Good Friday, 2024, in Berlin. Australian Melodic Metalcore outfit Polaris defies the “silent” holiday with the tour final of their Polaris Fatalism Europe / UK Tour 2024. There shouldn’t be music being played on this holy day. Yet Polaris, supported by Paledusk (Japan), Thornhill (Australia), Silent Planet (US), and the ecstatic audience commit this sacrilege in the sold-out venue Metropol, which ironically carries a cross in its logo. There is nothing religious about this evening. Bands and fans unite in a zealous rapture, in an unholy matrimony, if you will.
While all four bands have appearances at the German Impericon Festivals in Leipzig and Oberhausen still in the pipeline, this evening marks the end of their tour together. In celebration, the bands make sure to make every act count!
Paledusk
Paledusk have the ungrateful privilege to open the event by starting half an hour earlier than announced. The venue is barely half-filled, people still hand in their jackets at the cloakroom while many haven’t even arrived yet. But the four musicians hailing from Fukuoka, southern Japan, don’t even bat an eye, turn the volume up, and deliver from their very first tunes. Energy-packed and with a punkish attitude, Paledusk fire one song after another, shocking and impressing those in the audience who haven’t heard of them yet.
While committed fans go crazy in the mosh pit and sing along from the get-go, more and more people join in. Paledusk’s Metalcore blend is different from the three acts to follow. Seemingly drawing energy from the joy of life and giving a fuck about social and musical norms, their songs are nothing short of a wild roller coaster ride with quickly changing styles and tempi. Despite the challenging start, Paledusk’s craziness makes a fabulous opener, winning over new fans with their short, yet mind-blowing gig.
Thornhill
As soon as Thornhill’s atmospheric intro starts to play, the air in the venue changes immediately. It takes me a moment to get into mood, but the audience all around catches up immediately. Already for the first song, Thornhill ask for a circle pit—and damn are people ready for it! The songs seem contagious. With deep guitar riffs, a partially pretty groovy bass, straight to the beat drums, and clear singing spiced with expressive unclear vocals, Thornhill from Melbourne, Australia, captivate the audience.
Suddenly, Paledusk’s set seems grounding as we are getting dragged into a gloomy place now. Breaching from Progressive Metalcore into Alternative Metal, the band takes us on a ride. Not the gentle kind, but the one that drags you down or into the pit. The audience more than welcomes the bangers that make the ground for circle pits and wall of deaths as much as the somewhat calmer last song Where We Go When We Die.
Silent Planet
Up next, Silent Planet from Los Angeles, US, smoothly augment on the atmospheric grounds Thornhill have created. And they are revered! The way the audience sings along and cheers for the band, you could easily mistake it for the headliner. Silent Planet are summoning the spectators’ dedication, dragging them deeper into the heaviness of their songs with a low-pitched guitar, a strong rhythm section, and piercing vocals. What critics describe as overproduction of their latest studio album, SUPERBLOOM, turns into a deep, dark tapestry of music live.
Countless of times, the audience join in the lyrics, only letting the already close connection between band and fans grow from song to song. The profound connectivity culminates when Silent Planet finish the set with their frontman Garrett Russell standing on the barrier to the stage pit, erasing any form of distance left. And while his bandmates have already left the stage and staff members prepare the stage for Polaris, Garrett takes his time to hug everyone in first and second row. Absolutely wholesome.
Polaris
With the stage still wrapped in dim darkness, Harbinger, the opening track of Polaris’ third album, Fatalism, announces the final act of the evening. Frontman Jamie Hails enters and starts to sing before his bandmates follow one by one, joining with their instruments. There is no need for an epic entrance. As much as Silent Planet already felt like a headliner, the audience makes sure to turn up the energy for Polaris. A loud choir follows the songs, the mosh pit action grows, and the crowd surfers keep coming throughout the headlining show.
Not a single person in the audience who isn’t moving with the songs—and if it’s only rhythmic nodding to the beat. The music is unifying! With the tour, Polaris are introducing the newly released Fatalism to Europe, which, according to the band, is about “Fear: humanity’s great divider, but also its most potent unifier.” Yet this night, there is no fear or division in sight, just blissful rapture and union of crowd and band, letting euphoria win over religious saintliness.
Although there are calm intros here and there, there isn’t much space for taking a breath. The emotional set is bursting of energy. After the glooming vibe Thornhill and Silent Planet have created, Polaris seem to bring us back on the ground with the finest concert feeling, allowing their fans to let loose and get lost in concert jubilation. Polaris conclude the successful evening and final of their joint tour with Paledusk, Thornhill, and Silent Planet with a two songs long encore and a lovely Happy Birthday for the sound engineer of the tour.
