Killing with a Smile

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Killing with a Smile is Parkway Drive’s first studio album. It was released on 12 September 2005 and was recorded in May 2005 at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts, over two weeks. The album runs about 39 minutes and is written in the metalcore style. It was released by Resist Records in Australia and later by Epitaph Records in the United States. Adam Dutkiewicz produced the record, and this is the only Parkway Drive album to feature bassist Shaun Cash.

In Australia, Killing with a Smile arrived in September 2005. Parkway Drive supported Evergreen Terrace on their Australian headlining tour in January 2006. The U.S. release came in September 2006 through Epitaph Records. A video was made for the track "Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em." In late 2006, the band joined the international Taste of Chaos tour, visiting New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Europe. They also played the Warped Tour from July to August 2007.

The reception to Killing with a Smile was mixed to positive. AbsolutePunk praised it as a genre-defining debut and liked the song structures, even though some songs lack clear verses or choruses. About.com’s Chad Bower viewed it as a solid debut for metalcore fans, though he felt some lyrics were a bit emo; he praised the intense vocals. AllMusic’s Corey Apar gave a mixed review, noting the heartbreak-themed lyrics and the anger in the vocals, and comparing Parkway Drive to Bleeding Through. Punknews.org’s Matt Whelihan criticized it as generic and a mindless take on metalcore.

A notable detail: the song title "Guns for Show, Knives for a Pro" comes from the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Four songs from Killing with a Smile were used in the Australian documentary Bra Boys: Blood Is Thicker than Water—“Gimme AD,” “Anasasis (Xenophontis),” “Mutiny” and “It’s Hard to Speak Without a Tongue.” All tracks on the album were written by Parkway Drive.

Credits and further details are listed in the album liner notes.