28/10/2025
🚨GIG REVIEW: Parkway Drive + Thy Art is Murder + The Amity Affliction @ Utilita Arena Birmingham - 5/10/2025🚨
The Amity Affliction [6] confused me as I swore they were on second but hey ho. They have a unique backdrop which works well I assume giving the big curtain covering Parkway’s stage setup, it’s like banners across the top which feels very regal. They play well, they were into it and almost sounded perfect but in terms of interaction and presence, I found them to be a bit lacking, when I go to a gig I want a show particularly with how much they cost these days. Whilst Amity play great and with some passion they don’t follow it up with substantial engagement, no problem with them being the opening band tonight but I would want more if they wanted a higher spot at this level.
Thy Art Is Murder [6] say it best themselves that the show is like a death metal sandwich as they’re sandwiched between 2 metalcore acts. The mix of the sound felt a bit off for me, it felt like the guitars were too much and the vocals were too little, like you could hear him singing but not make it out as well until everyone else went quiet. I love the music of Thy Art and the setlist was great, their setup focused more on the lighting rig they bought with them and the screens either side of the stage (again I assume as Parkway’s stage is massive and complex), but call me old fashioned, I like a backdrop which they didn’t have. I feel like the energy in the crowd wasn’t as expected I assume due to the mix of styles and there being less of their usual diehard fans (I have seen them much better headlining smaller venues with phenomenal energy), Engagement far surpassed what TAA gave us but the lack of energy and mix issues just didn’t leave me with the usual hyper feeling when I’ve seen them before.
Parkway Drive [10] just put on one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. I love how they still take to the stage by walking through the crowd from the back, it makes it feel much more personable and inclusive. It just gasses everyone up in the room. The stage show, is absolutely stacked, so much fire, so many sparks, smoke cannons, spinning drum set - THAT SETS ON FIRE, very skilled dancers and actors that also throw Molotovs everywhere, some lovely lady’s with violins and a chello, a raising bridge linking the main stage to the square stage further out in the crowd which they alternate between and a isolated rain around the middle stage. Winston is one of the most natural frontmen in modern metal today, he’s out there on the crowd with a circle pit whirling around him, he flings and smashes himself across the stage. Not forgetting we’ve got to the level where he now has outfit changes throughout the set, everything just feels like a grand experience and the effort they’ve put into putting this together and the timing being so perfect just shows the dedication in putting on the greatest performance possible. On the surface (as we can’t truly know these people’s nature just what’s put out there) they appear to be very humble and very grateful for their position, a point that is emphasised throughout and with a huge shoutout to all the crew for their hard work and effort. Let’s talk setlist, the medley of the best moments of their debut album was a fantastic idea and hits like a detonator igniting the OG fans to lose their damn minds down there, I love to see it. They bring out TAA vocalist Joel Birch and Thy Art’s axe man Andy Marsh to help them out with “Boneyards”, latest single “Sacred” slaps hard live and has made it one of my favourite songs at present, they split the set through their albums making sure their list of albums get a fair showing - with a heavy emphasis on Reverence which is absolutely fine by me. The encore of - Obviously - “Crushed” with the biggest amount of fire of the set as Winston raises up on the bridge which spits out jets of fire from the sides. “Wild Eyes” though, I’ve seen parkway many times over the years, this is the LOUDEST I have ever heard a crowd (live in person at least) song that riff to the point you could barely hear the band. There was literally nothing else I could ask for, nor could want. I definitely feel I got my money's worth and more out of that set, there can be no doubt that they’ve “made it” and stamped their legacy as one of the most hard working and iconic metal bands in history.
- Review by Jay
- Photos by Jay
*Views Expressed are those of individuals and not necessarily those of Lightfire Media*
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