Horizons is the second studio album by Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive. It was released on 6 October 2007 through Resist and Epitaph Records, and was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz. It was recorded in Westfield, Massachusetts at Zing Studios in May 2007. The record was a surprising commercial success for the band at the time, charting at #6 on the ARIA Album Charts, a notable achievement for an Australian metal band in 2007.[2]
Recording took place at Zing Studios, Westfield, Massachusetts in the United States in May 2007.[3] Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage acted as producer. Discussing the recording process, McCall explained: "The songs, the sounds, the speed, the heaviness and the production has all been stepped up. Working with Adam again made our job super easy as well as highly enjoyable."[4]
Music and lyrics
Horizons contains elements of thrash metal and melodic death metal in its instrumentation. According to Bryan Rolli of Loudwire: "There are two tiers of breakdowns on Parkway Drive’s sophomore album: low, and reeeaaaalllyyyy loooowwwww. These binary breakdowns make maximum impact across Horizons, but the Australian metalcore veterans offset their chug-a-thon with furious thrash drumming, melodic death metal riffs and incendiary sweep-picked solos."[5]
The album's lyrics have drawn comparisons to emo music. According to a staff reviewer at Punknews.org: "The 2007 conceptualization that aligns more with an image and an emotionally burdened message is absolutely present. And with lyrics like, "Still I'm choking on the words I should have said one thousand times [...] And I'm cursing every memory [...] And I'm holding on until there's nothing left to save [...] Let every scar still bear your name [...] Every scar still bears an angel's face," there's little room to contest such an association."[6]
Release and promotion
In July and August 2007, Parkway Drive appeared on that year's Warped Tour in the US.[7] On 24 July 2007, Horizons was announced for release, and its track listing was revealed.[4] On 20 August, "Boneyards" was posted on the band's Myspace profile.[8]Horizons was made available for streaming on 1 October, and was released on 6 October through Epitaph.[9] In October, the band toured across Australia, before going on tour in Europe with Comeback Kid, Cancer Bats, the Warriors, and This Is Hell the following month.[4] A music video for "Boneyards" was posted online on 23 November.[10] In December, the band went on a west coast US tour alongside XDeathstarx.[11] In January and February 2008, the band went on a US tour alongside Killswitch Engage, the Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die.[12] Following this, the band performed at the Groezrock festival in Belgium, and went on an Australian tour with Have Heart, Antagonist and Break Even.[13][14] In July and August, the band supported Darkest Hour on the Trash & Burn tour.[15] During the tour, the band performed at Robot Mosh Fest.[16] In February 2009, the band played a few shows in China.[17] In April and May 2009, the band went on a tour of the US with Stick to Your Guns and MyChildren MyBride.[18] The band appeared at The Bamboozle and West coast Riot festivals in May and June 2009, respectively.[19][20] After this, they performed at With Full Force festival in Germany in July 2009.[21] They then toured Australia in August 2009, with support from August Burns Red and Architects.[22] In September and October 2009, the band went on a US tour with A Day to Remember, In Fear and Faith and I See Stars.[23]
The album received mixed reviews from critics. AllMusic stated "Horizons is strictly by the book metalcore, but delivered with enough talent and passion to put across a set of songs that might easily come off as samey and dull in less capable hands."[24]
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