50 Most Underrated Albums of the '2000s: #38

38.Parkway Drive-Horizons (2007)

Australian metalcore act Parkway Drive had just started to make a name for themselves when they released Horizons in 2007. Their 2005 debut album, Killing With a Smile, had won them a lot of fans with the balance of traditional metalcore and hardcore with a melodic tinge in their sound. Horizons took the blueprint Killing With a Smile laid out and perfected it to make one of the most memorable records this genre has ever seen. A big reason Parkway Drive is one of the shining stars of metalcore is their ability to have an abundance of breakdowns without sounding stale. Each and every breakdown on Horizons is perfectly-timed and pummeling. Even seven years after Horizons was released, I still get pumped at the "All Hell Breaks Loose!" breakdown on "Dead Man's Chest" and the "There's Blood in the Water" section of "Boneyards". How well calculated the breakdowns are to get the maximum emotional effect from the listener is staggering. Of course it's not just the perfect use of breakdowns that make Horizons a special record,  the work of guitarist Luke Kilpatrick and vocalist Winston McCall is also fantastic. Kilpatrick is an excellent songwriter who strikes a perfect balance between heavy and melodic passages in his music. Kilpatrick especially shines at melodic end of the spectrum, loading the album with a ton of gorgeous riffs (the best of which is on "Idols and Anchors"). The power of Horizons is reenforced by McCall's intense, passionate vocals. In a record that has no shortage of memorable elements,  The authenticity of the emotion in McCall's vocals sticks with me more than anything else.     Horizons is a challenging, beautiful and crushing album that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Killswitch Engage's Alive or Just Breathing and Misery Signals' Controller in the conversation of greatest metalcore records of all-time.

Standout Tracks
1.The Sirens' Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5oDYvqyyIw
2.Idols and Anchors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUqfe_3QO60
3.Boneyards http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0iMI0PMn5c