11/11/2023 0 Comments Winston mccall wishing wellAnd I can’t see any example of a human functioning as a pure beacon of light. There seems to be zero point in human history where that has been achieved. All the things that metal channels, it comes from those aspects that we’re always told to be scared of, to suppress.”Ĭan you be more specific? “We’re told, ‘Cheer up’ that happiness is the best thing to put a smile on your face even when you’re not feeling good fit in toe the line aim for white picket fences and the concept of happy perfection. Well actually, Iron Maiden are pulling this shit off better than you guys! But it’s what it taps into, in humans, and it’s the part of humanity which people try so hard to deny, and are afraid of. But try telling that to someone who sees Broadway as the highest point of artistic interpretation. That is world class, second-to-none incredible. Look at someone like Iron Maiden: they put on a production which rivals the top levels of Broadway. A lot of the time, people don’t listen to music to exercise their brain. Because metal takes effort to comprehend. That definitely does leave room to see it as wacky, or something that can be parodied, or something that’s just big dumb noise. But that’s the same thing that will drive people who don’t understand it away, who don’t have a place in their life for it. It’s very pointy, which is why it’s amazing. And when it’s not technical, it’s confrontational. And when it’s not abrasive, it’s technical. Unless you’re sitting in front of your stove, burning and blinding yourself while breathing in fumes!”ĭo you think metal bands who put on huge shows like you do – like Metallica, Iron Maiden and Slipknot do – get the credit for the levels of production and entertainment involved? “It’s an interesting one, because metal, it’s abrasive. There’s a lot to stimulate the brain in a way that you just can’t while you’re listening to a record. With what we do onstage now, there’s much more to process. Parkway on record and Parkway live, while they’re dealing with the same core material, the songs receive and elicit different responses. We’ve taken what we do into very different places, visually. The palette of our sound has been slowly expanding, and over the last couple of records it’s gone, ‘Boom!’ in multiple directions. Because after 15 years of doing this, and what the band has given to me personally, it has been a constant evolution. What do you feel people get from Parkway Drive that perhaps other bands aren’t offering? “That’s a damn good question. I could have driven to Melbourne.’ Just do it!” “When you’re 50 you might look back and go, ‘Damn, I could have held a record in my hand,’” he says. Ultimately, though, the things he has seen and the people he has met on this trajectory are a source of reassurance, and a reminder to carry on. He is candid when reflecting on the death of his friend and Architects guitarist Tom Searle, who passed away in Hove aged 28 in 2016. Their live show has become a flaming carnival of affirmation and excellence a literal fiery monument to the self-belief that has propelled them through the success of their last three albums, Atlas (in 2012), Ire (2015) and (2018’s) Reverence. Today, ever-smiling and occasionally bellowing with laughter, Winston self-deprecatingly jokes that they’ve done so playing “extreme sports metal”, but he’s resolute about their accomplishments. In his earliest days Winston listened to bands like Arm’s Reach, Embodiment and Day Of Contempt, never even daring to dream that Parkway might one day reach this scale. But it’s good to see that what we do – being loud, reasonably confrontational and blowing things up – can garner that.” The same year, they topped the bill at Bloodstock, their first-ever headline festival appearance in the UK. Since forming in 2003, Parkway have grown from modest hardcore beginnings through massive metalcore success, to the point where they can command an audience of 10,000 in London, as they did at Alexandra Palace in 2019. Like Iron Maiden, his band, Parkway Drive, have even made it to India, where he witnessed his guitarists held aloft like heroes by the crowd in Kolkata. In the past few years the vocalist has been mobbed by fans in Guatemala, leapt into the ocean from the mountainside in Majorca, and walked along the Great Wall Of China.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |