than a quick listen before this album. for some reason, this one spoke to me immediately and has become one of my favorites. i enjoy it more each time i listen to it. On the other hand, some albums you are really excited about them; you want and expect to love them and listen to them a lot, but with every listen, it quickly gets stale and you only end up listening to the CD like 10-20 times before you’re tired of it. That happens all too often these days. It’s almost like a roller coaster. A buildup of anticipation (going up the first hill)… the quick thrill that follows (going over the hill), then the excitement is over a few seconds later, and you’re left with the craving for the next one to ride. (i wasn’t going to mention it, but it sounds an awful lot like sex to guys, haha)…
thanks for the interesting conversation guys… i hope to see your comments more around the site.
If anything, it’s better to have someone who is not a fan do the review. It’s considered to be something called objective journalism. Do you think a film critic only reviews movies of his/her preferred directors and actors?
The negative review isn’t because the person isn’t a fan, the negative review was because he gave it a listen, and found it to be a boring album.
A review is also only one person’s opinion, keep that in mind when deciding for yourself that everyone has to feel the same way about the album.
Or would you guys prefer a reviewer like Kelley Simms, who seems to give everything an 8.5 out of 10.
romance is dead
pandora
wtf
idols and anchors
blackout
carrion
frostbite
five months
just to name a fucken few
around 90% of parkways song are fucken killers man
and each one has its own sound, own climax and own fucken story to tell
the lyrics are deep
and the vocals are brutal
personally i rekon horizons was better but this band still rocks
Great bunch of guys who play music for all the right reasons. And as a result are finding great success. I couldnt think of a better bunch of guys. Watch their DVD, like everything they do they did it all themselves, they keep a very DIY attitude and do it right. Fuck all the haters