Right from the outset, with ‘Generation No Surrender’ and ‘Devil’, this album pushes boundaries lyrically and musically. This theme of resilience carries through much of the album, but what’s impressive is how Underoath balance that intensity with a surprising amount of subtlety. It’s a heavy album, sure. But ‘The Place After This One’ is not just an all-out assault; it’s a deeply emotional journey that reaches moments of vulnerability.

The first single ‘All The Love Is Gone’ is another stand-out moment on this record. With its slick production, it sounds like a perfect storm of everything Underoath does best. Atmospheric, intense, and completely immersive. The track builds steadily, with Aaron Gillespie’s clean vocals weaving through a sea of feedback and crushing guitar riffs, before diving into its anthemic chorus. ‘All The Love is Gone’ is proof, if proof were needed, that they can definitely still write a track that’ll stick in your head for days.

‘Loss’ is a heavy track, both musically and emotionally. The guttural scream of lines like “Now I’m stuck in this white-tiled hell, lining up in a straitjacket” is something that will stick with the listener long after the song finishes. This track manages to execute balancing heavy riffs with its dark and vulnerable subject matter – everything ends, and no matter how hard you try to negate it, “you’ll still be left with loss”. Though it’s dark and somber, it’s surprisingly infectious, with each listen uncovering new layers that make it stick in your head even more.

If there’s any criticism here, it’s that some of these moments feel like they’re almost too familiar. The band has mastered this aggressive sound, but when you’re given so much of it in quick succession, the energy starts to blur a bit.

The guest spot from Troy Sanders of Mastodon fame on ‘Vultures’ is a high point of the album, adding an extra layer of heaviness. As someone who is known for both his clean and harsh vocals, on this track Sanders’ offering is a melodic one, blending with Gillespie’s and creating a wall of sound that’s both gritty and raw. It’s one of those moments that hits harder because of the collaboration, reminding us how powerful a guest feature can be when it’s done right. 

‘Spinning In Place’ is another standout, stripping back the usual chaos (for the first half of the track, at least) for something a little more melodic and contemplative. It’s here that the band shows how comfortable they are with blending different textures. The track feels like it could’ve been pulled from their earlier records, but it also feels fresh, like the next step in their evolution. 

‘Teeth’ doubles down on UO’s reputation for genre-bending with a beat that is reminiscent of what can only be described as… UK Garage? It’s one that’ll have you double-taking and checking you’re listening to the right album until the screams come in around the 20 second mark. It’s weird, but it works – and does a stellar job of re-capturing the listener’s attention, had it gone elsewhere in previous tracks, before launching into a gorgeously aggressive breakdown exactly one minute in. ’Shame’, the track that directly follows it, is a real ear-worm, with a truly belt-able chorus.

The final stretch of the album, including ‘Cannibal’ and ‘Outsider,’ wraps things up with a mix of brutality and introspection. The former’s title says it all; it’s wild, unrelenting, and totally unapologetic. ‘Outsider,’ though, serves as a quieter, more atmospheric conclusion. It’s a slow burn, but it’s a perfect closer, wrapping up the album’s emotional journey with an air of mystery and leaving you with a lingering feeling of unease.

Ultimately, ‘The Place After This One’ is another bold chapter in Underoath’s storied career, proving once again that they’re not afraid to take risks or push boundaries. It’s heavy, emotional, and experimental in ways that will challenge listeners, but it’s also a clear statement that Underoath is not done breaking boundaries. They’ve delivered an album that is experimental, heavy as fuck, cathartic and darkly beautiful – the kind of record that stays with you long after the last note fades.

KATHRYN EDWARDS

Opening proceedings are Parting Gift, who blend atmospheric rock with fuzzy electronics and a deep message in their lyrics. They’re a band on the up and manage to fit seven songs into their half hour support slot, with very little interaction between band and crowd. In fact, they don’t even tell the audience who they are but their songs do the talking for them. Front man Zac Vernon has taken influence from his previous role as the front man for Holding Absence, and it is telling; whether it’s ‘Without Sin’ or ‘Vein’, his vocals soar and fill the venue with ease. Parting Gift are definitely a band to look out for, and with some big festival sets to come, they’re about to make themselves a lot of new fans.

