Silent Planet Collides with New York City on Superbloom Tour

Silent Planet is on a collision course with New York City to celebrate their latest album “Superbloom” with special guests Thornhill, Johnny Booth and Aviana.

A cold and windy night in New York City was about to heat up as spectators filled the Gramercy Theatre in anticipation for one of the top metalcore shows of the early year. Starting off tonight's spectacle was Swedish metalcore band Aviana. Aviana comes all the way from Gothenburg consisting of vocalist Joel Holmqvist and three masked members known as Dark, Death and Fear. Aviana is currently signed to Arising Empire and made their mark on the Scandinavian metal scene with debut album “Polarize” in 2017. Aviana was last in North America supporting Invent Animate in the fall of 2023.

Aviana led off the set with “Rage”, a song off of their 2022 album “Corporation”. The intro to the song is all about build up as the first 30 seconds of the track is the voice of an unknown man talking about rage. The crowd begins to stir up as Aviana takes the stage and Holmqvist releases a vicious scream to kick off the set. Holmqvist vocals are clear as day as every scream can be heard with the utmost clarity. Holmqvist leads the charge as Dark, Death and Fear wore pitch black trench coats and eerie black masks that reflect in the stage lights. The trio are masters of their instruments but even better performers. The energy they put out is hard to match, but the New York City crowd proved their worth.

Midway through the set, Aviana played “My Own Worst Enemy” from their 2019 album “Epicenter”. This is when the crowd turned up the heat. Holmqvist demanded the pit to split from side to side for the pre-breakdown. He then ordered everyone to crouch as low as they could go. Everyone followed his orders and Holmqvist gave the crowd the signal to unleash chaos. As the breakdown hit Holmqvist yelled “GO, GO, GO”. The crowd jumped into a frenzy and created a wall of death in the process. Aviana dazzled another crowd on this side of the Atlantic once again. They have no current plans for a return, but fans anxiously wait for the return of Aviana. Next up was a band that New Yorkers know quite well.

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The chaos was only just beginning as we had a special set lined up next. Gracing the stage was Johnny Booth. Johnny Booth is a hardcore band from New York, specifically Long Island and Oneonta. Johnny Booth formed in 2007 and currently consists of vocalist Andrew Herman, guitarists Adam Halpern and Ryan Strong, bassist Nick Martell and drummer Scott Owens. This would be the biggest hometown show to date for the hometown heroes. Johnny Booth fuses the power of hardcore melodies along with a multitude of aspects from modern metal to create the unique sound they have shown the scene for many years. Johnny Booth has received more praise after releasing their most recent record “Moments Elsewhere” in July of 2023 via Booth Records. Johnny Booth has a devoted following and this night proved that the fans will go wherever the band goes.

The lights went out and dozens of spectators piled in with their drinks in anticipation of the New York hardcore legends performance. Chants “JOH-NNY BOOTH” rained down throughout the venue deafening any other noise around it. The band took the stage and opened with the song “2040” off of “Moments Elsewhere”. The song started with a long violent scream that had people in the pit buzzing. Everyone in the back had to take multiple steps back to make room for the expanding pit. Johnny Booth had dozens of family and friends all throughout the venue cheering them on. The Long Island hardcore scene has been growing exponentially and has really hit its stride over the last year. Johnny Booth has been one of the biggest inspirations for the ever-growing scene in their hometown.

Johnny Booth ended their set with “Deepfake” from their 2022 EP “Storyteller”. The band wrote this track along with many others during the 2020 shutdown in New York. Herman stated in past interviews the song is about the United States and society as a whole never admitting guilt and never owning up to their own “Bullsh*t”. Herman and the rest of the band displayed this raw emotion live as Herman chanted the line “You were at fault, but you never will say it” and dove into the crowd as he finished the last few lines being held up by the crowd. The venue was buzzing as the pit went berserk with people two-stepping and dancing everywhere. The whole floor was a pit as Herman got back to the stage and thanked New York for what they called their best hometown show to date. The band exited the stage to meet up with tons of friends and family. A whole new vibe was in store for the next act of the night.

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Entering the stage next was Thornhill. Thornhill is an alternative metal band from Melbourne, Australia formed in 2015. Thornhill currently consists of vocalist Jacob Charlton, guitarist Ethan McCann, bassist Nick Sjorgen and drummer Ben Maida. Thornhill signed to UNFD in early 2018 after making their mark on the scene after supporting metalcore heavyweights Parkway Drive and Architects. Thornhill has proven to be a warrior after experiencing many personal struggles and having over $100,000 worth in personal belongings and equipment stolen from their rehearsal space both within the last two years. The fans have been backing them up since the beginning and the fans will travel from all over to see Thornhill.

