Author: Primož Novak
Video: Primož Novak
Location: Gala hala / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 04.06.2015
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: 22€
Australian sensation Parkway Drive is a regular guest in Slovenia. They swing by every other year, and this time they played the Gala Hala summer stage at Metelkova for the third time, as part of the traditional party known as Mosh Beach Party, which marks the end of the school year and kicks off the festival season at the same time.
Before the show itself, the Metelkova area was packed with kids who are supposed to represent the metalcore look these days. In other words, there were tons of tattoos, skinny jeans, caps, and shirts with the logos of all kinds of metalcore and deathcore bands. At times it felt more like a fashion show than a concert. Still, you have to admit it was great to see that many people turn up and show that this scene is very much alive.
The opening slot this time went to Celje outfit Burn fuse, who have put out two EPs so far. The latest, titled Genesis (review HERE), came out last year. The band naturally served up songs from both releases, and you could tell the guys love playing live, and their show is lively, tight, and energetic. With every gig, the miles they’ve logged and the effort they’ve put into playing live show more and more. With their music, Burn fuse show just how wide metalcore has become these days. You could quickly say that, with their melodic and hardcore touches, they’re not offering anything new, but by flirting with a more technical subgenre here and there, they dodge the clichés. Even though it’s all stuff we’ve heard plenty of times, the band seems to be slowly building an identity of its own, which hopefully will get them noticed beyond Slovenia’s borders. There’s still plenty of work and experimenting ahead, but that’s probably not a problem for these guys.
Parkway Drive didn’t have to try very hard to get the crowd going wild. From the very first song, Wild Eyes, the crowd went off in a way you don’t see at gigs every day. There was no shortage of mosh pits, a “crowd surfer” popped up every now and then, and stage diving wasn’t possible this time because of the safety barrier. The second song, Carrion, took care of those who swear by the band’s earlier days. The band, who will release their fifth album, Ire, in September, delivered a “best of” festival set that ran for one hour. Sadly, there were no new songs. Besides their hits, they also played a cover of Rage Against The Machine’s Bulls on Parade. But somehow that wasn’t enough to make everyone happy with the show, since a few songs played at previous gigs were missing. The band is nicely tight, and you could see how rested the members were, which is probably because this was their first show this year. Still, you could argue they didn’t want to burn themselves out right at the start, since in the coming days they have festival slots ahead of them, where a much bigger crowd will be waiting.
Parkway Drive are admirable, though, because their style, with its simple melodic and hardcore touches and melodies, is nothing out of the ordinary. Even more interesting is that the band doesn’t rely on catchy vocals, yet their choruses are bombastic and aimed at big crowds. Of course, good promotion is part of the reason for their success too. Ten years after their debut Killing with a Smile, Parkway Drive have reached an enviable level of success. They run through their shows routinely in an hour and still get a warm response from the crowd.
Judging by the turnout, the fifth Mosh Beach Party was another success. The crowd seemed pretty happy overall, too. Definitely a solid kickoff to the summer festival season.
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