Parkway Drive storm back into the spotlight with “Sacred”, a colossal new single that fuses heavy-hitting metal with an urgent call for hope.
It’s the band’s first new music since 2022’s critically acclaimed “Darker Still”, and it arrives alongside a gripping music video directed by Third Eye Visuals.
“The mission statement for ‘Sacred’ is pretty damn simple,” says frontman Winston McCall. “An anthemic wrecking ball of positive energy.”
McCall digs deep into the song’s message, describing it as a rejection of a culture obsessed with lack and self-doubt. “Our lives and the way we exist in the world has been pushed further and further through the lenses and frames of negativity and hopelessness. Obsession with everything we lack, everything we hate, everyone we blame, everything that keeps us down,” he explains. “We sell the unique parts of us most precious just to buy back manufactured pieces of self in order that we may feel whole again.”
With “Sacred”, Parkway Drive plant their flag in defiance: “’Sacred’ is our identity. ‘Sacred’ is our time. Never lose sight and never lose hope.”
The single sets the stage for a massive milestone year. This June, Parkway Drive will play a sold-out symphonic show at the Sydney Opera House — an unprecedented celebration of their 20-year journey. Later in the year, they’ll head to North America for the ‘Summer of Loud 2025’ co-headline tour, playing some of the largest venues of their career.
Then comes the grand finale: a sprawling ’20 Year Anniversary Arena Tour’ across Europe and the UK. Sharing the stage will be fellow Aussie heavyweights Thy Art Is Murder and The Amity Affliction, making it a full-force celebration of Australia’s dominance in heavy music. The tour will also feature Parkway Drive’s most ambitious stage production to date — a fitting tribute to two decades of evolution, intensity, and impact.
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Last year, McCall told Rolling Stone AU/NZ the band had driven themselves to the point of exhaustion with the creation process of their national arena tour. “It’s all very articulated,” he explained. “There’s just a lot of work to do, but the work is there because you have, for the first time ever, a fully formed vision that has taken 20 years of creating different little elements.”
While the band’s 2026 touring plans aren’t immediately clear, they have been announced to headline Australia’s first heavy metal cruise, so watch this space.
