Polaris brings down the house with their chaotic performance featuring special guests Nerv, Thousand Below and blessthefall.
Taking the stage on this cool September evening was Nerv. Nerv is a four piece hard rock band formed in Sacramento, California. The band currently consists of vocalist Dillon Jones, guitarists Scott Buchanan and Jordan Grokett and drummer Tyler Clark. Nerv takes aspects of multiple genres of rock and metal to create their own unique sound. From punk to metalcore to some progressive, Nerv has accumulated millions of streams over their careers. A name that is gradually growing in the scene, Nerv is finding themselves supporting bigger and bigger bands.
Nerv took the stage with a goal of capturing the attention of a crowd who weren’t very familiar with them. Opening up with their song “Low” off of their 2022 album “Were All Patients Here”. Jones’ vocals stood out as he had unbelievable control of hitting all notes while keeping his voice sounding so smooth in transition. Nerv also played “Fake!” a single released earlier this year. “Fake!” Is a song that vents about fake and fair weather friends. This song is slowly becoming an anthem as it has the ability to fish people's emotions in. Nerv played their most streamed song “Bad Habits” to close out their set. This song has accumulated over 14.4 million streams and brings out the best in the band. A final breakdown that showed off the talents of guitarists Grokett and Buchanan as they brought the heavy in strings along with backup screams that complimented Jones perfectly. Clark smashed in on the drums as the drums and cymbals were booming through the venue. Nerv walked off the stage capturing the attention of potential new fans. A rousing applause proved that correct.
Taking the stage next was Thousand Below. Thousand Below is a four piece post hardcore band from San Diego, California that formed in 2016. The band currently consists of vocalist James Deberg, guitarist Josh Thomas, bassist Josh Bilimoria and drummer Max Santoro. Thousand Below gained notoriety after they signed with Rise Records and then supported bands such as Bad Omens, Senses Fail and Nothing More. Thousand Below can bring a heavy booming sound and then switch to a soft melodic anthemic sound. This sound was apparent in their hit record “Hell Finds You Everywhere” which was released in 2022 as their 3rd studio album. A career defining album had helped them propel onto larger lineups and a growing devoted fanbase.
Thousand Below opened their set with “Shake” , a single released in March. A song that throws an electronic sound at you while keeping the core of their post hardcore roots. As the breakdown approached fans knew it was time to bring the heat. A couple fans forced open a pit and did spin kicks while others shoved each other. All of Thousand Belo’s best attributes were on display when they played “Venenosa” off of “Hell Finds You Everywhere”. This song brought the pure talent of Debergs voice. Severe can hit the highest of notes which was on display during the chorus, but when that breakdown came along he unleashed these brutal screams that had the whole floor absolutely moving. Thomas and Bilimoria chugged away as Santoro was sending snare bombs through the venue that could be heard from downstairs. Thousand Below closed out their set with “Sabotage” , a heartfelt song that had the whole room singing. This song touched the hearts of many as it talks about the struggle of loneliness and depression. This is when we saw our first friend surfers of the night. A few people threw themselves in the air as the band serenaded the crowd one last time. Thousand Below continues to grow their name after another successful performance that had people off their feet.
Next up was the direct support for the night. Light bars were rolled out on stage as production for the scene legends blessthefall. If you asked someone early last year if they thought they would see blessthefall back on stage they would have said only in their dreams. Last year blessthefall returned to the stage in triumphant fashion. blessthefall is a metalcore band that formed in Phoenix, Arizona back in 2004. The band currently consist of clean vocalist Beau Bokan, back up vocalist/screamer and bassist Jared Warth, guitarist Elliott Grunenberg and current touring drummer Jarred Frøn. blessthefall returned last year with a new single called “Wake The Dead” and a headlining tour celebrating the 10 year anniversary of “Hollow Bodies”. A fanbase that was already rabid has become even crazier as any show they play has become a sight to behold as fans give their absolute all.
The lights went out and the light bars began glowing red and white. blessthefall took the stage and the crowd erupted. This was a moment some fans wanted years for. Grunenberg began ripping the opening riff to Wake The Dead and Warth’s intense screams hit and the whole crowd moved as a massive pit opened up. Bokan then came in with his iconic clean vocals that had everyone singing along. Fans got even crazier when they played their latest single “Drag Me Under” which features Australian metal band Alpha Wolf. This song is one of their heaviest as Frøn smashed away on drums. The blast beats were some of the best you could hear of any of their songs. One thing Bokan loves to do is to spray water all over the place. It was like a game trying to avoid the water hitting our cameras. Though the water did feel refreshing as it was steaming hot in the venue. Bokan told the crowd to get even rowdier when they played “You wear a crown but you’re no king”. The song opened up with the whole room yelling “WATCHING YOUR EMPIRE FALL”. The pit went absolutely insane. Fans swinging their bodies around and crowd surfers going up in the air kept everyone on their feet. blessthefall closed out the set with their usual closing song “Hey baby, here's the song you wanted”. The final song ended a memorable set from the legends in blessthefall. Fans eagerly await to see what the band has in store next.
