“I’ve been digging to the roots of all that I know.”
When Aussie metalcore titans Polaris first announced Fatalism back on May 25th of this year, it is safe to say nobody could have foreseen just how monumental this release would be. A new album from Polaris is always reason to celebrate, as they are already seen by many as one of the most exciting bands in metalcore and three years has now passed since the release of their stellar sophomore effort The Death Of Me. Then comes June 27, and the entire metal scene is shaken to its core by the tragic and unexpected passing of Polaris’s legendary lead guitarist Ryan Siew at a heartbreaking 26 years old. Renowned and loved throughout the entire scene, the hole left by Siew is gaping and treachorous, but not unhealable. As the last body of work composed by Siew before his untimely passing, there are really two thought processes with which one could approach the album. The first of which would be to view the album as a tragedy; the last collection of songs we will ever hear from such a legendary guitarist. Then there is the other choice: viewing the album as the legacy of a genius songwriter, and a celebration of all that he gave us throughout his life. Taking a cue from the remaining members of the bands’ brave and noble decision to march forward and honor Siew’s legacy, I believe it to be much healthier to approach Fatalism through the latter: as a celebration of Ryan Siew’s life.
Before delving deeper, let us just get something out of the way: even without the circumstances surrounding the release of Fatalism, the album stands on its own as a monumental piece of work from Polaris. It encompasses everything which the band has come to be known for thus far, including the raw emotion, the genius incorporation of melody and structure, the blistering guitarwork, the bursts of frantic aggression, and of course their signature breakdowns; and it does all of this to overwhelming success. However, there is also a distinct feeling of purpose and maturity radiating throughout every single track of the album. This is accomplished through a much more nuanced approach to songwriting, with an emphasis on atmosphere and mood that is greatly increased from the bands’ previous efforts.
The band demonstrates this immediately through the aptly-titled opening track “Harbinger”, a cut which distinctly feels like an introductory track due its almost narrative approach to vocal deliveries and subdued instrumentation. Beginning with a gloomy synth passage and soft clean vocals, the track eventually opens up with a triumphant scream from lead vocalist Jamie Hails and a shrieking guitar lead, but unlike most of Polaris’s previous work it does not continue this energy up until a clean chorus. Instead, it almost immediately descends into a constant and subdued guitar line which creates the backbone for the collaborative vocal efforts of Hails and clean vocalist/bassist Jake Steinhauser to introduce the lyrical theme of finding meaning and individuality in the world at large with raging passion and intention. This idea becomes the centerpiece of the whole album, and “Harbinger” serves as an excellent indicator of how well this theme is accomplished.
Those who love Polaris for their heavy metalcore bangers should be glad to learn that there is no shortage of angst and energy on the album, as tracks such as “Parasite” and lead single “Inhumane” serve as straightforward and restless pit songs with a strong focus on Hails’ iconic screams. Particularly focusing on rhythm and bounce, these tracks allow rhythm guitarist Rick Schneider and drummer Daniel Furnari to shine, and are sure to ignite insane pits in a live environment. Also ever-present on the record are the more “traditional” metalcore bangers with the tried-and-true mix of heavy verses, soaring clean choruses, and pummeling breakdowns. This can be observed in tracks such as “Nightmare”, “The Crossfire”, and “Dissipate”, all of which tend to stick to this well-known formula. However, in addition to these tracks feeling notably darker and more mournful than Polaris’s previous work, all three of these tracks are able to offer new ideas to the table through small nuances and variances. “Nightmare” for example offers the most traditional metalcore riffing and leadwork the album has to offer while not feeling overly generic. Meanwhile “The Crossfire” stands out due to its pounding kickwork in the breakdown sections courtesy of Furnari, forming one of the most fun and headbang-inducing songs on the album. Then there is “Dissipate”, which also switches up the breakdowns by making them much more atmospheric and open rather than the infectious rage which Polaris typically goes for with their breakdowns.
Even when just looking at all of the previously mentioned tracks, the album is an absolute hit. Astoundingly however, these tracks, apart from maybe “Harbinger” only provide tastes of what I believe the strongest aspect of the album, and the element of their sound in which they have improved upon the most: the atmosphere and mood. We touched on this somewhat in length with “Harbinger”, as it introduced this aspect to the listener, but even so it only provided a taste of what’s to come. Being completely blunt, when Polaris strips back their sound and allows the gorgeous soundscapes and clean instrumentation/vocals to take the forefront, the result is absolutely stunning. This particularly applies to “Overflow” and “Aftertouch”, two tracks which almost completely focus on emotional vulnerability and a mournful atmosphere to deliver their messages surrounding mental health and personal apathy.
