PARKWAY DRIVE – DARKER STILL ALBUM REVIEW

Now, I know this is a bit of a “throwback” but I feel that this is something that needs to be reviewed and touched on. My reason for that is the fact I keep seeing so many adverts for the Parkway Drive 20 Year Anniversary tour in October 2025 with special guests Thy Art Is Murder and The Amity Affliction so what better way to answer the subliminal calling than to review Parkway Drives last released album “Darker Still”.

“Darker Still” was released on 9 September 2022 under Epitaph Records and received mixed feedback upon initial release with some critics praising the album for the band’s ability to musically evolve and try new angles whereas some other reviews were not as receptive with comments such as the album is moving away from the original metalcore roots and even to go as far as stating the album feels a bit of a ‘sell-out’. Throughout Parkway Drive’s previous discography they have released seven studio albums, one live album, and three video albums since 2005 this excludes their previous split EP work with I Killed The Prom Queen, Think Straight, and Shoot to Kill.

Parkway Drive, hailing from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia has always been a band close to my heart and possibly one of the most nostalgic bands to me since my teenage years. Back when I thought I was cool at college I remember I always wore a Parkway Drive hoodie thinking I was absolutely cool as fuck and Parkway Drive was one of those “edgy” bands back then and not “mainstream” in terms of metal so I always felt that I was ‘ahead of the curve’ and ‘cool’. Looking back it’s laughable but we all have our cringe stages throughout our younger years, no judging, please.

The current member lineup for Parkway Drive is Winston McCall (Vocals), Jeff Ling (Guitar), Luke “Pig” Kilpatrick (Guitar), Jia “Pie” O’Connor (Bass) and Ben “Gaz” Gordon (Drums). One thing I do admire about these guys is that their member lineup has not changed much since their formation in 2003, but it has remained consistent since 2006.

Into the album review at first listen I’m not quite sure where people are getting their negativity for this album from. I mean sure there are some audible differences between this and earlier work but at the core of it all it’s a very easily recognizable Parkway Drive release. The album stays true to the generic heavy breakdowns, fast-paced guitar riffs, and aggressive vocals throughout its entirety. With a 5 year wait between their critically acclaimed album “Reverence”  and “Darker Still,” this is the only thing that could be a contributing factor to why maybe fans felt a bit let down at the fact it wasn’t a carbon copy of their previous style however the album has some amazing standout tracks and has a lot of standard Parkway identifiers.

Notable tracks on this album for me are “Glitch”, “The Greatest Fear”, “Darker Still”, “Imperial Heretic” and “Like Napalm” with each track bringing something unique. However, my favorite track from this album would have to be “Soul Bleach” which I had to listen to multiple times during my listen-through of this album. I absolute adored it with Winston clearly having a bit of a visit back to his old vocal style, which I found amazing to hear in actual decent recorded quality, unlike their older EPs. The album showcases Parkway Drives explosive energy and defiant prowess that go hand in hand with their material.

Going back to uniqueness a great example of this would be the title track “Darker Still” showcasing its acoustic-led elements fair enough it does shy away from the sound of Parkway Drive and did at the start make me question if I was still on the same album but does not let down as a track.

Overall, I think this is a strong album release from the guys, and honestly – I don’t understand why people seemed to dislike this release so much. I loved it, I felt that although there was some diversity with their sound it’s still highly identifiable as Parkway Drive. It shows the ability this band have to release not only heavy-hitting tracks but are not afraid to make changes and push the boundaries of what they can do. I highly recommend this album and give this album a solid rating of 10/10. It was nice to step back a bit to an older release and recap the music that I may not have been 100% familiar with and even to some extent maybe glossed over even as a MASSIVE Parkway Drive fan. Shamefully to say.

SCORE: 10/10

 “DARKER STILL” TRACK LISTING:

1. Ground Zero
2. Like Napalm
3. Glitch
4. The Greatest Fear
5. Darker Still
6. Imperial Heretic
7. If A God Can Bleed
8. Soul Bleach
9. Stranger
10. Land Of The Lost
11. From the Heart of the Darkness

LABEL: EPITAPH RECORDS

RELEASE DATE: 9 September 2022

 

FOR EVERYTHING PARKWAY DRIVE CLICK >> HERE <<

 

You can catch Parkway Drive in 2025 on the 20th Anniversary tour in the UK. Tickets available >> HERE <<. Parkway Drive is known for their high-energy live performances and fire, lots of fire. I suspect this tour will be no different from this and definitely something that if you can attend next year, I’d suggest checking out.