The Australian metal band Parkway Drive has slowly but surely developed into one of the biggest acts on the scene over the years. The highlight of her career so far: The headliner show at the Wacken Festival 2019 in front of several tens of thousands of frenetic fans. The band made their way there in the documentary "Viva The Underdogs", which was presented in January in 60 different cinemas in Germany and Austria. "We wanted to depict reality and show what it is like to be in a modern rock band and how hard you have to work to be successful and maintain it," says singer Winston McCall (37) in an interview with the news agency spot on news.
After all, it was still the prevailing opinion that rock stars would live the same extravagant life as they did in the golden days of rock'n'roll. An opinion that was recently confirmed by bio-pics like "Rocketman" or "The Dirt" for many. But McCall quickly clears up with this romanticized idea: "Times have changed. The era of rock stars is over."
Deep attachment to Germany
The documentary is accompanied by a soundtrack of the same name that will be released on Friday (March 27th). The eleven best recordings of the Wacken show can be heard on it, as well as three bonus tracks entirely in German. A big challenge for McCall, as he admits: "It was very difficult for me to speak. But I wanted to do it right." For this he got a language coach who supported him with the recordings. "Now I would like to learn more German because it really suits metal," the singer continued.
The lyrics were translated by none other than the German rapper Casper (37), who can be heard in the stanzas even on the song "Schattenboxen (Shadow Boxing)": "We had no idea what he would make of it. We have him completely free hand – and he did a damn good job, "said McCall. No wonder that Casper also feels comfortable with a hard guitar sound, after all his musical roots are in hardcore and metal.
It's no coincidence that people sing in German of all places: "Germany is our largest market in the world. We are so used to touring here," explains McCall. The Australians, who even reached number three on the German charts with their last album ("Reverence"), are not the only international metal band that can count on a loyal following in Germany: "I believe that the Germans have a deep Being connected to heavy metal. Germans are generally very open-minded and have great respect for handmade music. At the moment people tend to follow trends quickly. One day they love a band, the next they have forgotten them that was never the case in Germany. Our growth has always been very organic, "reveals the musician.
Big commitments
Of course, the release should have been accompanied by a tour in April – the biggest of the band so far. However, due to the Corona crisis, all dates have been moved to November. Of course, the pressure to get the halls full, where bands of the size such as Metallica have recently made guest appearances, is no less: "If they remain empty, we have a lot of debt! Nobody is behind us with a checkbook," admits McCall . "Still, we have to take that risk and take the next step."
But how do you bet on it once you've already reached a very high production level? "To be honest, it's not that difficult for us. But instead of just overloading the show with everything, we prefer to think about things that maybe not everyone thinks about. We just have to stay creative," McCall says calmly.