Monsters Of Oz – Gig Review 20th September @ Echo Beach, Toronto, ON

Parkway Drive // Monsters of Oz Tour
Echo Beach, Toronto, Ontario
September 20th, 2023
Support: The Amity Affliction, Northlane and Make Them Suffer

A tour with a lineup so diverse, yet so high quality that it makes the entire world look on with envy doesn’t come around all that often, and when each band is from the same country, it’s virtually unheard of. Putting together such an unbelievable lineup has taken four of Australia’s finest metalcore acts coming together, proving to the North American region (and the world yet again) that Australian music is a force to be reckoned with.

As I walked through the venue’s gates on the warm and sunny Wednesday afternoon, I was taken back by the impressive large-scale festival-styled layout. Food trucks and vendors surrounded the skirts of the venue while an enormous stage rigged up with an abundance of lighting and pyrotechnic equipment immediately caught my eye and added to the excitement.

The first act to perform was deathcore-turned-metalcore act Make Them Suffer, who stormed the stage to a roaring cheer from the thousands of concertgoers before opening with latest single, ‘Ghost Of Me‘. As the group began playing, I was instantly excited by the impressive display of talent from vocalist Sean Harmanis. As he stalks the stage from left to right, he perfectly delivers his vocal duties while maintaining eye contact with the punters in an intense, thrilling and direct fashion as if to say, ‘Pick your fucking feet up’, and sure enough, everyone responded by moshing or crowd surfing. One crowd surfer could be seen waving an Australian flag as he surfed his way towards the stage, which put an enormous smile across the face of Harmanis, who continually solidifies his reputation as one of Australia’s strongest metalcore vocalists by delivering his best with every performance. Harmanis, however, wasn’t the only vocalist in fine form. Alex Reade, celebrating her 35th birthday, also made it abundantly clear that after one year since joining one of Australia’s leading metalcore groups, she is thriving amongst the genre’s heavy hitters. Her clear-cut, clean and unclean vocals, as well as her abilities on the keytar, provided a captivating contrast to Harmanis’s unclean vocal performance.

As the Perth-based act continued to perform through their well-curated seven-track setlist, it became apparent that this group of five was a solid team – Nick McLernon‘s guitar solos were technically flawless, and Jordan Mather‘s drumming was a violent assault on the senses. The team operate like a well-oiled machine, which is just one aspect that places them in the world-class league that they are in. As Make Them Suffer finished their set by performing ‘Erase Me‘ and ‘Doomswitch‘, frontman Harmanis took a moment to wish bandmate Reade happy birthday and politely asked the thousands of fans to kindly sing Reade happy birthday. Everyone in attendance happily obliged, putting an ear-to-ear smile on Reade’s face.

As the sun began to set over the stage, Northlane appeared through the on-stage smoke to perform ‘Plenty‘ from their recent album Obsidian. In what was an incredibly picturesque evening setting, I became exceptionally impressed by the stage’s lighting production; nothing was overemphasised or underwhelming; it all seemed so perfect and happened to compliment the group’s performance immensely.

Movement on and off stage had quickly escalated by the time this four-piece hit the stage. Guitarist Josh Smith could be seen two-stepping while performing ‘Echo Chamber‘, and the crowd followed suit by feeding from the group’s infectious on-stage energy. Catching everyone off-guard, front-man Marcus Bridge invited friend, ex-bandmate and Toronto local Brendon Padjasek, or as Bridge had referred to him, ‘Little Dennis’, onto the stage to join in on vocal duties for ‘4D‘. Padjasek, who at one point held his microphone up close to Smith’s guitar to amplify its sound, was visibly highly excited as he ran across the stage yelling ‘Oh shit!’ repeatedly. As Bridge and Padjasek shared unclean vocal duties throughout the breakdown, it had occurred to me that this was a fine display of musicianship and friendship in the purest form, which was a special moment to observe.

As the band continued, excessive smoke from the smoke machines made the group seem like silhouettes performing behind a cloud, which was quite aesthetically pleasing for the duration of one or two songs. Taking the time to reflect on the moment that he found himself in, frontman Bridge explained to the Canadian crowd that “for Australian bands of all genres, Parkway Drive are the benchmark, and so it is with immense pleasure and gratitude that we have the honour of sharing the stage with them on this tour” which was conveyed as being incredibly genuine and authentic. As the band finished their set with ‘Talking Heads‘, they took their one last chance for the night to make the most of their time on stage, while guitarist Smith spent his time off-stage, crowd surfing while simultaneously shredding on the guitar. What a man!

Hitting the stage in front of a banner that displayed their ‘Show Me Your God‘ cover image, The Amity Affliction quickly broke out into the first track ‘Death’s Hand‘, turning the mosh area into a violent slew of bodies as opening lyrics “I held death’s hand this evening” was blaringly shouted by almost every punter in the venue, it was utter pandemonium. The energetic composure of frontman Joel Birch instantly had my eyes locked on him. His moves on stage while performing vocal duties were utterly captivating.

Performing numerous songs in their back-catalogue from as far back as 2014’s Let The Ocean Take Me album, the setlist seamlessly blended their heavy-hitting anthems with heart-wrenching ballads. With the impressive, world-class lighting production praising this set, it wasn’t hard to work out why this internationally renowned four-piece, originally from Gympie, Queensland, is at the height of their career. Their ability to use their music as a vessel for introspection and catharsis while keeping the energy high and staying true to their metalcore roots is second to none and unmatched by most bands within this genre.

