metal

Silent Planet

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Southern California metalcore built around Garrett Russell's densely literary lyrics — theology, trauma and history screamed over restless time signatures.

Silent Planet formed in Azusa, California in 2009, taking its name from C. S. Lewis's science-fiction novel Out of the Silent Planet. Vocalist Garrett Russell, whose background in mental health work feeds directly into the band's writing, leads a lineup rounded out by guitarist Mitchell Stark, drummer Alex Camarena and bassist Nick Pocock, who replaced founding member Thomas Freckleton.

Their lyrics deal with trauma, theology, war and history, often written in the voices of specific people: an early single, "Tiny Hands (Au Revoir)," told the story of a survivor of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, while "Darkstrand (Hibakusha)" addressed the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The band publishes annotations explaining the references behind individual songs.

Musically Silent Planet works in a progressive strain of metalcore, with shifting time signatures, atmospheric passages and clean-sung sections set against Russell's screamed delivery. Early EPs including Come Wind, Come Weather and lastsleep (1944–1946) established this approach before the band's proper debut.

The Night God Slept, released in 2014 through Solid State Records, was followed by Everything Was Sound in 2016, featuring a guest appearance from Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath. Silent Planet has since released five studio albums in total, most recently Superbloom in 2023, and now operates independently of a label.

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