Review and gallery: Luke Petty
Two nights of total mayhem. Being a long-time Parkway Drive fan, getting the chance to hear Horizons played live in its entirety was a massive treat, and bringing Virtues and King Parrot along for the ride made it so much more than just a nod to great music. Night two felt even more unhinged.
Local Brissy boys Virtues kicked off their second night on the bill, instantly proving why they earned their spot. Frontman Wade Felsch completely commanded the stage, warming up the crowd with ease, while Alex Miller’s guitar spins and riffs kept eyes glued to the stage. The local crew killed it, and they deserve to be on way more lineups moving forward.
King Parrot took over next, storming out to Kevin Bloody Wilson, a hilariously fitting soundtrack for the absolute chaos they bring. Blasting off with “Bozo”, alongside tracks like “It’s a Rort” and “Shit on the Liver”, KP brought relentless energy. Youngy was in prime form, stirring up the pit and flipping off anyone not headbanging, though he took a sweet second to shout out a 7-year-old girl perched on her dad’s shoulders. Closing out their high-octane set with “Fuck You and the Horse You Rode In On”, the Melbournites proved they still reign supreme at putting on a wild show.
When Parkway Drive finally took the stage, Fortitude Music Hall erupted. Setting the tone with “Begin”, they launched straight into a barrage of fan favourites. The siren call of “The Sirens’ Song” instantly triggered one of the most insane circle pits FMH has ever seen, turning the floor into a wall-to-wall warzone. Big respect to the parents in attendance, raising the next generation of metalheads right.
“Feed Them to the Pigs” kept the intensity at a peak, but “Carrion” caused the venue to completely detonate. The pit erupted with a ferocity that suggested everyone was saving their last drop of energy for that exact riff. Crowd surfers flooded over the barrier while shoes and caps flew everywhere, not that anyone cared about losing their gear in the heat of the moment.
Before diving into “Boneyards”, Winston McCall gave the crowd a quick breather, joking that Horizons is “the fast album”—and he wasn’t kidding. “Boneyards”, “Idols and Anchors”, “Moments in Oblivion”, and “Dead Man’s Chest” came flying out at breakneck speed. McCall also paused to highlight a parent holding a young fan near the front, urging the crowd to protect them at all costs—a genuinely heartwarming moment showing a new generation discovering the heavy music so many of us grew up on.
Then came the title track. McCall introduced “Horizons” as one of the best songs Parkway Drive has ever written, and looking around the room, no one was about to disagree.
As the album set wrapped up, the band took a brief breather. While not a traditional encore, the brief pause gave the crowd a desperate chance to catch their breath before the real onslaught began.
Because Parkway weren’t done yet. Rolling into an anthem-packed second half, “Prey” had every single person bouncing, causing the floorboards to shake so violently that security had to step in and tell the crowd to tone down the jumping. “Karma” into “Dark Days” pushed things over the edge, with McCall cheekily apologising for pairing two of their most chaotic tracks back-to-back. “Vice Grip” followed, turning the hall into a massive, unified singalong.
Then came the real holy-grail moment: “Romance Is Dead”. Seeing an early classic performed with that level of raw energy in an intimate venue like FMH made the night feel unforgettable. By this point, the entire floor looked completely spent.
Parkway closed out the night with a devastating one-two punch. “Bottom Feeder” delivered the iconic middle-fingers-up moment before “Wild Eyes” triggered one final, glorious explosion of sound. It was deafening, so much so that McCall dropped his mic completely, letting Brisbane scream the iconic vocal melodies right back at the stage while the band soaked it in.
Seeing a massive, festival-headlining titan like Parkway Drive strip things back to play an intimate venue and remind everyone where they came from is unmatched. They proved once again why they proudly hold the crown for Australian heavy music.
– GALLERY –
