Sun, Salt and Breakdown Chaos at Life’s A Beach Festival

Still buzzing from Polaris’ Life’s A Beach Festival at Riva in Elwood/St Kilda and it genuinely feels like it only just wrapped up.

Beachside metal in full sun should not work this well but somehow it absolutely did. Elwood Beach right there, salt in the air, sun pumping down and a sea of black tees soaking it up like it was the middle of winter somewhere cold. Everyone was sweating, grinning and fully locked in from the first set.

Polaris were off their head as per usual. Tight, aggressive and massive sounding. They set the tone early and no one let it dip. Every breakdown hit hard and the pit responded straight away. It was full on but controlled, the kind of chaos you actually want.

One of the heaviest sets of the day was Thy Art Is Murder. Proper brutal. That low end was rattling through your chest and the pit turned serious within seconds. Headwreck came out swinging and really impressed, Ocean Sleeper brought that emotional edge without losing intensity, and We Came As Romans had the whole place yelling back at them as the sun started dropping. Watching metal by the sunset on Elwood Beach just hits different.

The DJ between sets deserves credit too. Track selection was off its head. No awkward silence, no dead space, just bangers that kept everyone moving. There was heaps of boogieing between bands which made the whole thing feel like one continuous party instead of stop start sets.

It was also unreal seeing people from all over Victoria make the trip down. You could tell this was more than just a local crowd. People travelled to stand in the heat, draped in black, and enjoy some metal by the beach together. It actually felt like a proper shared moment.

As the sky turned orange and the heat eased off, the whole place had this cinematic feel to it. Drinks were flowing, the food options were solid which is rare for a festival, and the mosh was packed but respectful. Big energy without ego.

By the end of the night the crowd were already humming about next year. You could hear it everywhere. Run it back. And the line to get into the after party was mental. Wrapped around, everyone still buzzing and not ready to call it.

Life’s A Beach delivered. Heavy music, heavy sun and a heavy turnout. If that is the standard, next year is going to be massive.

Life's A Beach
Saturday 14 February 2026 – Riviera Beach Club – St Kilda, Melbourne (18+)