‘Eternal fear is a fate worse than death’.
Our Australian cousins Polaris have been through the mill of late, suffering the immeasurable
loss of guitarist Ryan Siew, our own time on this earth, or what’s left of it is an unknown entity, what we endure, what we cannot reconcile, are all aspects of life that we need to address, although sometimes that can be an impossibility. The remaining 4 members are Jamie Hails -vocals, Rick Schneider – guitars, Jake Steinhauser – bass/clean vocals and Daniel Furnari on drums, all working cohesively and considerately under heartbreaking circumstances.
The new album ‘Fatalism’ approaches life and all its quandaries with a sensitivity and a delicate touch that soothes our aching minds and hearts. There are plenty of riffs to writhe around in, all produced, packaged and delivered immaculately. The opener ‘Harbinger’ is exactly that, a look into what is to come. Moving effortlessly, it glides, graceful and nuanced, painfully extracting the hurt behind the album. Our world, soiled by capitalism, by greed and deceit, the ordinary folk caught in an unforgiving cycle of fear, poverty, abandonment and hopelessness, all culminating in the idea of fatalism, and feeling fatalistic as we conclude there is no other option. Our lives copperfastened, our thoughts and efforts fruitless as we follow the path already laid for us.
With ‘Parasites’ these guys knows where the bodies are hidden, Polaris have played a fucking blinder, an absolutely stonking track, feverishly wild and raging. The fiery words ‘for the contrarian hypocrites, those who live to provoke, as venom spills from your throat, I hope you choke’ its cleansing time my friends.
Musically, these songs remind me a lot of what Enter Shikari are about, accessible, plausible, and authentic in their perspective. The melodies bounce around, dazzling, and dynamic, attracting the listener and raising them to dizzying heights of brilliance.
More incredible, insightful lyrics in ‘Overflow’
‘I’ll break my habits, if they don’t break me first’ accurate, excruciatingly cruel, you find yourself standing on the edge of your life, teetering, precariously.
We have become immune to the evil that is prevalent in society, we just shrug it off as something routine and clinical, violence begets violence, and we accept it as customary. Caught in ‘The Crossfire’ we fizzle out, we ‘Dissipate’ yearning for that ‘Aftertouch’ that will calm and disperse the ire that is incandescent.
Polaris have delivered an exceptional body of work, towering head and shoulders above the rest. The cover art depicts a group of people, red flares over a cliff edge, for what its worth, call off the search.
Azra Pathan
Polaris – Fatalism out now