The night, however, belongs to Underoath. Having flown in from America at 7am on the morning of the show, the band absolutely smash their hour long set. Opening on a double punch from their latest album ‘Erase Me’ sees ‘On My Teeth’ and ‘Rapture’ cause carnage in the Ballroom, while ‘On My Teeth’ with its venomous verses, and ‘Rapture’ with its wall of industrial synths setting the tone for the evening. Spencer Chamberlain leads the procession, stalking around the stage, with high energy and vocals to kill for. He is every bit the front man of Underoath and, having put his numerous issues behind him, has evolved into a massive live presence. 

Aaron Gillespie slams his drum kit as hard as he can throughout the course of the night, his clean vocals intertwining with Chamberlain’s screams to great effect. Tonight sees a lot of ‘Erase Me’ aired, but it’s the older material that elicits the biggest reactions. ‘The Blue Note’, ‘It’s Dangerous Business’ and ‘Young and Aspiring’ as a three song run really shows the strength of the discography the band have put together in their history. 

The band create an incredible canvas of sound for Chamberlain to paint with his vocals, seamlessly transitioning from singing to screams, he’s captivating to watch. The highlight of the set proves to be ‘A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black and White’, from the first album to feature Chamberlain on vocals. Despite being 15 years old now, it still gets the biggest reaction from the crowd of the evening. After ‘In Regards To Myself’, Chamberlain picks out a fan who has flown all the way over from Brazil for the show and dedicates ‘Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear’ to them. This is the dedication that this band brings out in people. 

Closing on ‘Sink With You’ and the classic ‘Writing On the Walls’, Underoath bring an hour long emotional rollercoaster to a close. Watching this band really brings the question of “why aren’t they playing bigger venues than the Ballroom?” The performance was worthy of a bigger venue, and if this was Underoath performing whilst suffering from jet lag, how good are they when they’re fighting fit and ready to go? Download Festival is in for a treat.

ADAM ROSARIO

Along with these headliners, Download also announced the following bands will be playing at next years festival.

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators
Whitesnake
Rob Zombie
Trivium
Amon Amarth
Carcass
Delain
Die Antwoord
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Opeth
Power Trip
Reel Big Fish
Skindred
Starset
Tesla
The Amity Affliction
Underoath

Though many were ecstatic to see the band return, their hiatus hardly seemed worth all of the fuss that they’d kicked up in the first place; plenty of bands have periods of relative inactivity longer than Underoath without the increasingly meaningless rigmarole of breaking up. What wasn’t clear initially though was if this was a full-scale reunion, or simply a limited engagement to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band’s landmark ‘Define The Great Line’ record, which formed the centrepiece of the live tour that followed their initial batch of reunion shows, alongside a full-album performance of their breakthrough, ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’.

Two years on from that initial resurgence, confirmation came that this would indeed be a total rebirth of the band, with the announcement of a new studio album, ‘Erase Me’, released through the band’s new label, Fearless Records. As with any band releasing a new record after a long period of time (though the band’s ‘last’ show was in January 2013, they’d not released any new music since 2010’s ‘Ø (Disambiguation)’), there was a great deal of anticipation to see what direction the reborn Underoath would take, particularly considering how much the band’s sound had evolved over the main bulk of their career.

‘Erase Me’ whirrs into life with ‘It Has To Start Somewhere’, and all initial signs are good. After having toured the world playing the album in full, it appears that the more melodic sound of ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ has rubbed off on the band once more, the song resembling a microcosmic collision of that record’s dynamics, angular and punchy one moment and fists-in-the-air anthemic the next. The song is also notable for some unflinchingly nail-on-the-head lyrics that quite clearly see the famously Christian band change their collective Facebook status from ‘In A Relationship with Jesus’ to ‘It’s Complicated’.

It takes until track two, ‘Rapture’, to hear the band branch into new musical territory, though sadly it’s a territory the band should probably have stayed clear of. Choosing to eschew the often chaotic and quite brutal sounds of their last few records, there’s a B-list nu-metal vibe to this song that’s hard to ignore, coming across like something Trapt or Spineshank might write today. ‘On My Teeth’, the first single from the album, offers a slight improvement, though it’s hard to ignore how much like Bring Me The Horizon’s latter day Linkin Park flirtations this sounds, particularly in the processed and flat guitar tones. ‘Wake Me’ continues down the same avenue, the plodding verses led by a plinking piano that sounds ripped straight out of a Twenty One Pilots song, only to lead into a similarly flat and monotone chorus.

