Polaris guitarist Ryan Siew has died at the age of 26. The Australian metalcore band confirmed the tragic news “with shattered hearts & the deepest sorrow” this morning, sharing that Siew died on Monday, 19th June. “For 10 incredible years he was our best friend and artistic soulmate,” Siew’s bandmates wrote on Instagram. “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 & adored his family & 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.” The band concluded by sharing Siew’s family’s wishes for privacy, asking for “the space to grieve & attempt to heal from this immeasurable loss.” Read the full statement below.
Polaris: “We Know That You Will Be Grieving with Us and That We, and Our Community, Will Hold Each Other Through This”
Siew joined Polaris in 2013, a year after the band formed. The band’s lineup had remained steady since then, including Siew, frontman Jamie Hails, guitarist Rick Schneider, bassist Jake Steinhauser and drummer Daniel Furnari.
Siew played guitar on the band’s 2016 EP, The Guilt & the Grief, along with all three of the band’s studio albums: 2017’s The Mortal Coil, 2020’s The Death of Me and the upcoming Fatalism. The band’s third album was announced last month, and is set to arrive on Friday, 1st September.
Siew’s cause of death has not been publicly disclosed. Last week (Wednesday, 21st June), the band announced they were cancelling the remaining dates of a European tour they were in the midst of “due to a serious personal crisis in our family.”
