Live Review : Parkway Drive + Thy Art Is Murder + The Amity Affliction @ AO Arena, Manchester on October 6th 2025

At some point in the next few years, Parkway Drive will become only the second Antipodean act to headline Download. Their rise has been astonishing, from heavy as f*ck cult act to true arena-bothering spectacle. This is actually their second arena tour of the UK, but this time they have pulled out every stop to prove that their new position of festival headline and stadium blitzer is well deserved. The AO Arena isn’t full (the top tier is completely sealed off), but those of us who are here will be regaling tales of this night for a good while to come.

The undercard is also a distinctly Australian affair with The Amity Affliction and ferocious death metal levellers Thy Art Is Murder along for the ride. Whilst space is limited due to the scale of Parkway Drive’s setup, The Amity Affliction still manage to own the stage with passion and pathos. Their version of metalcore is shot through with emotional resonance. They are more contemplative than angry, with Jonathon Reeves' melodic tones juxtaposing the harshness of Joel Birch’s vocals. There is also real depth to their sound, and the pathos and the passion enrapture the rapidly filling auditorium. The crowd warm up as the set proceeds, and by the time they reach the final number ‘Soak Me in Bleach’, pits have started to break out all over the shop. An enjoyable opening salvo.

Thy Art is Murder have a long history with tonight's headliners, having opened for them on numerous occasions all over the globe. This is only their third visit to these shores since C.J. McMahon's acrimonious removal, but already their larger-than-life former frontman seems but a distant memory. Tyler Miller is a more than adequate replacement, and tonight proves that he has the chops to front such a dynamic and incredulously heavy band. Rather than emulate his predecessor, he puts his own spin on the vocal delivery and makes set stables such as ‘Holy War’, ‘Slaves Beyond Death’ and ‘The Purest Strain of Hate’ his own. His between-song banter is also far less confrontational and rather than rile up the audience, he prefers to comment on the fact that their inclusion with two metalcore acts makes this a death metal sandwich. A solid turn by one of death metal’s most reliable purveyors. 

There have been attempts over the years to reinvent the arena experience. We have had in the round, we have had circular walkways and we even have had U2’s distinctly odd claw. Now it is Parkway Drive turn to try to reinvent the way we consume a rock concert. For the whole night there’s been an ominous PWD crest looming over the crowd on the ceiling, and a second stage has massively elongated the photo pit. We start on that second stage after the band walk towards it through the audience from the back of the arena. They throw out ‘Carrion’ and ‘Prey’, then a walkway is lowered from the ceiling which they use to cross across to the main stage. At that point the curtain drops to reveal the full production with dancers and enough pyros to start a full-scale invasion. ‘Glitch’ follows as the whole thing lights up like a November 5th event on acid. It is utterly extraordinary and sets the ambition for what Parkway Drive is trying to pull off this evening.

Photo credit : Third Eye Visuals

Photo credit : Third Eye Visuals

Photo credit : Third Eye Visuals

They are like kids who have been given the keys to the firework cupboard. The show is a veritable feast of set piece after set piece. The dancers add an extra dimension to the visualisation that is actually quite alien to our world. They swirl around Winston during ‘Cemetery Bloom’ adding a level of theatrical opulence. The Walkway is not just used to bridge the divide between the two stages, during ‘Horizons’ it hoists members of the band high into the rafters, with sparks raining off it. It also delivers the string trio for ‘Chronos’. As an antidote to the pyro, it rains down on Winston for ‘Wishing Well’. Basically, if there is a special effect to be had, they are utilising it this evening.

The extravagant staging is however only half the story. The night is about celebrating 20 years of being outcasts playing outcast music. Winston reverts back to being a kid when he mentions that his mum is in the audience and gets the whole place to shout out “Hi!” to her. He also venerates those who have been with them all the way and takes great pain to remember their humble beginnings in this city playing Satan’s Hollow. To mark where they started from they play an elongated melody from the debut album “Killing with a Smile”. The constant thought at the back of your head is that the astonishing part about tonight isn’t actually the production, but how a band this god darn heavy can become this big. Yes, with the later releases, they have tempered their approach, but on this tour, they are happily revelling in the past, and we get four slaps from the relentlessly monolithic “Horizons”. ‘Boneyards’ is particularly crushing, and they are joined by Joel Birch of The Amity Affliction and Andy Marsh from Thy Art Is Murder.  

Parkway Drive have always cultivated the image of being a band of the people. For all the playthings they have on offer this tour, Winston is happiest when out there in the crowd. He departs at the culmination of ‘Dark Days’, and ‘Idols and Anchors’ is played with circle pits hurtling around him. He halts the number when someone goes down and then proceeds to finish it, holding onto the member of the audience that fell. He then crowd surfs back to the sanctity of the mainstage.  Every time you think they have reached the zenith of the staging, they ratchet it up one more spot. ‘Crushed’ is frankly astonishing, Molotov flames everywhere, an upside-down drum kit on fire and Winston hoisted high into the sky on the raised platform, which itself is now on fire. Incredible. But it all finishes where it started, back on the second stage with the five of them huddled around the drum kit for ‘Wild Eyes’. It is at this point that you realise the real truth about the brilliance of this band. They may have the tenacity and vision to try something this gregarious, but at the end of the day, they are still simply five surfing mates from Byron Bay playing heavy metal. In all the opulence, they have never lost their true selves, and that's what makes this such an astonishing but also emotionally affecting show.