Sad news for the metal community. Ryan Siew, guitarist of the Australian metalcore band Polaris, has died. He was 26, and passed away on June 19th. The news was confirmed by his bandmates, who shared a heart-aching tribute on their social media pages.
“It is with shattered hearts and the deepest sorrow that we tell you our dear brother and bandmate Ryan Siew passed away on the morning of Monday June 19,” the band wrote. “He was 26 years old, and for 10 incredible years he was our best friend and artistic soulmate.
“Those years will never be enough. He was kindhearted and clever, he was funny and brave and creative, and he was talented beyond all measure. He loved art, and beauty in all its forms. He loved great food in great company. He loved Harry Potter and psych-thrillers and crime documentaries. He loved music, more diversely than you could ever imagine, and spoke its language in ways that only the rarest among us do.
“And most of all, he loved & adored his family and friends. He was also much admired and beloved by so many. Ryan, we will love and miss you for the rest of our days, and we will never fill the hole that you leave in all of our lives.
“Our hearts are with his family first and foremost, but also with all those whose lives he touched. We ask that you please respect the wishes of Ryan’s family for privacy at this time, and likewise that you give us, our team and family the space to grieve and attempt to heal from this immeasurable loss.
“We know that you will be grieving with us and that we, and our community, will hold each other through this.”
Siew joined the Sydney-based Polaris as their lead guitarist in 2013, and played with the band on their three full-length albums — 2017’s The Mortal Coil, 2020’s The Death of Me and 2023’s forthcoming Fatalism, which they’re slated to release later this fall via SharpTone Records.
R.I.P. Siew. See Polaris’ full statement below.