On Saturday, February 1st, 2014, the House of Blues in Los Angeles, CA hosted Parkway Drive with guests Upon A Burning Body and Betrayal. If you know us Angelinos, we love our metal-core, and we definitely love Parkway Drive.
Upon A Burning Body had just left the stage and the crowd was already broken, beat, and scared from a brutal set, but that didn’t stop them from wanting more metal. After a quick stage set up, Parkway Drive came out performing Sparks and going onto Old Ghost/ New Regrets from their last album, Atlas. The venue was filled to capacity with die-hard Parkway Drive fans, as they drowned out vocalist, Winston McCall, making him sings even louder as he competed with an energetic crowd. As the night went on, the grin on McCall’s face grew bigger and wider because of how passionate the crowd was. Halfway through the set, he has mentioned that we were the loudest crowd he’s ever performed in front of; and that’s something Los Angeles crowds ever hear from any artist or band these days.
Not only was the crowd in a singing mood, but they were also on a mission to make this night memorable by spinning the room thanks to the never-stopping circle pits. If you didn’t want to get hurt from the pit, you’re only safe bet at this show was watching from the balcony, but even then, we heard it got pretty wild up there, as well. So, with a crowd this intense, how does the band react to the mob of people going ape shit? They do the only thing they could do, and that’s make us lose our minds. We’ve seen plenty of metal-core bands, but nothing compares to these Aussies and the show they put on this night. If you’ve never seen these guys, do yourself a favor a buy a ticket the next time they are in your town.
Songs of the night include Sleepwalker, Karma, Boneyards , The River Dark Days, Wild Eyes, Carrion, and many, many more.
It’s safe to say metal-core won’t die out; at least it won’t with bands like Parkway Drive delivering memorable shows like this show in Hollywood. With a crowd like this night, it’s a safe bet that this band will return more often to see what the metal scene out here has to deliver.
Review by: Alex Lucero
Parkway Drive
Upon a Burning Body