‘Bloodlust’ fares better, opening with a ‘Kid A’-era Radiohead vibe that explodes into the first really exciting chorus on the album, the song feeling like it could’ve been lifted from Thrice’s expansive and experimental ‘The Alchemy Index’. ‘Sink Into You’ shifts between nimble electronica-led verses and walls of ferocious guitar noise, and contains some of the only truly heavy passages on the entirety of ‘Erase Me’, the ending particularly echoing the rawness of the band’s most underrated album, ‘Lost In The Sound Of Separation’. ‘Ihateit’ then stumbles backwards into the same troubles that plagued the first few tracks on the record, namely a sub-30 Seconds To Mars mainstream rock vibe that the band don’t wear nearly as well as they think they do. ‘Hold Your Breath’, on the other hand, showcases all of the ways Underoath are capable of utilising melody well, and houses the best and most anthemic chorus on the record (and maybe the best in their discography since ‘Reinventing Your Exit’).

‘Erase Me’ is a frustrating record in many respects. There are some wonderful ideas scattered throughout it, and some of the band’s experimentation does pay off in interesting ways, like on the vocoder-heavy industrial stomp of ‘No Frame’. However, for every moment that rings true and genuinely excites, there are twice as many that seem misguided and just don’t feel like the Underoath. Obviously bands (and people) change and evolve over time, and Underoath as a band have always reshaped their sound periodically, but there’s nothing on this album that feels like it’s pushing the band forward in any meaningful way. The heavy parts aren’t as heavy as they’ve been in the past, the more chorus-led songs aren’t as interesting or catchy as the biggest ‘hits’ from the band’s history.

Underoath were always an exciting proposition because they were able to pull together a number of disparate sounds – coarse, angular metalcore, pulsing synths and electronic programming, both angelic melodic vocals and ungodly screaming – and shape them into something truly unique and entirely theirs. For the majority of ‘Erase Me’, there’s nothing that sounds like it couldn’t have come from any number of modern rock bands, and that’s probably the biggest gut punch of all. Give it a try, and maybe you’ll find something there to love. More likely though, you’ll be following the album title’s advice.

JAMES LEE

But now it’s officially happening. Underoath’s brand new album ‘Erase Me’ will be released on April 6 through Fearless Records and ‘On My Teeth’ gives us an explosive insight into what to expect. When you’ve waited this long for a revered band to release new music, it’s common to be apprehensive, but such has been the consistency and superiority of Underoath over the years, that it never crossed my mind that a new track could be anything but superb. And I wasn’t wrong.

The opening, with its build up of electronic effects, is a perfect segue from ‘Disambiguation’ until returning sticks-man Aaron Gillespie tears it to shreds with his signature, pummelling drum style. Though Gillespie is back in the fold, Chamberlain still dominates the vocal melodies, picking up where he left off on the previous record, with the help of some excellent harmonies from his old vocal partner. The abrupt ending makes me desperate to hear more; it’s amazing how quickly you can go from thinking you’d never get another Underoath record, to impatiently demanding the whole thing. The next six weeks are going to be painful.

10 Songs that inspired Giants

https://open.spotify.com/user/punktastic-spotify/playlist/6EThAFIsj9kNQuqTMs89bj

Alexisonfire – ‘Drunks, Lovers Sinners and Saints’

Alexisonfire have always been a massive influence for this band, but I remember seeing them open their set in The Lockup tent at Reading Festival 2006 and it changed my life. The way it just explodes into the most anthemic chorus ever still gives me chills.

Go It Alone – ‘Rapture’

Everything about this band ruled. The guitar tones and lyrical content alone tops any hardcore band of today in my opinion, but it’s the sheer ferocity of the fast punky parts straight into the breakdowns that inspired our writing from an early point right up to writing for our debut album.

Comeback Kid – ‘Final Goodbye’

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone that we love this band and take a huge influence from them. Touring with them was the greatest honour, they are the best dudes and the sickest live band in the game, almost 20 years into their career. Beast of a band.

Verse – ‘Old Guards, New Methods’

‘Aggression’ was one of the first hardcore records I heard that made me think about pushing the boundaries with songwriting. The melodies achieved in these songs are lush, whilst still being part of a record that sounds aggressive as fuck.”

Bad Religion – ‘Big Bang’

Tony Hawks’ Pro Skater games were the best games of our childhood; the soundtracks introduced me to so many different styles of music. I saw Bad Religion play this year and they killed it. They’re the grandads of hardcore punk and no one does it better.

