The recording of the album was done during March – April, the writing was done in the band's hometown of Byron Bay over six months. On the announcement the album on Parkway Drive MySpace blog vocalist and lyricist Winston McCall explained the narrative running through Deep Blue "It's basically about the search for truth in a world that seems to be devoid of that. The story is told through the eyes of a man who wakes up and realizes that his life is a lie and nothing he believes in is real. So he tries to find the truth within himself and his journey takes him to the bottom of the ocean and back again. The song 'Alone' is a summary of the story Deep Blue tells."
Release and promotion
On 18 May, Parkway Drive put the track "Sleepwalker" up on their MySpace profile and also stated that the album is available for pre-order and preview through iTunes. The filming for the video "Sleepwalker" took place in Brisbane, Australia and Kevin Call from Comeback Kid plays a cameo role. On 16 June, "Unrest" was released for streaming on Parkway Drive's official MySpace. On 18 June, the album had been leaked onto various Internet peer to peer sites. Subsequently, on 19 June the entire album had been leaked onto streaming websites such as YouTube. Between late June and early August, the band performed on Warped Tour. In February and March 2011, the band went on a headlining tour of the US with support from Set Your Goals. In May, the group went on a headlining tour of Australia, dubbed The Mix N Mash Tour. They were supported by Bleeding Through, the Wonder Years and Confession. You Me at Six were also initially supposed to join them as a supporting act, but they pulled out of the tour. On 16 May, the ARIA Charts announced that Deep Blue went gold.
Critical reception
Deep Blue has received critical acclaim. The New Review gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 and stated "Deep Blue is truly a groundbreaking album. Parkway Drive has unfurled a masterfully crafted, distinct, and intensely heavy work of art which has set the standard for all others in the industry." Rock Sound ranked it as the 42nd best album of the year, stating that the album was "more organic, less restricted and intriguing in its use of dynamic range, Deep Blue provides all the anthems required to keep the fan base devoted with enough room for the occasional deviation or excursions into the metallic wild that may just turn a few new heads in their direction."
