Parkway Drive’s ‘Atlas’

If the world as we know it is really bound to end next month, Parkway Drive's new album Atlas is the perfect soundtrack to go under with. Following 2010's very successful Deep Blue, Atlas is the band's very powerful fourth studio album.

The masterful album starts out with "napalm in your eyes" and is followed by "dust," "stone," "gasoline," "flood" and "ashes," all elements that could contribute to "a generation born to witness the end of the world." This record is blunt, unforgiving and eye-opening. It tells us what we as a society have done wrong for hundreds of years and what we can do to attempt to rebuild it, given that it is not too late. It is a literal album concept with figurative language.

The first half of the 12-track album is my personal favorite and includes my two melodic love children "Wild Eyes" and "Dark Days." Winston's young and deep voice acquires its superior and sometimes demonic-sounding roars that are musically supported and back-up the anger in the lyrics. "Dark Days" basically sums up the entire idea of the album and of the earth as a whole, stating that this is its "funeral," and that "there will be no future if we can't learn from our mistakes."

It's clear and is being served to us on a silver platter. We know the problem, but what will we do, if anything, to fix it? Parkway Drive have made their case and I hope we as a nation make it to hear their next album because they are far from death.

"How will you justify watching the world die?"

I give this album four guitars!