Rise Against – ‘Collapse (Post Amerika)’

A massive influence on our songwriting and my singing from day one, this band will always be one of my favourite bands. They were one of the first bands I listened to where their lyrics meant something more.

Rancid – ‘Fall Back Down’

Literally the song is about your friends and good people around you having your back and being there for you. No one knows quite what it is like to be in a band, unless you’re in a band. Working hard for nothing, with only your mates and your music to keep you going; that’s how that song speaks to me. That, and c’mon, that bass line, that keys line. It’s a damn good song and that album shaped my perception of what music could be. Blah blah blah it’s only a cliche cause of how damn true it is.

Underoath – ‘Breathing In A New Mentality’

Loads of people prefer this band’s earlier material to their new records, but I always thought they got better with every record. The drums on this album are absolutely insane and were a big influence on our debut album.

Bane – ‘Some Come Running’

When I first heard Bane they had already been a band for 10 years and to hear the passion and message they still had in their music was definitely inspiring. They didn’t care about going from playing their local to a stadium it was all about the music. Geezers.

Incubus – ‘Pardon Me’

The mixture of music style and lyrics, relating to what was being said, opened my eyes to a lot of stuff going on in the world and on a personal level. Incubus influenced a lot of my ideas and style in the way I write lyrics.

Support for this tour comes in the form of MeWithoutYou who waste no time in diving straight into their set list for the evening. Without so much as in introduction MWY draw in the eager crowds whilst performing their unique brand of sporadic, indie-punk. During a brief pause between songs, front man Aaron Weiss explains that the band are now in their sixteenth year together which makes their energetic and jolted movements onstage all the more impressive considering how long they’ve been at it. Including elements of math-core, indie, punk, post-rock amongst others you can call MeWithoutYou whatever genre you want but their legacy and influence is undeniable.

The venue is plunged into darkness and momentarily deafened by sonorous sirens before tonight’s headliners Underoath explode into action. The opening lines of ‘Young and Aspiring’ send the attending crowd into a frenzy of excitement and nostalgia. Hanging onto every note and singing back every word it’s not difficult to see why ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ arguably spawned an entire sub-genre. As the first half hour of Underoath’s set comes to an end so does this certified gold album. Album closer ‘Some Will Seek Forgiveness’ has often caused some tension due to its overtly Christian lyrics and themes but the band have re-worked the track into a much more experimental wall of noise that abandons the obviously religious lyrical content.

Performing one complete album is in itself an achievement let alone playing two back to back. Before the second half of Underoath’s presentation a screen at the back of the stage is revealed onto which an ambient film is projected. As the film roll begins clicking and a countdown appears there’s a second wave of suspense cast upon the room. The band tear into ‘In Regards to Myself’ maintaining their high energy levels as though this were their first performance of the night. The most noticeable difference in their two sets this evening though comes in the form of lighting. ‘Chasing Safety’ consisted of bright and colourful flashing lights, whereas for the duration of ‘Define The Great Line’, (the darker of the two albums) the band are lit from behind and silhouetted. Whether or not this is intentional just a coincidental semblance, it certainly adds to the atmosphere created by the experimental and artsy film that’s been adopted as the back drop.

As the band work their way through their ground breaking fifth album there are times where it starts to seem as though the band have more energy than the crowd in attendance. From ‘Young and Aspiring’ to the massive crescendo that is ‘To Whom It May Concern’, an approximately eighty-minute set, Underoath never lack energy or vigour for even a second. Despite the ‘Rebirth’ tour being a celebration of ten years since these two albums were released, Underoath are back and still capable of playing these songs with the same conviction as though they were performing them live for the first time. Announcing their return, this is more than just a celebration and the tour couldn’t have been any more aptly named. ‘Rebirth’ by name, ‘Rebirth’ by nature and one that sees Underoath returning at the top of their game, welcome back.

JAMES DAVENPORT

The aforementioned unpleasant weather in 2016 however was so bad that the land took much longer to grow back than usual, meaning that two stages were noticeably omitted this year. On the plus side, this meant that for many people it meant they were far less timetable clashes, and smaller bands earlier on in the day such as Skyharbour had much bigger crowds than usual.

