Mark the calendars because you're going to need Friday, September 1st off - because Aussie metalcore staples Polaris will be dropping album #3 upon the world, and that shit is going to need time to soak in.
The new record, titled Fatalism, will drop via Resist/Sharptone Records respectively following on from pandemic soundtrack The Death of Me (2020) and career kickstarter The Mortal Coil (2017). The new album was recorded in NSW's Blue Mountains with live sound engineer/co-producer Lance Prenc (who also mixed and mastered Fatalism) with vocal recording conducted by Scottie Simpson of Alpha Wolf.
“For us, Fatalism is the resignation to the idea that you have no control over certain things, that some things are almost pre-determined and inevitable; which seems like a negative and almost fearful notion. But one of the reasons I was drawn to it as a concept and as an album title was that there’s almost a freedom in that idea too. Once you can accept that there are certain things you simply can’t control - it’s actually very liberating."
“We want people to feel a sense of connection to something outside of themselves when they hear this album. There’s a certain peace that comes with accepting that there are some things larger than yourself and redirecting that fear.”
Last year, we caught up with frontman Jamie Hails and drummer Daniel Furnari backstage at Good Things Festival, where they revealed very minimal about the then-unannounced record, other than:
'It's a Polaris record. That's what I'm gonna say. I think there'll be some stuff that may surprise people a little bit, but I think it'll also scratch the itch with what people want from us."
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P O L A R I S Photo: Third Eye Visuals[/caption]
You might remember, 'INHUMANE' first got exposed to fans during the band's 10th Anniversary Tour back in March, and the reaction from the crowd in real-time (especially during guitarists Ryan Siew and Rick Schneider's shredding towards the middle) just showed how powerful this song sounded in a live setting. Along with Jake Steinhauser bringing us in with that sexy ETID-esque bassline (and counter screams with Hails), the band set their sights on world domination with a stack of UK and European festival appearances on the horizon, including Download Festival, Graspop and more.
"Inhumane' reflects on the feeling of growing desensitized to death, violence and tragedy due to overexposure" explains Furnari. "I think for a lot of people over the last few years, when you’re facing a constant barrage of horrible news coming from every corner on a literal daily basis, eventually you reach a point where the initial shock and sadness wear off and you find yourself becoming almost numb to it. It's like a subconscious defence mechanism - when caring too much becomes too taxing, we stop caring at all. That hollow feeling, or lack of feeling, can come with a lot of guilt, making you question whether your empathy and your humanity have been erased, and in a strange way almost wishing you could feel that pang of fear or sadness again."
Now the studio version has arrived, and the video is here (featuring a very cannibalistic cameo from Jack Bergin of Void of Vision) get streaming and practice those riff fingers, because it's Polaris season baby!
Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Stream 'INHUMANE' here
Pre-order/save Fatalism here
Polaris - Fatalism tracklisting
1. Harbringer
2. Nightmare
3. Parasite
4. Overflow
5. With Regards
6. Inhumane
7. The Crossfire
8. Dissipate
9. Aftertouch
10. Fault Line
11. All In Vain
