The world is changing, and metal is changing with it, which is why the Mystic Festival stages will be graced not only by the vanguard that decades ago created this music, but also by bands currently at work shaping its future. Jinjer, Polaris, Landmvrks and Defects are coming to Gdańsk this June.
Jinjer
The biggest Ukrainian metal band, which balances aggression and technique at the highest level. Holding the mic is the one and only, idiosyncratic and antithetical Tatiana Shmayluk – sometimes a beast, sometimes a bewitching siren. Before the festival, in February, the band will drop their fifth album, entitled Duél. Whomever Jinjer is planning to duel with, we wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of their opponent.
Polaris
For over a decade now, this Australian band has been dreaming up their own original vision of contemporary metal. Their third album, released in September 2023, Fatalism, catapulted Polaris into the very top of progressive metalcore. Unfortunately, it is a bitter triumph as it was achieved in the wake of the sudden death of the band’s guitarist, Ryan Siew. The four-piece hailing from Sydney, nevertheless, continues to play, and the tour promoting this record has become a deeply emotional farewell to a friend.
Landmvrks
Riffs like surgical cuts – sharp, precise, and deep – blaze the trail for the evocative vocals of Florent, from clean singing to emo cries. A decade on the stage and three albums were enough for the Marseille band to be hailed as one of the most interesting representatives of French metalcore.
DefectsGroove metal and metalcore, earworm choruses – these are the weapons deftly wielded by the British band Defects. Their debut album, Modern Error, was released in May 2024, so the band’s career is only really revving up, but with that kind of music and that kind of energy it won’t take long for them to fulfil their own prophecy and as the title of their song says, be “Second to None.”