Silent Planet vocalist Garrett Russell recently spoke with Metal Hammer about the band’s two recent shows in Ukraine.
The California alt-metalcore outfit performed in Kyiv on June 20th and Lviv on June 21st, making them one of the few international acts to play the country since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Russell had previously reflected on the experience on social media, stating that “this journey has grown our hearts and deepened our thoughts.” The band also used their 2025 Holodomor-inspired track “Wick” to raise funds for Ukrainian children affected by the ongoing war.
In the new interview, Russell discussed the logistical and safety challenges of touring in a war zone, including being unable to rent a van from outside the country due to insurance restrictions and having to take shelter amid drone attack alerts.
Russell shared:
The first day, when we were in Kyiv, we got all the gear in and they started plugging everything in, and I hadn’t eaten all day. I went to this grocery store and, as I’m walking out, Oleksandra – our tour manager, an amazing person – was like, ‘There you are! All the band’s in the bomb shelter!’ There was an air alert: a couple of Russian drones were flying over Kyiv.
I checked my phone and there were 50 texts, like, ‘Where the fuck are you?!’ But you look around and no one seems concerned, and there’s supposedly an explosive drone somewhere over town. The danger is very real, but there’s also kind of a casual approach that people take to it.
The second night we were at our hotel in Kyiv, we got woken up by one, so we went down to the bomb shelter. Then we went back to bed, and apparently there was another bomb warning that same night but I just slept through it. My bandmates went back down, so they basically didn’t sleep the night after the first show.
Metal Hammer inquired about being the first American band to perfom in the country since the conflict began, Russel added:
It makes me sad. What breaks my heart is bands have been playing Moscow for the last few years, and getting paid really well to do it, and it seems fucked-up that the country getting invaded by Moscow is not getting shows because of Moscow.
Russell also praised the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the enthusiasm shown by fans at the shows.
When asked whether he would encourage other artists to perform in Ukraine, he emphasized that each act would need to understand the risks and logistics involved before making that decision.
Yeah. I really do believe, in the scheme of things, it’s safe. Touring is inherently dangerous: we went through a van flip [in November 2022] and my back’s not been the same since. I think a tour across the United States between November and February is probably more dangerous than going to Ukraine.