Parkway Drive will be the focus of tonight’s episode of ABC’s Australian Story. The special, called ‘Getting Heavy’, will chart the Byron Bay metal band’s rise to international success and their eventual decision to focus on their mental health for the sake of the band and its members’ sustainability.
The episode’s 30-second trailer shows the band in therapy together and hints at some of the toxic interpersonal issues that were threatening the group’s existence. “We’re in a heavy metal band. We’re not meant to be softies, talking about our feelings and stuff,” bassist Jia O’Connor says at one point.
Watch the Trailer for Parkway Drive’s Australian Story Episode
Parkway Drive have been open about experiencing a difficult couple of years in the lead-up to their latest record, Darker Still. In April, they cancelled a scheduled North American tour, stating that “the relentless nature of being in this band has given us very little time to reflect on who we are as individuals, who we want to be and the toll it is taking on ourselves and our friendships.”
The band shared another statement elaborating on this decision a month later, explaining that if they were to “continue down the same path” it would “risk more damage and more than likely destroy the band and ourselves.” Instead, they said, they had decided to “take the time needed to do the work on ourselves and heal.”
Darker Still, Parkway Drive’s seventh studio album, arrived last month. The follow-up to 2018’s Reverence was described by singer Winston McCall as “the final fulfilment of our ability to learn and grow catching up with the imagination that we always had [as a band.]”
Further Reading
Parkway Drive: “Our Abilities Have Finally Caught Up to Our Imaginations”
Parkway Drive Announce New Album ‘Darker Still’, Share New Single
