Killing with a Smile
| Killing with a Smile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Parkway Drive | ||||
| Released | 12 September 2005 | |||
| Recorded | May 2005 | |||
| Studio | Zing Studios, Westfield, MA, USA | |||
| Genre | Metalcore | |||
| Length | 39:37 | |||
| Label | Resist, Epitaph | |||
| Producer | Adam Dutkiewicz | |||
| Parkway Drive chronology | ||||
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Killing with a Smile is the debut album by Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive, released in September 2005 through Resist Records. A video was produced for "Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em".
Contents
Reception
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |    [1] |
| AbsolutePunk | 90%[2] |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| Punknews.org | [4] |
Since its release, Killing with a Smile has received mixed to positive reviews.
Absolute Punk was very positive of the album, calling it a "true genre-defining" record. The reviewer praised the songs' structures, despite there being no defined verses or choruses.[2] About.com reviewer Chad Bower was less positive about the album, but said "It's a very solid debut, and if you're a metalcore fan this is one worth checking out." He was slightly critical of the album's lyrics for being "a little on the emo side", but said the "angry vocals" cover it up pretty well.[1]
AllMusic reviewer Corey Apar gave a mixed review of the album. He mainly noted how the album's lyrics deal with broken hearts and "just how pissed off they really are", citing "Romance is Dead" as "lyrical treasure". He concluded his review by comparing the band to Bleeding Through and "it just depends on where personal opinions currently stand on the necessity of another metalcore act".[3]
Punknews.org reviewer Matt Whelihan was very critical of the album, calling it generic. Whelihan said the album "is a mindless affair that is unable to avoid any of metalcore's pitfalls. Parkway Drive could have created a picture of metalcore as they see it, but instead they were content to trace the works of those who came before."[4]
Public reception
Killing with a Smile was well received by the public. On Rate Your Music the album has an average rating of 3.24 of 5, based on more than 500 ratings,[5] and on Sputnikmusic the album has an "excellent" average rating of 3.8 of 5, based on more than 1,450 ratings.[6]
In popular culture
The name for the song "Guns for Show, Knives for a Pro" is a quote from the film, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
Australian surf group the Bra Boys featured four songs from the album in the documentary film Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water, the songs featured are "Gimme a D", "Anasasis (Xenophontis)", "Mutiny" and "It's Hard to Speak without a Tongue". The songs were all released on the soundtrack except for "It's Hard to Speak without a Tongue".
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Parkway Drive.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gimme A D" | 3:31 |
| 2. | "Anasasis (Xenophontis)" | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Pandora" | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Romance Is Dead" | 5:18 |
| 5. | "Guns for Show, Knives for a Pro" (contains sound clips from Die Hard 2) | 2:44 |
| 6. | "Blackout" | 2:43 |
| 7. | "Picture Perfect, Pathetic" | 2:44 |
| 8. | "It's Hard to Speak Without a Tongue" | 4:14 |
| 9. | "Mutiny" (contains sound clips from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) | 3:17 |
| 10. | "Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em" (re-recorded version) | 3:40 |
| 11. | "A Cold Day in Hell" | 4:01 |
|
Total length:
|
39:37 | |
Personnel
Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
- Parkway Drive
- Winston McCall – lead vocals
- Jeff Ling – guitars
- Luke Kilpatrick – guitars
- Shaun Cash – bass
- Ben Gordon – drums
- Production
- Adam Dutkiewicz – producer, engineer, mixing
- Waynus Krupa – assistant engineering
- Steve Smart – mastering
- Asterik Studio – art direction, design
- Jerad Knudsen – photography
Chart performance
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] | 39 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 12 September 2005 | Resist | Compact Disc | RES045[8] |
| EU | 21 August 2006 | Epitaph[9] | Compact Disc | 86824 |
| US | 22 August 2006 |
References
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Parkway Drive – Killing with a Smile". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
