Parkway Drive Return with Next Era Lead Single 'Glitch'
Fun Fact: The very first new music article I ever wrote for Wall of Sound was for Parkway Drive's album announcement for IRE wayyyyy back in 2015 and with every single development this band has had since, it's been exciting to follow their journey not only as a music journo, but as a long term fan.
The Byron Bay metal icons have made their triumphant return today with their first taste of new music since 2018's ARIA #1 album Reverence dropped and changed their trajectory for good. 'Glitch' is the new blood here and it is an absolute smash - coincidentally also on their own label Parkway Records. It's got a focus on the bassy tones throughout and frontman Winston McCall's clean vocals take centre stage throughout more so than his screams, which isn't a bad thing - you've heard 'Shadow Boxing' right?
Jeff Ling's recognisable guitar riffs play throughout and you can kinda hear throwbacks to sounds used on songs like 'Wild Eyes', 'Vice Grip' and where the band left off with Reverence - heading into that more mature metal sound they've been progressing towards.
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Parkway Drive 2022[/caption]
On the new song, the band says:
"Parkway Drive have always walked the line of balancing the light and the dark, and 'Glitch' is no exception... Sonically, we aimed to create a dark, heavy, and unnerving journey while still crafting a melody that burrows its way into your mind. Lyrically, the song deals with the phenomenon of night terrors and sleep paralysis. We all know the power our minds possess, but true terror manifests when your mind and all its fears take physical control of your body. The glitch in your brain, where nightmares and reality cross."
As someone who has suffered from pretty horrific sleep paralysis experiences in his life (don't believe me, watch this), I can assure you the feeling is a lot more frantic than the sound of this track as a whole, but they've done a pretty good job of explaining the feeling with lyrics like 'Help me take this pain away/Sleep is now my enemy/Now it feeds the fear inside of me' and 'Let me the f*ck out'.
This is just the start of what Parkway Drive have been working on behind the scenes during their turbulent and testing experience during the pandemic. We cannot wait to see what else the boys have in store for us...
Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown (@brownypaul)
Stream 'Glitch' here
https://open.spotify.com/track/10uLyVvGH4lT2YqGs7ZiIZ?si=b98eed6dbb374efb