Plenty of spectators in attendance were sporting Thornhill apparel as the room packed when it was time for the band to take the stage. Thornhill is known for blending aspects of alternative rock and metalcore for their entire careers. This unique blend of music was on full display for “Coven” a track off their 2019 album “The Dark Pool”. The song starts with gnarly bouncy riffs that have the crowd jumping around and swaying back and forth. Charlton graces the crowd with his clean vocals and in the blink of an eye he unleashes his crushing screams. That's when the pit opened up. Moshers pushed back to make space for the eventful chaos that would take place for the rest of the set. Thornhill also played the latest single “Viper Room” which was released on October 10th, 2023. This song has an upbeat style sound as Maida keeps the energy flowing while McCann plays groovy riffs that the fans are absolutely loving. The energy from the crowd is infectious as Charlton can’t help but dance himself.

Thornhill played mainly softer songs on their set. Songs that get the crowd dancing and grooving. But in classic Thornhill fashion, the script was flipped again. Thornhill played “Casanova” which is off their 2022 album “Heroine”. Yet another groovy song had a special twist. Thornhill invited Johnny Booth vocalist Andrew Herman to feature for this song. Herman steps up onto the risers and demands the crowd to unleash chaos. Herman changed the entire vibe of the song with his classic hardcore vocals. McCann and Sjorgen threw down the legendary Casanova breakdown filled with some of Thornhill’s iconic riffs. Thornhill’s fans loved another fantastic performance from the band. Fans rushed down to the merch area to express their gratitude for their favorite band. Next up was the main event .

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Our headliners were taking the stage next as the final act of the night. It was yet another sold out show on the Superbloom tour for California metalcore band Silent Planet. Silent Planet originated in Azusa and held their practices in Azusa Pacific University music buildings as they finalized their lineup. The lineup currently consists of founding vocalist Garrett Russell, guitarist Mitchell Stark, drummer Alex Camarena and newest member Nick Pocock on bass . Pocock took up full time bass duties after previous bassist Thomas Freckleton unfortunately departed due to medical issues. Silent Planet is currently signed to Solid State Records and are known for their thought provoking lyrics about war, religion, politics and psychology.

This tour is in celebration of their 5th studio album “Superbloom”. Silent Planet debuted the first single “:Signal:” in July of 2022. Silent Planet formally announced Superbloom on August 24th, 2023 along with 3rd single “Collider”. The album would be released on November 3rd, 2023. This date held more meaning to the band than just the album release. It would mark the one year anniversary of the horrifying tour bus crash that left Russell severely injured. Russell’s dazed state following the crash inspired the creation of Superbloom. Silent Planet has built a devoted following after years of hard work and dedication to the art of music. Silent Planet gained popularity after touring with bands such as Fit For A King, The Plot In You and Motionless In White.

The lights went out and cheers erupted from the crowd. A white screen has been in the background of the stage the entire night, but hasnt been used yet. Now was the time. A multitude of projections casted onto the screen. The projections would be psychedelic patterns of many colors along with scenes of nature and the universe. These projections showed forests, oceans, mountains and even planets and stars of deep outer space. Silent Planet would kick off the set with “Offworlder” which is the second song off “Superbloom”. The pit started going crazy as the fans would lose their absolute minds. Soon after they would play “Panopticon” which is off their 2021 album “Iridescent”. Russell called for the pit to expand and a circle pit to follow. The room spun like a tornado as dozens of fans got their steps in. Russell also used this song to talk to the crowd about inspiring change and for society to learn to appreciate one another rather than fighting.

Later it was time for another twist. Silent Planet would play “Panic Room” which is off their 2016 album “Everything Was Sound”. And taking the stage yet again was Andrew Herman. Herman and Russell doubled up on their monstrous vocals and used them in a cohesive fashion to sing the last verse of the song. Fans would crowd surf their way to the front as both vocalists screamed in their faces as security caught each person. Russell also took a moment to dedicate the night to his nephew. It was his nephew's birthday and the whole crowd wished him a happy birthday even though he wasn’t in attendance. A wholesome moment that left a grin on each band member's face. Silent Planet asked everyone to close their eyes in between songs. Russell asked everyone to feel the bass wave that Pocock would play for the crowd . Russell would talk about how life is just a wave and every moment should be savored and nothing else should matter but the present. It was a jam session that left some people slow dancing in the pit.

The set rolled on as the band played songs off Superbloom and some older hits tossed in between. Pocock and Stark showing off their prowess with smashing breakdowns. Pocock showed off his talents by switching between guitar and bass depending on the song. Camarena’s drumming was infectious as he dropped bomb after bomb in the kit that the crowd was eating up. It was Russell’s turn to show his talents. For title track “Superbloom” Russell brought out a guitar for himself. He would change the vibe as he would do mainly clean vocals for this track while strumming away on guitar. The last song of the night would be “Trilogy” also off “Iridescent”. Russell shared how they went from playing pizzerias to now the legendary Gramercy Theatre. Russell would also make a special shout out to world famous vocal coach and friend Melissa Cross. Melissa Cross is one of the top vocal coaches in music specializing in screaming. Russell dedicated his vocal success to her after years of practice with her.

Russell finished the set by jumping in the crowd and letting the fans sing the rest of the song. Fans chanted the band's name as they stepped off the stage for another successful sold out show. Silent Planet has brought the metal community closer and made new fans that night. Silent Planet has no other plans for touring, but fans are hoping they can see the emerging metalcore giants return to the big apple sooner rather than later.