Parkway Drive

Memphis May Fire… Currents… Dread Engine

Coverage by: Brian Francis

     Kemba Live  was the hot spot to be on Feb 13.  Parkway Drive brought their Darker Still Tour to Columbus Ohio. This tour has been a long time coming.  Covid cancellations, travel restrictions and one thing after another has stifled this tour for the better part of three years.  The crowd was overly anxious to see the the Headliner, but who wouldn’t be after waiting so long.

     Columbus local band Dread Engine kicked the evening off.  I must say, I wasn’t familiar with their music, and that’s terrible being an Ohio native. They definitely made a new fan as they have been spinning in my playlist for the last week. I look for these guys to blow up and be playing the big stages in the next couple of years. Rumor has it they have a pretty big show coming up at The Newport Music Hall, so go check ’em out!

    Next on the Lineup was American metalcore Outfit Currents. This band has been on my radar for awhile. They ripped through their short but intense set.  Songs like “Kill the Ache” and “Monsters” hyped the crowd and kept an amazing energy throughout the venue.  As their set was winding down, they burnt through “ Remember Me” before finally closing with “ Vengeance”. If you’re into metalcore, you gotta give this band a listen.

     Direct support for the evening was the incomparable Memphis May Fire. To be honest, these guys get better each time I catch them.   The band hit the stage with the opener “ Blood and Water “ and took no prisoners from there on.  Staple songs included “ Left for Dead “, “ Vices “, “ Bleed Me Dry” and their latest single “ Make Believe “. They finished off their set with closer “The Sinner”.  The crowd was left sweaty and eagerly awaiting the headliner of the evening.

     The time had finally come, the moment that some had waited three long years for.  Parkway Drive appeared on stage around 9:30 pm.  They had a very stripped down stage setup with absolutely no pyro, and let me tell you, that didn’t matter at all.  They opened with “ Glitch” and tore straight into “ Prey”.  The band covered their illustrious career during their set.  Fan favorites “ Carrion”, “The Void” and “ Bottom Feeder “ had the crowd whipped into a frenzy. Bodies were flying over left and right  in a very small venue.  After a 13 song set, the band walked back out for an encore.  “ Crushed “ was the first of two final songs, but when the harmonics of “ Wild Eyes “ echoed through the PA, suddenly the energy level was exactly where it all started.  Parkway Drive put on one hell of a show.  Looking forward to catching them at Blue Ridge Rock Festival this year with a full pyrotechnic production.  These guys will absolutely slay the festival crowd.

Check out the full Memphis May Fire & Parkway Drive photo galleries here!

Setlists for each band:

Currents

1. Monsters
2. Into Despair
3. The Death We Seek
4. Kill the Ache
5. Better Days
6. Remember Me
7. Vengeance

Memphis May Fire

1. Blood and Water
2. Left for Dead
3. Death Inside
4. Bleed Me Dry
5. Vices
6. Somebody
7. The American Dream
8. Make Believe
9. Misery
10. The Sinner

Parkway Drive

1. Glitch
2. Prey
3. Carrion
4. The Void
5. Soul Bleach
6. Vice Grip
7. Dedicated
8. Imperial Heretic
9. Karma
10. Boneyards
11. The Greatest Fear
12. Darker Still
13. Bottom Feeder

Encore

1. Crushed
2. Wild Eyes