Parkway Drive ‘Killing Horizons Australian Tour’ @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney 12/08/2026.

It’ll be a Cold Day In Hell before metal-music dies and goes by The Void here in Australia. And let us Prey that day never comes…

Leading the charge of the metal core scene not just here in Australia, but on the global front are Byron Bay’s own Parkway Drive. This time around though, the band are opening Pandora and taking fans back to where it all began. 

After a massive, in all sense of the word, run of arena shows last year and before taking to the seas to head the bill for Hellbound Cruise with fellow Metal-core brothers, The Amity Affliction, later in the year, Parkway Drive are doing a special intimate run of shows around the country, playing their first two albums in full, plus fan favourites, 2005’s ‘Killing With A Smile’ and 2007’s ‘Horizons’.

Tonight however, is the first of two originally announced Sydney shows, so we’ll be treated to ‘Killing With A Smile’ in its entirety plus fan favourites. Both shows unsurprisingly sold out so fast that another two shows in each city had to be added for the fans who’d initially missed out!

I last saw Parkway Drive, well, technically I’ve never “seen” them before, but last time I uhm, “caught”… “witnessed”… “heard”? Where was I?… oh yes, the last time I… yeah, Parkway Drive was in 2013 at a festival, not even as a headliner or on the main stage at that. So, things have DEFINITELY changed since then! And from what I’ve been reading/hearing over the years, a Parkway Drive show is testament to the bands notorious climb to the top of the metal core genre worldwide! Big production (floating drum kit on fire, crowd surfing patrons in wheelchairs onto the stage, elaborate props and costumes etc). All this while their signature ever-growing/evolving sound melts, electrifies and unites arenas and stadiums far and wide.

But how does everything coalesce in an intimate theatre venue? Definitely no fire here tonight I dare say.

What we do get, is a sold-out venue filled with adoring fans, some of which like the gentleman next to me, have travelled far to be here, central-America to be precise.

We also get this legendary bands’ debut album played from start to finish in order like intended. This in itself is a first for the band and a rare treat! Plus other career defining tracks of course.

And finally, we get to witness this all in a venue in which bands of these guys stature would normally now only play in for “one-off intimate shows” (Kings Of Leon 2013, Coldplay 2014 etc).

A lot of anniversary shows like this, playing an album in full if not all, are rare and a treat for fans yes, but understandably the atmosphere in the audience is heightened for the “big songs”, but less-so for the others. This is fine and expected though, because 9 times out of 10 albums aren’t made-up ONLY of singles/hits.

This is certainly the case for Parkway Drive, sure, but there’s a clear gaping difference.

You see, as soon as the album ‘Killing With A Smile’s’ opening track ‘Gimme A D’ drops, the audience, who were enthusiastic and incredibly supportive of the two opening acts (The Heists and No Apologies), surge forward with ferocity! And unlike those 9 times out of 10 shows previously mentioned, the insane explosive energy in the audience doesn’t abate… ever! I mean sure, the energy goes from 10-11-15 for the “big ones”, ‘Anasazi’s (Xenophontis)’ and ‘Romance Is Dead’, but it stays until the end of the album. It really will be a ‘Cold Day In Hell’ when the crowds energy dies here tonight it seems. But hold on tight, there’s still hits like my personal favourite, ‘Prey’ as well as ‘The Void’ and just for fans not coming for the ‘Horizons’ show tomorrow night, “you know what’s coming, you f**kin’ know!” (as lead singer Winston says). Of course, we’re slammed with ‘Carrion’.

I’m so glad I’m not aaaaanywhere near the middle of the front barrier with the intense moshing, circle pits, wall of deaths and of course crowd surfers… I f**kin hate crowd surfers! But this was all to be expected… hence why I’m over here on the far left.

What makes Parkway Drive so great even in a small venue like this? Apart from the sound mix that’s set to perfection to capture all the complex layers in Parkway Drives’ music as intended (which is often hard to nail especially in the metal scene), it’s the band themselves. There’s nothing to be critical about in the bands’ performance frankly, it’s their energy that fuels the audiences blazing fire. “ohhh we don’t need no water let…”.

That unity I mentioned at the beginning? It’s how the band makes sure each and every fan is safe and looked out for, regardless of status. It’s how Winston tells us about how he sustained a vocal injury early into the tour, and for a vocalist like himself, is everything! “when I have problems with my voice I go to a very dark place, really bad anxiety and depression”. “A lot of us find ourselves in these kind of places, and we don’t know how to reach out for help”. Winston then asks everyone to just look out for each other and be kind. This resonated with me personally, and by the sounds of it, a lot of fans here tonight!

What makes Parkway Drive an enduring force to be reckoned with on a global scale? Read the f**kin’ review!

Until next time, keep a Keen Eye 4 Concerts…