Crowd favourite ‘Pittsburg‘ offered fans a wholesome sing-along moment towards the outro, where the band refrained from performing but instead observed the crowd sing their song to them. At the same time, newer tracks such as ‘All My Friends Are Dead‘ and ‘I See Dead People‘ allowed punters to mosh to their heart’s content. The group concluded their performance with the slow ballad ‘Soak Me In Bleach‘, which generally would keep a crowd motionless; however, toward the end of the track, frontman Birch took some time to stress to the crowd that “this is your last chance” and that he wanted to see “bodies flying through the air”, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.

As fans waited for the evening’s headline act to appear, crowd chants of “Parkway, Parkway, Parkway…” emerged. The energy was palpable as fans from all walks of life eagerly awaited the arrival of Winston McCall (vocals), Jeff Ling (guitar), Luke Kilpatrick (guitar), Jia O’Connor (bass), and Ben Gordon (drums). Australia’s beloved Parkway Drive walked onto a Toronto stage for the first time since 2018 to the deafening roar of thousands of dedicated fans. As Jeff Ling ignited the crowd’s cathartically passionate presence by playing the opening riff for ‘Glitch‘, the outdoor venue transformed into an arena of joyful celebration in the form of excessive moshing and ear-splitting singalongs as we experienced our first taste of pyrotechnics for the night.

I turned 29 years old only two days before this show, and having left my moshing days in the past, I was beginning to accept my new ways of appreciating live music while standing to the side, but as the group performed tracks ‘Idols and Anchors‘ and ‘Carrion‘ from one of my favourite albums to ever exist, Horizons, I lost all self-control and found myself amongst thousands of others as we enjoyed the thrill of moshing at a Parkway Drive show. As the crowd sang along to the riffs of these older Horizons tracks, creating a sea of voices that resonated with sheer determination and defiance, this Aussie abroad had the pleasure of finally indulging in a slice of home pie as I was welcomed by the homely feeling of as if I was watching this world-renowned five-piece from my home city, surrounded by friends, as I have done countless times.

Before breaking out into ‘Dedicated‘, where vocalist Winston McCall replaced the lyrics ‘twelve years’ with ‘twenty years’, the frontman took the time to address the fact that we are all gathered to celebrate 20 years of existence for the industry-leading band by saying “When we began we didn’t expect to last five years. We are so lucky to find ourselves in this position after twenty years, and we are ever so grateful to celebrate this achievement with you all tonight.” Then performed the 2016 track, giving the punters another strong taste of pyrotechnics.

Twenty years of experience seems like fifty years when observing this class act as they perform. From Winston McCall‘s commanding stage presence to Ben Gordon‘s formidable charisma from behind the drum kit – everything they do on stage fossilises their status as being amongst the best in the world within the entire metal genre. The stage production was nothing short of amazing. A visually remarkable light show and pyrotechnics contributed to a sensory overload that perfectly complemented the band’s sonic attack.

As the twenty-year celebration continued, the band took the set back to their 2010 album Deep Blue by performing hits ‘Sleepwalker‘ and ‘Karma‘. The popularity of these heavy tracks shone through as they produced the biggest mosh pits and circle pits of the evening, leaving most of us short-winded. A poetic rendition of ‘Darker Still‘ allowed us to catch our breath again while we whistled along and appreciated the beauty of McCall’s clean vocals, which have started to see the light of day more so in recent years.

As ‘Bottom Feeder‘ and ‘Chronos‘ brought this show to a close, the crowd’s dissatisfaction became apparent. None of us were ready to go home yet; we were hungry for more as everyone chanted, “One more song! One more song!” Having seen Parkway Drive perform countless times, I knew they wouldn’t give up until our jaws were on the floor. Drummer Ben Gordon quickly reappeared to perform a drum solo while strapped into his spinning drum kit. Gordon continued to mind-blowingly perform his drumming while spinning in a 360-degree motion, seemingly in midair and upside down. It was an iconic moment I have witnessed at numerous Parkway Drive shows, but it is something I never tire of seeing. While continuing to spin and perform simultaneously, Gordon was reunited with the rest of the group to perform ‘Crushed‘ amidst an impressive pyrotechnics display. There was fire on the stage, on the drum kit and in the air… it was everywhere!

Before performing the last track of the evening, ‘Wild Eyes‘, the five members stood together, with arms around each other at the front of the stage. McCall thanked the crowd one last time, at which point Ling performed the opening riff, to which the crowd took their chance to sing along for the final time of the evening. As the notes of this last song reverberated through the venue, it was clear that Parkway Drive had delivered a gig for the ages, leaving their fans adrenalized.

Toronto bore witness to the metalcore mastery of Australia. However, the Monsters of Oz tour was never just about the one-off performance in each city; it was a communal experience for fans throughout the North American region, allowing them to celebrate Australian music as a whole and the twentieth anniversary of the powerhouse that is Parkway Drive. The metal man himself, Winston McCall, repeatedly expressed gratitude to the fans for their unwavering support over the previous two decades, making us even more excited to see what the group does in the coming decades.

Gig Review by Adam Rice

The Monsters of Oz Tour Continues

Tickets Here

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