Review:

on 2012-11-15 austinv56 Said:

With the release of their fourth album, Parkway Drive has once again blown the minds of metalcore fans all across the world. Having to compete with As I Lay Dyings masterpiece Awakened, which was released about a month before, it definitely stepped up to the challenge and created a wonderful album. While its not as good as Awakened, its definitely a top five metal album and highlights the bands strengths, as well as utilizes some new features.


The opening track, Sparks, is used as an intro track; although vocals are used, they are mostly spoke in a normal voice and it doesnt contain any screaming until the very end. It features some classic lyrics though such as we are but sparks in a darkened world&and some things, were born to burn. The screaming begins soon after this line and transitions into the pummeling first real song, Old Ghosts/New Regrets. I find this to be one of my favorites overall because of the good range that vocalist Winston McCall uses. I think it really adds to the song and makes it more interesting, differentiating it from many generic metalcore songs. The only dislike I have about this song is that they overuse the one line, we were born with nothing, and we die alone! Although its a great lyric, he says it way too much.


Other great songs such as Dark Days, Wild Eyes, and The River make this album a perfect listen for a stretch of about half the album. The third track, Dream Run, is my favorite song overall. It just is a great overall metalcore song; nothing more can be said. Tracks 9 and 10 are not my favorite (the title track and Sleight of Hand). They are ok, but they just arent anything special. This is why this album isnt perfect&you can tell theres a little filler. But the other songs are just so good that this album maintains an A grade. The final song, The Blue and the Grey, is an almost 6 minute epic that completes the album. Usually songs this long in the metalcore genre are not worth it, but this song is. Check it out.


Overall, this is my favorite album by Parkway Drive and has been alternating with Awakened on my iPod since its release. It has a couple of small flaws, but nothing major that takes away from whats good. If youre a fan of metal, buy this album. There is no doubt its worth the money.
Rating: 9/10