Belgium’s own Oathbreaker pull in a sizeable audience after mewithoutYou’s emotionally charged set on the main stage. The material from 2016’s ‘Rheia’ is incredibly punishing instrumentally, however the ethereal qualities of vocalist Caro Tanghe feel wasted on the Back to Basics stage. A real shame considering how immersive they can be in indoor venues. The crowd reaction is warm but in terms of musicianship this obviously isn’t one of their days.

The Menzingers also suffer from a few technical problems early on, however this doesn’t take away from their joyful atmosphere. While the material on their latest record ‘After The Party’ may be a melancholic reflection about growing up and the hardships of touring, they throw caution to the wind and dive on through courageous anthems such as ‘I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore’ and ‘The Obituaries’. The chorus responses from the audience are sung so defiantly you they somewhat drown out the vocals in the PA, but it’s still satisfying to watch. Their risk taking attitude to emo and tight pop sensibilities really shows time and time again why they’re so well received in Europe.

A mere few days before this weekend, there was an initial fear of who would replace the almighty Turning Point after they announced that they would be pulling out of Groez and Outbreak Festival in Leeds. To some people’s disappointment, Brutality Will Prevail were brought in as the special guests, but truth be told they’re past the point of caring what anyone thinks of them. Vocalist Louis Gauthier may sound drastically different to former vocalist Ajay Jones, but the ferocity in his vocals on fan favourites such as ‘The Path’ and ‘Trapped Doors Moving Walls’ is undeniable. Cuts from their new album are indeed a return to the dissonant, metallic hardcore that we know and love yet burst with rejuvenated enthusiasm live. Couple that with a group of kids going in hard as nails for each song and you’ve got yourself a set that stands out as being one of the best things to happen at Groezrock this year, even if it wasn’t initially planned.

American black metal outfit, Deafheaven, were also a wonderfully unexpected addition to this year’s line up. Their blend of shoegaze, post rock and melodic riffs, married with vocalist George Clarke’s earth shattering screams as the sun set over Meerhout ensured a rollercoaster of euphoria. As they’re not really the sort of band you can sing along to, the more passionate fans mostly just mimicked Clarke’s movements or simply headbanged themselves into submission. With a Mogwai cover and a showcase of ‘Language Games’ from 2011’s Roads To Judah thrown into their set, their first time at Groezrock was beautifully cathartic.

Strike Anywhere’s blend of energetic skate punk, loaded with plenty of hits from their extensive discography almost feels like a staple of Groez at this point, but never feels stale.  At this point in their career they’re never going to really change much from their live set up but overall they still manage to stand their ground after all these years.

Moving back to the main stage, metalcore veterans Underoath serve up a deliciously nostalgic set, with audience members clearly coming out of pit retirement for anthems such as ‘Writing On The Walls’ and ‘In Regards To Myself’. Aaron Gillespie and Spencer Chamberlain’s voices accompany each other pitch perfectly tonight, despite little crowd interaction. The set is over as soon as it starts as it would have been impossible to perform their two most well known albums in full at a festival.  However when all is said and done, it would be hard to criticise them with such a heartfelt comeback.

AJJ’s formula of insightful folk punk brings a drunken house party atmosphere to the Watch Out stage. Their sets are known to be rowdy but even they are taken aback by the warm response of the Belgian. There’s also a surprisingly heavy element to their music live, with frontman Sean Bonnette coming close to breaking a string at any moment with his hard strumming patterns. A few barren stagedivers show their support, even during some of their slower songs might feel somewhat inappropriate for their music. Thankfully it doesn’t distract too much from their rousing social commentary and joyful singalongs.

With sets from In Hearts Wake and Anti Flag blasting from both sides of the festival, there’s surprisingly not that many people initially for the almighty Deftones. Tonight is a sonic feast for newcomers and long time fans of the seminal alt metal group, opening on on ‘Korea’, straight into ‘Elite’, and the crushingly tight ‘Diamond Eyes’. Frontman Chino Moreno’s stage presence is still charming as ever, making up for conventional stage banter with boisterous energy, often collapsing in fetal position for the heavier cuts.

Only the title track from ‘Gore’ is showcased tonight but it’s nice to see they’re not getting tired of playing their older hits time after time. ‘Rosemary’ and ‘Digital Bath’ are performed with almost blinding rays of purple and blue lights into the audience which greatly enhances the versatile atmosphere Deftones achieve with their live shows.  This is surprisingly one of their smaller shows on this entire tour, but their live shows are so influential it only made sense to have them steal the limelight tonight.

