Despite being from Australia, PARKWAY DRIVE sound more like a band born and raised in the New England area. The band have all the trademark sounds that have made the contemporary metalcore scene so popular (i.e. pseudo-Swedish melodic death metal riffs and obligatory breakdowns). True, they bring nothing new to the table as many of these ideas have been done many times over but PARKWAY DRIVE bring their own flavor and personal touch to Horizons to make it stand out. They are definitely on the heavier and more aggressive end of the spectrum with none of the “emotional” clean vocal choruses nor tough guy machismo utilized by many of their peers. One thing that does help the album stand out is the technical chops that are smoothly implemented into the songs without seeming pretentious. PARKWAY DRIVE could easily play and succeed at playing full-blown metal if they chose to. While the metalcore genre as a whole is oversaturated and mired in mediocrity, PARKWAY DRIVE’s Horizons is good stuff and should be considered to be in the upper crust of the genre. And long after this genre dies off in the coming years with waning popularity, the band should be able to continue to thrive when many of their peers have run out of gas. (Epitaph Records)