(CelebrityAccess) — Following the passing of their young guitarist Ryan Siew, who died last month at the age of 26, the remaining members of the band Polaris announced they plan to continue.
“We want to thank you all for your outpouring of love and support over the last couple of weeks in the wake of Ryan’s passing. This has been the most difficult period in our band’s life, or in any of our own lives, and your kind words have meant everything to us, our team and Ryan’s family & friends. This loss has shaken us to the core, but it has been so beautiful to know how loved our brother was, and to hear about the impact he had on so many. We have been blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family as we try to work through this,” a rep for the band said in a statement released on social media on Friday.
“We’re truly grateful for your patience and understanding as the four of us start to figure out how we will move forward. We know there are a lot of questions at the moment, all of which we will address in good time, and we appreciate you giving us the space to do so. At this stage we want to let you know that we plan to fulfil all our upcoming commitments, and to move forward in the way that we feel best honours our brother’s life and the art we created together,” the statement added.
Siew joined the group in 2014 when he was just 15 years old, stepping into the lead guitar role for founding member Rick Shneider, who transitioned to rhythm guitar. Siew was featured on all of the band’s studio albums, including the Aria Award-nominated The Mortal Coil and The Death of Me as well as their charting EP, The Guilt & the Grief.
Polaris has a new album due in stores and streaming platforms in September and is planning a tour of Australia and New Zealand that same month, followed by a string of U.S. dates in October.
