PARKWAY DRIVE’S GAMBLE

Three years ago Byron Bay metalcore band Parkway Drive took what they called “a gamble”; instead of continuing to work with big-name producers, they decided to record their fifth studio album, Ire, with two relatively unknown names. Well, one name, two people. Installed at the helm as the album’s producer George Hadjichristou, and his brother Dean took to the controls as the recording engineer. While the Hadjichristou name might not ring a bell for most, it has a longstanding affiliation with the Parkway Drive camp. George is the band’s live front-of-house engineer. “We thought it was more important having someone we are super comfortable with, knows our sound, and knows what works live,” commented drummer Benjamin Gordon, at the time.

“Getting super-comfortable” is not typically a recipe for excellence, but the “gamble” paid off, and Ire became Parkway Drive’s most successful album at the time, reaching number one in Australia. Last year, when it came to making the band’s sixth studio album, working with the Hadjichristou brothers was no longer a gamble, but the obvious thing to do. Once again, the chemistry worked, as Reverence turned out to be even more successful. Reaching number one in Australia, but also the third spot in Germany and number 14 in the UK.

Reverence is sonically adventurous, stepping out of the confines of metalcore to incorporate musical influences like folk and orchestral. George Hadjichristou didn’t only produce, but brought a collection of talents to the table like piano, string composition and arrangement. The album features some real strings, as well as synths and all manner of samples, atmospherics and other non-standard sounds in the metalcore genre. Going full loop, bringing George’s FOH perspective to the album-making process has delivered enormous-sounding albums that not only cement the band’s ascendancy in Australia’s heavy music scene, but helped them climb to the top of many live festival bills around the world.

HADJICHRISTOU’S ANALOGUE EDGE

Unfortunately, while George was eager to talk, he had just started the band’s European tour, and couldn’t find any space in the midst of his 24/7 schedule. It was up to Dean, the elder of the two, to spill the beans for the Hadjichristou brothers. Firstly, that name. “It’s Greek!” explained Dean. “We were born and raised in Greece, and 24 years ago my parents moved to Canada, wanting to make a fresh start here. I was 14 at the time, and George 11. We have been musicians all our lives.