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I’m not entirely sure I can do justice to the scenes currently unfolding on stage at Wembley Arena. Parkway Drive frontman Winston McCall is about 30 feet in the air, topless and bellowing his guts out as pillars of flame burst out from the hanging bridge under him, from at least six different angles.
Below him is another square of fire simmering away at the front of the stage, as his Parkway bandmates jump, strut and headbang their way around the back, yet more walls of pyro billowing out everywhere you look. There are dancers throwing all manner of shapes and facial experessions, bopping and weaving in front of dummer Ben Gordon, who is strapped inside a giant, slowly spinning drum cage covered in – yep, you guessed it – more fire.
Parkway Drive have made ambitious stagecraft a part of their gigs for a decade now, 2015’s Ire album officially introducing their arena metal era, with the showmanship to match. Still, this is Rammstein levels of madness, and as Winston screams out Crushed in front of a thoroughly barbecued Wembley, it feels like Byron Bay’s finest have made a pitch for that sacred Download headline slot that cannot be ignored.
If this retina-singeing encore was the sum of Parkway’s on-stage gimmicks today it’d be impressive enough, but there’s rarely a moment across an electric two hours where something bananas isn’t happening. The show starts with a procession right through the crowd, the five-piece accompanied by flag-waving mascots and greeted like conquering heroes.
From then on in, it’s all box office. One moment, Winston, dressed in a Blade Runner-styled trench coat, is getting rained on like he’s Britney, dramatically waving his arms and darkly crooning Wishing Well as water falls around him; the next, he’s in the middle of the crowd for Idols And Anchors, a packed circle pit writhing around him before he crowd surfs his way back to the stage. At one point, guitarist Jeff Ling is soloing in midair as fireworks go off around him; at another, a string quartet descends from the rafters, dancing around the stage with every bit of energy and confidence as the band themselves.
Over half of tonight’s setlist is pulled from Parkway’s last three albums, but there’s still room for some old school, “real fucking metalcore“, as Winston puts it; a brutalising ten-minute medley of tracks from 2005 debut Killing With A Smile sparks some of the wildest pits this venue will have seen. The fact that the singer takes a moment to shout out British hardcore crew Knuckledust during the chaos shows just how deep the roots of this show run.
“Get out of your seats!” Winston demands during a building-shaking Bottom Feeder. “They’re just obstacles in the way of a good time!” He doesn’t quite get his wish for “100% mosh pit”, but there isn’t a still body in the house, no neck that won’t feel just a little sore tomorrow morning. 20 years in, Parkway Drive have confirmed that they might just be the most essential live show in metal right now. Download, what we saying?
Parkway Drive Wembley Arena setlist Oct 4 2025
Carrion
Prey
Glitch
Sacred
Vice Grip
Boneyards
Horizons
Cemetery Bloom
The Void
Wishing Wells
Medley: Gimme a D / Anasasis (Xenophontis) / Mutiny / It’s Hard to Speak Without a Tongue / Smoke ‘Em If Ya Got ‘Em / Romance Is Dead
Dark Days
Idols and Anchors
Chronos
Darker Still
Bottom Feeder
Crushed
Wild Eyes