Parkway Drive drop first new single in four years, Glitch

Aussie metalcore titans Parkway Drive have released Glitch, their first new music in four years.

Following their sixth studio album Reverence – which arrived in 2018 – Glitch sees a similar blend of pounding verse sections, accessible electric guitar riffs and sing-along-style choruses, but with a speaker-rattling breakdown thrown in for the purists. Check it out below.

The band themselves describe the single as a “dark, heavy, and unnerving journey”, adding that it thematically deals with “the phenomenon of night terrors and sleep paralysis”.

“We all know the power our minds possess, but true terror manifests when your mind and all its fears takes physical control of your body,” they explain. “The glitch in your brain, where nightmares and reality cross.”

While it's been teased in the past week via social media, the new single might come as a surprise to many Parkway fans, after the band recently canceled their planned 2022 North America tour, saying the “relentless nature of being in this band has given us very little time to reflect on who we are as individuals”.

“It has always been 100 percent commitment or nothing,” the band wrote on social media upon the cancelation back in April. “We feel the limit has been reached and we don't want to fuck this up.”

The five-piece added they aimed to “grow and return stronger for what is yet to come”, but the metalcore community likely didn't anticipate their return quite so soon.

In another post in May, the band explained that a crossroads had been reached within the band following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The last few years have been tough on everyone,” they wrote. “Having toured non-stop for 17 years, the shutdown was a major challenge. While we set our minds on other creative paths, we also gained a greater perspective of the impact this band has had on us.

“Mental health is an ever-present issue within our society and we are no exception. As touring started back up, we found ourselves at a crossroads. Continue down the same path, risk more damage and more than likely destroy the band and ourselves, or take the time needed to do the work on ourselves and heal. We are doing the work and know that ultimately, this was the correct choice.”

We'd wager, then, that while we might hear more new music from Parkway Drive in the near future, it's unlikely they'll announce more tour plans any time soon.

Having said that, the band's forthcoming European tour – which runs from September 9 until September 30 – looks to be going ahead, as tickets are still available to purchase via the band's website.