Our final performance of the night was set to take the stage. Coming all the way from Sydney, Australia is Polaris. Polaris currently consists of unclean vocalist Jamie Hails, bassist and clean vocalist Jake Steinhauser, guitarist Rick Schneider, touring guitarist Jesse Crofts and drummer Daniel Fanzari. Currently signed to Sharptone Records, Polaris is known for their mainly metalcore sound blended in with progressive metal. Polaris channels the very real topics of depression, anxiety and loss to create a wide discography of songs that reach people from all walks of life on this planet. The band was founded by Fanzari and Steinhauser at their high school battle of the bands. Later recruiting Hails and Schneider. Their love for metal music is what brought this group together and they have stuck together since. Through many challenges and crises, Polaris has grown closer as a brotherhood and triumphed as they are headlining bigger venues each tour. Polaris has toured with many bands in the scene such as Parkway Drive, August Burns Red, Dayseeker and The Devil Wears Prada. The last time they headlined North America was in fall of 2023 to celebrate their newest album “Fatalism”.
The lights went out and the screen behind the stage just said “Polaris” in white lettering on an all black screen. Schneider began the opening riff to “The Crossfire” from their latest album “Fatalism”. Coming in next was Steinhauser leading the charge with clean vocals. Following was Hails with his booming screams. The crowd stood in awe as Polaris began playing like a well oiled machine. When the breakdown hit is when the pit finally opened up. People had enough of standing around and shoved anyone in their way. That was only the beginning. Next up was the track “All Of This Is Fleeting” from their 2020 hit album “Death Of Me”. Schnedier plucked away on the guitar for the opening riff to this song. AS we approached the breakdown Hails demanded the pit to split in half. He kindly asked everyone to pick a side in order to create a wall of death. Hails screamed into the breakdown and dozens of fans ran into each other. There has never been a larger pit at The Paramount before. It was pure chaos. The best art of it all. It wasn't the only one of the night. A couple of songs later they played “Overflow”, the third single off “Fatalism”. A tear jerking song about mental health and how it affects the ones around you. The band took this moment to remember the loss of former lead guitarist Ryan Siew. Siew tragically passed away in June of 2023. Polaris shared how much Siew meant to not only them but to the entire metal community. Now they honor and dedicate every performance to their fallen brother. The loudest cheer of the night roared for Siew as fans made sure to turn up the heat. Plenty of crowd surfers were tossed in the air and moshers went insane.
Now it was time for that second wall of death. Polaris played “Dissipate” also of “Fatalism”. Hails told everyone to snap their neck to this song. The whole room was headbanging as Fanzari slammed the blast beats and Schneider and Crofts hit the heavy fast riff. And sure enough in classic Polaris fashion, Hails asked for a wall of death before the breakdown. There was no chance of disappointment as the crowd went even crazier this time around. Polaris turned back the clock and played fan favorite song “The Remedy” from their debut album “The Mortal Coil”. Steinhauser leading the charge during the chorus is what makes him so special. Standing at the front of the stage with the beams of light shining on him was a scenic shot. You can hear the pure emotion in his voice in every song. On the last chorus the band had the crowd take over. The crowd sang and the whole venue was deafened by the voices of the fans. Unfortunately all great shows must come to an end. Polaris ended the set with the lead single into the Fatalism era which was called “Inhumane”. A brutally heavy song tackling how inhumane the world has become. Hails screaming the line “To live and die as another statistic… oh, doesn't that sound sadistic?” hits like none other in that song. This song brought out the pure genius Polaris shows in writing music. The song is filled with insane guitar riffs that bring unique styles that haven't been heard before. Hails called for chaos one more time at that final breakdown. One more time the crowd brought down the house until the final note. Polaris thanked everyone for a wonderful time. They stuck around for a few minutes extra to toss out extra guitar picks and setlists.
Polaris graced the stage with their inspiring performance and left a lasting impression once again. Polaris will finish out the last half of this tour and have a couple weeks off before heading over to Europe and the United Kingdom to support Beartooth on their headlining tour.
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