Featuring a perfect mix of clean guitar textures and spacious synthwork, these tracks give Ryan Siew the time to truly speak with his guitar, demonstrating his absolute genius at creating such colorful and emotional guitar passages. These tracks also allow both Hails and Steinhauser the opportunity to flex their clean vocal prowess, as they put forth every bit of themselves and deliver some of the most emotional lyrics of their careers. “Overflow” accomplishes these triumphs by following a more traditional verse-chorus song structure, where as “Aftertouch” feels more like a constant build which ultimately culminates into a stunning bridge featuring beautiful guitar melodies and some of Hails’ most desperate screams yet, and then possibly the best breakdown sections the band has ever written due to their sheer weight.
While the previously mentioned tracks tend to focus on the cleaner aspects of their sound to accompany this stunning atmosphere, the album also contains a group of tracks which are able to simultaneously retain the signature Polaris energy and exert the previously mentioned sense of moodiness. This includes what is most likely my personal favorite Polaris track to date and one of my absolute favorite songs of the year in “With Regards”– the moment I heard this song I was immediately in love. Featuring a wonderful mix of a particularly honest and raw harsh vocal performance from Hails and a bit of a return to the emo-esque clean vocals which were much more prominent on The Death Of Me from Steinheuser, the track in many ways feels like a bit of a throwback to late 2000s metalcore, particularly that era of Underoath, but with a modern flair. The chorus is ridiculously catchy, the verses are captivating and energetic, which can especially be credited to the rhythmic abilities of Daniel Furnari and Rick Schneider, and the bridge is genuinely stunning. In this bridge, Siew gives us some of his most emotive and somber leads we’ve ever heard from him, and Hails delivers one of his best performances yet. What a track.
In similar fashion to “With Regards”, penultimate track “Fault Line” fuses the energetic and somber sides of the band in flawless fashion and once again brings back some of the emo vibes. Admittedly this track had to grow on me a bit, but once it did it immediately became one of my favorites. Particularly worth noting in this track are the nuances included in the verse and pre-chorus sections; there are some extremely interesting textures added through guitar effects and synthwork. The track also features a more constant trade-off between harsh and clean vocals than most other tracks, giving it an extra dose of personality and emotional resonance for the already fantastic lyrics. Finally, one last detail I want to point out from this track is the lead melody which both opens and closes the track; not only is the melody itself extremely catchy and gripping, but having it on both ends of the track gives it a nice “book-end” feel that is fitting for not only the longest track, but one of the more detailed tracks on the album.
Just as I started by talking about the opening track, “Harbinger” due to the way in which it distinctly feels like an opener, I am going to finish by talking about closing track “All In Vain” due to the way it distinctly feels like a closer. While “Harbinger” worked so well as an opener due to its almost meditative nature, “All In Vain” functions so well as a closer because it encompasses pretty much every aspect of the album, but pushed to the extreme. The verses feature the meanest riffing on the album, the chorus is especially triumphant yet also desperate, the breakdown is particularly eerie and unpredictable, and the track is laced throughout with these less distorted, almost progressive-leaning guitar passages. The track generally just closes the album in excellent fashion, and even features some cool lyrical callbacks to “Harbinger” to hammer home the notion of the album feeling like a full collection of songs that were meant to be together.
Fatalism is no doubt the magnum opus of Polaris’s already impressive discography, with every member of the band deserving applause for creating this. The record perfectly serves as not just the end of this chapter of the band with Ryan Siew, but the beautiful start of a new chapter. There is a certain weight radiating throughout Fatalism that can only be attributed to the band writing with all their guards down and putting forth everything they can. Most importantly however, the record serves as a gorgeous closing to Ryan Siew’s career and the legacy of art he left us with. Rest in peace Ryan, thank you for giving us so much to remember you by and providing so many people an outlet for their emotions. As for the future of Polaris, I salute infinitely for trudging through this tragedy and will support them eternally, as I hope everyone else in the scene will do as well.
9/10
Fatalism is out September 1st via Sharptone Records, and can be pre-ordered here.