Metalcore band Parkway Drive is poised for mainstream success in the U.S., but the band is already one of the most popular acts in its native Australia. Hard rock has taken a back seat to hip-hop and electronic dance music on the charts in recent years, which makes it all the more impressive when a new act breaks into the higher levels of popularity. For Parkway Drive, that has meant streamlining their sound a little bit, and the band’s most recent album, Reverence, released in May, features more melodic vocals and radio-friendly riffs, while retaining the heavy metal edge of their earlier work.
“The band has delivered its most crucial outing to date, one that’s both devastating and galvanizing,” All Music said of Reverence, which hit the top of the album charts in Australia (just as the band’s previous album did), and made it to No. 35 on the Billboard album charts. “We’re stepping up our production and hopefully taking over from the old dogs whenever they hang up the reins,” guitarist Luke Kilpatrick told Total Guitar about the band’s ascension to hard rock’s upper echelons. “We’ll be there to grab them and take the horses for a ride.”
House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 6 p.m. Aug. 31, starting at $32 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
