Parkway Drive Showcase 'The Greatest Fear' with 7th Album "Darker Still" Announcement

Following the release of their night terror/sleep paralysis anthem 'Glitch', Byron Bay heavy metal icons Parkway Drive have just debuted the next single from their upcoming seventh studio album - titled Darker Still - and this new track will certainly turn a few heads in the process as the band continue the bold venture away from their metalcore roots and towards the fellow greats of the heavy metal genre.

Firstly the album, which is set for release on September 9th via the band's own Parkway Records will feature 11 tracks including the two already released singles. This is also Parkway's first dive into a concept album - exploring the dark night of the soul - or as frontman Winston McCall puts it:

"The idea of reaching a point in your life where you are faced with a reckoning of your structure of beliefs, your sense of self and your place in the world, to a point where it's irreconcilable with the way that you are as a person..." 

Dark. Moody. Heavy. The lads are following suit with the likes of Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails who scored a citation as inspirations behind the conception of the band's latest record. As put perfectly for those following this band's progression:

"Darker Still stands as the culmination of a transformative time that has seen Parkway reach new heights of creativity and success by eschewing the restrictive, safe conventions of genre and abandoning their own self-imposed rules in favour of a wide-eyed appreciation of bold new horizons."

So forget what you know about this group and open your eyes and ears to a sound, direction and motivation from a band hellbent on leaving their mark in the modern heavy music scene.

'The Greatest Fear' continues with a similar chord progression to that of 'Glitch', introducing operatic choir vocals, church-like organs and that tasty AF Jeff Ling riffage that's recognisable from the first strum. Winston's vocals sway between spoken-worded growls and whispers while the band provide a heavy backing soundtrack akin to that of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns 'N Roses and similar power/metal bands that walked so the new generation could run. There's a thiccc breakdown that's going to have you throwing yourself into the nearest wall - but it's Parkway like we've never heard them before. Mature. Metal. Madmen.

"The greatest fear, the one we all share; this song is about the unifying force we all must face —death," says McCall. "The goal was to create a song that saw death not as something that separates, but something that connects us all on our paths. Musically, we wanted to create a song that did this concept justice. It's heavy, it's epic and when it stomps it leaves an impact."

Give the song a few spins, listen to the layering, the lyrics and the performance of the band... then imagine this on huge stadium stages - because that's where Parkway Drive have their sights set and it's only a matter of time before they deliver showstopping live sets that'll blow all preconceived expectations out of the water and mark the next era of Australia's biggest metal export since AC/DC.

Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul

Stream 'The Greatest Fear' here

Pre-Order Darker Still here

Parkway Drive - Darker Still tracklisting

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxvMf9PnImQ