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At the beginning of the year, rumours of a new Polaris album sounded exciting, making the potential successor to the fantastic ARIA-nominated The Death Of Me (2020) one of the key events for 2023. The lead single 'Inhumane' was shared, alongside the actual tracklist, release date and promo tour for Fatalism, raising the expectations even higher, and setting the stage for a triumphant return after more than tree years. And then the unthinkable happened with the news of guitarist Ryan Siew's untimely passing shaking the entire scene. His family lost a beloved son, the band lost a true friend, the music world lost a huge talent.
Naturally, the premiere of Fatalism now is engulfed in conflicting feelings of deserved triumph and choking sadness, a bittersweet event that marks the beginning of a new era for Polaris, but also the premature end of the youtful outfit that we learned to love in recent years. It is forced growing up that is bound to leave scars, but also a celebration of a bright soul gone way too soon. The shared mourning of the entire metal community makes any discussion of Fatalism a difficult endeavour, but I will do my best to focus on the music at hand as a final show of respect to the last full body of work Ryan Siew worked on.
Fatalism pretty much picks up where The Death Of Me left off, just kicking everything up a notch. The album comes out under the watchful eyes of SharpTone and Resist Records, a fruitful partnership that have backed Polaris since the beginning and have also recently given us Pridelands' outstanding last record Light Bends. The boys also returned to magician Lance Prenc, who has left his lasting mark on the local scene having worked with Thornhill, Alpha Wolf, Void of Vision and Gravemind, to name a few. In other words, Fatalism is an Aussie product through and through, with the excellence and expectations this brings.
Polaris have certainly evolved as musicians and songwriters since their stellar debut with the Mortal Coil (2017), developing a unique sound that remains central to this day, whilst also building on established metalcore conventions and moulding influences. When I first heard the lead singles trinity of 'Inhumane', 'Nightmare' and 'Overflow', I immediately thought of Architects, a mixture of their older and newer style that kept showing up here and there as I listened through Fatalism. Now that I write this, I also couldn't help but make a sorrowful paralel with All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, in a musical but also contextual sense...
Personal macabre ramblings aside, Polaris' third offering is indeed a dark conceptual record, facing the crippling anxiety and uncertainties that have held the world hostage. To quote SharpTone's brief but powerful description of Fatalism, it is "shaped by the sense of despair and dystopia that engulfed the world over the past few years, and the overwhelming accompanying sensation that we were powerless to change course", at its very core the paradox and duality of fear as "humanity's great divider, but also its most potent unifier", thus also acting as a beacon of light, unity and hope for a brighter future ahead.
Fatalism is objectively a fantastic modern metal record with absolutely no flaws. It opens with the cinematic 'Harbringer', flowing through its outstanding promo singles and new crowd favourites, and closes with the thunderous 'All In Vain'. It is purpusefull, well-structured and perfectly balanced as one would expect from an established festival headliner, whilst remaining unpredictable and exciting until the end. It is also as energetic, raw and dynamic as a proper metalcore release, whilst also embracing the groovy undertones, production polish and genre fluidity of every noteworthy contemporary record.
Unfortunately, no awards, chart positions, broken records or universal praise would make Fatalism the glorious achievement it could have been. An album born in darkness but made as a guiding light will forever remain engulfed in contradictions and the dichotomy of life and death. Fortunately, as such it is also the absolute best possible way, if ever there is one, to give one last fitting salute to a bright soul taken too soon. May Ryan Siew rest in piece and be remembered by all of us each and every time we play the brilliant Fatalism.
Polaris - 'Fatalism'
Country: Australia
Released: 1 September 2023
Label: SharpTone Records / Resist Records
Tracklisting:
1. 'Harbinger'
2. 'Nightmare'
3. 'Parasites'
4. 'Overflow'
5. 'With Regards'
6. 'Inhumane'
7. 'The Crossfire'
8. 'Dissipate'
9. 'Aftertouch'
10. 'Fault Line'
11. 'All in Vain'
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