Parkway Drive’s “career-defining” performance at the Sydney Opera House last month was one of the biggest shows of the year, and if you couldn’t get to the show that night, you’re in luck.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, frontman of the Byron Bay metalcore legends, Winston McCall, revealed that a concert film and live album of the performance are now in the works.
Speaking ahead of the Australian debut of the band’s Park Waves festival, McCall said that recording the concert was a key factor in booking the iconic venue.
“We wanted to build something which was a reconceptualisation of what Parkway Drive is in a place that’s very iconically Australian and create a very iconically Australian show,” he said.
“It was all seated, black tie, played on grass with a full symphonic orchestra backing, a flipped-up set list from what you’re used to, everyone is in ball gowns and suits. It was the exact opposite of what you’d expect. And that was kind of what we wanted to do. We wanted to make something worthy of the moment.
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He continued: “It was literally the loudest show that the Opera House has ever had before… you’re confined to seats. There’s no crowd surfers, there’s no barrier. I’m watching the front row guests’ knees touching the front of the stage, and I’m screaming in their faces, and there’ an entire brass section back there just blasting them, while Gaz is doing a blast beat, and I’m like, none of this exists in a context of anything right now. Let’s be the ones that create it.”
McCall said adding to the pressure of playing a venue like the Sydney Opera House was the fact that the performance was capturing a film and live album in one hit… and there wasn’t a lot of prep time. Parkway Drive rehearsed once with the orchestra four hours before showtime. Luckily, it’s all going to be ready to watch soon. However, a release date is yet to be confirmed.
“It’s in the hands of the production company,” McCall said.
“We’re working on it all, and we’re doing mixing for the album and everything… we have to figure out the right time to drop it in context with all of the other crazy shit which we’re currently doing.”
Read our full review of the Opera House show here.
Meanwhile, Park Waves 2025 is full steam ahead. Tickets will be available via multiple pre-sales before the general public gets their shot. Fans can access early tickets through the Parkway Nation fan club pre-sale, going live Tuesday, July 22nd at 9am local time (join here). The Destroy All Lines pre-sale follows that afternoon at 5pm (register here). General public tickets go on sale Thursday, July 24th at 10am local time via parkwavesfestival.com.