Not giving a damn about your weak, delicate hungover state from last night’s 4am afterparty, Bent Life solider on at the Watch Out stage early on. The bass drops and breakdown sections have kids punching the living daylights out of each other, although still retaining a sense of catchiness with some of the groovier riffs. It’s all the fun of a hardcore show back home, but with more people in Heavenshallburn shirts rather than XL Title Fight hoodies.

Arcane Roots, in comparison, are still just a very average band from Surrey, regardless of what continent they’re playing on. The band are giving it their all and their diverse range of musical endeavours bode well with the audience but sadly fail to be truly engaging.

With this year somewhat lacking in the traditional sprinklings of pop punk bands on the line up, Boston Manor step up up their game on the Watch Out stage. The blissful sing along choruses coupled with energetic riffs are not only wonderful to listen to from afar but prompt plenty of wholesome mic grabs and stage diving from their long time fans. Frontman Henry Cox has the audience by his finger tips, promoting all the angry finger pointing and posi jumps he can muster. Alongside their packed out acoustic set during Pennywise, it’s safe to say their venture to Groezrock did us Brits proud.

A return to the tough US brand of hardcore earlier in the day, Incendiary plunge into ‘Zeitgeist’. As with Bent Life, the sludgy guitar tones sound pissed off and louder than anything else here. You might even argue that they’re the heaviest band on this bill, which of course is noted by how many people are flailing their fists and knocking each other out to them. It’s hateful breakdown after breakdown for their set which to some people might get a bit dull after a while, but never with Incendiary. You just can’t top the belting end breakdown of ‘Primitive Rage’, as the audience clambers on top of each other to grab the microphone for the line “FORCING, A FUCKING, RECKONING”. Totally ahead of their peers, Incendiary are formidable, both on record and today.

Despite their somewhat corny vibe that they give off, it would be criminal to go to Groezrock and not go see H2O. Even if it’s just to hear them play a superb rendition of ‘The Waiting Room’ by Fugazi, the New York punks provide one of the most carefree and liberating sets of the weekend. It’s impossible not to sing along or even be tempted to join the overwhelming number of kids flinging themselves across the tent to anthems such as ‘1995’ and ‘Fairweather Friend’. Even when there’s people on stage for what seems like a fraction too long it never feels cringy or necessary to interrupt the masses of positive energy on display here. Of course, no H2o set would be complete without a total stage invasion during ‘What Happened’, leaving frontman Toby Morse to clamber onto the drumset to finish the set.  The unfortunate clash with Jeff Rosenstock during their set was heartbreaking but as stated before, you wouldn’t want to miss something this special and inclusive.

Surprisingly, while Gorilla Biscuits boded well on the same stage, they didn’t nearly have the same crowd reaction as H2o. This isn’t to say they disappointed, surging through most of ‘Start Today’ with a handful of covers like no tomorrow. As the last band on the Back To Basics stage this weekend they gave it their all, reigniting all the passion and defiance of the influential songs they wrote nearly 30 years ago.

Australian metalcore favourites, Parkway Drive, were given the daunting task of headlining not only last evening of Groezrock, but also as the only band left to perform out of everyone there. Their recent change in sound to a traditional rock sound hasn’t been entirely favourable by fans but their career spanning set is solid and packed with so many classics. Playing ‘Carrion’ and ‘Sleepwalkers’ so early on in the set is a bit of a risky move but the energy ceases to dissolve thought the entire show. This is everyone’s last chance to party and no one is taking it for granted, with push pits, circle pits, stagediving from the side stage and of course, crowd surfing as far as the eye can see.

Vocalist Winston Mccall has no trouble rousing people up to join in with arena rock “woah’s” and “hey’s”, shifting the band’s traditionally club based live show into a larger than life spectacle. A three minute upside down drum solo, Travis Barker style, cements that Parkway have transcended Impericon fame and fortune to a band that’s evolved into something much bigger than anyone anticipated. “Look over there in that tower and you can see my mum,” says Mccall, as the crowd cheers with genuine love and appreciation for tonight’s final two songs, ‘Crushed’ and ‘Bottom Feeder’.  No one ever expected Parkway to pull off a festival headline set in 2017, but against all odds, they passed with flying colours.

See you all next year!

ASHWIN BHANDARI