Polaris to Forge On Following Guitarist’s Sudden Passing
Nearly a month after Australian metalcore act Polaris was forced to deal with the loss of guitarist Ryan Siew, who died at 26 back on June 19, the band took to social media to announce their intent to keep moving forward. This wasn’t the first time they’d expressed their intent to soldier on as a band, but this most recent announcement went into more detail about what fans can expect.
With a new album, Fatalism, set to release on September 1 and a pair of tours kicking off this September, the band said they wanted to honor Siew and his contributions to the band, saying things now “come with a different weight.”
Dear friends,
After much consideration, in the face of everything we are dealing with, we have decided to proceed with our upcoming plans. This means our new album Fatalism will still be released on September 1. This is the last set of complete songs that we wrote together with Ryan, and though the circumstances of their release are now framed by this tragedy, the meaning of the songs and the love we have for them has not changed. We are incredibly proud of this record and looking forward to sharing it with you, and now more than ever we hope that you connect with it.
The Fatalism Australian & North American tours will be going ahead as planned. Please note that the Brisbane & Newcastle shows of the AU tour have already sold out. We also have another short set of international dates that were booked several months ago, which we will be announcing very shortly. These shows were always going to be special to us, but now they come with a different weight. Playing these shows will not be easy… It will be different. It will be beautiful & bittersweet. But this is what we love most, and right now we choose to put our faith in the healing power of art and community. We want to do this for ourselves, for you, and for Ryan. We hope to see you there.
With love,
Polaris
It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to suddenly lose a bandmate at such a young age. Siew had joined the band back in 2013 after now rhythm guitarist Rick Schneider moved over to his current position from his previous lead guitar role. Siew was featured on both of the band’s previous releases, Mortal Coil (2017) and Death of Me (2020). Fatalism will be his final studio effort with the band.
Polaris will go on tour in Australia with August Burns Red, Kublai Khan, and Currents this September, with their North American tour to follow afterward with Currents, Varials, and Paledusk.
