Ire

Ire, the fifth LP by Australian behemoths Parkway Drive, shows the veteran band branching out from their signature metalcore roots and embracing a more nuanced and straightforward metal sound. With vocalist Winston McCall transitioning from full-time screaming to a cleaner vocal style along with other shifts in their musical structure, Parkway Drive have taken an artistic gamble and messed with their long-established formula. Instead of working with a notable producer as they have in the past, they kept things in-house by hiring their live sound engineer, George Hadji-Christou, to helm these sessions, resulting in their most stylistically varied record to date. ~ Timothy Monger