Polaris: For The Heavy Hearted

The upward trajectory of Australian metalcore outfit POLARIS has been frightening over the last couple of years. Their debut full length release The Mortal Coil received critical acclaim and helped springboard their career to new heights. Frontman Jamie Hails has to pinch himself occasionally to make sure he isn’t dreaming. “It has been quite a rollercoaster ride if I’m honest. Every tour and every show over the last couple of years has just kept getting bigger and better. The Mortal Coil has been so successful that it kind of set a standard for us and some how we have to better that with the next release as there is an expectation now that comes along with that success.”

February marks the long awaited follow up entitled The Death Of Me, a release which pushed POLARIS to the boundaries of their sound both physically and mentally. “The Death Of Me has a wide variety of songs that span from the heavier side of the spectrum to the more melodic and everything else in between,” Jamie says. “The Mortal Coil gave us the opportunity to push our sound in every direction and with this release we have pushed that even further. We’re pretty much all perfectionists to the point that we could be sitting on a song which to most people would sound like pure gold but to us it just sounds like garbage. We’re quite hard on ourselves to make sure that the album was in a state that we needed it to be. 2018 and 2019 were very busy touring schedules for us. Due to this when we were leading up to the recording sessions we didn’t necessarily have a full album. We were counting down the months and then all of a sudden it was days and we had roughly about half an album ready. Throughout our touring schedule we were trying to write anywhere that we could. Whether it was in the tour bus or in the green rooms overseas. As soon as we were getting home we were recording and it was a bit of a headache and tensions were high but now we’re at the other side and the album is complete I’m very happy and proud of what we have all created. These hard times only bring us together and make us stronger. We’ve definitely grown from all that stress.”

The Death Of Me is a very personal album which touches on experiences that the band have endured within their lives. The lyrics from previously released single Hypermania are an emphatic example of their mindset during the writing process; ‘I’ve been up, I’ve been down every day. Something tells me I was always gonna be this way’. Whilst this was a cathartic experience for the band to be able to achieve that kind of release, it was also a difficult and at times uncomfortable process to undertake.

“With the album being such a personal effort in comparison to previous releases we opened up a lot of old wounds. It was bringing up old memories and issues we’ve experienced so it did get a bit stressful at times and we were kind of banging our heads against a wall to achieve the results we wanted with each song,” explains Jamie. “It was definitely a nice release to get it all down the way we intended it to be. Daniel [Furnari, drums] has an idea of what he wants to hear in his head and to try get that out of mine and Jake‘s [Steinhauser, vocals/bass] vocals in the right tone can be quite hard but we have got a good dynamic and working relationship between us. Personally I really pushed my vocals harder than I ever have before. There is more singing and pitched screams from me this time round. Daniel, myself and Jake really made sure that the meaning and the message for each song was conveyed the way we intended it to, vocally as well as lyrically. I had done a lot of practicing leading up to the recording sessions, not so much experimenting but pushing the boundaries of what I am capable of. We all pushed each other and challenged each other with the lyrics and vocals. I used to drink a lemon, ginger and honey tea which used to be great for my singing but would really dry out my voice and that made it a bit of an issue for screaming. I do have it now and again when I need a bit of extra help with my voice and I do try to stay really hydrated and drink lots of water. Warm ups and warm downs are also extremely important.”

Whilst most bands would be overwhelmed by the almost immediate propulsion into the spotlight, POLARIS have taken this in their stride and are excited to see where the future will lead them. “We’re just so happy to be doing a full headline overseas tour. It’s blowing my mind! I’m pinching myself,” expresses Jamie. “I’m very excited for people to hear the album as well being able to play the songs live and see how they go down. The very first time we went overseas we played the Never Say Die festival in London and that was one of the first shows which felt like a similar vibe to the shows we were having back in Australia. Every time we’ve returned to London it just feels like being back home and now that vibe and the many countries we visit they are all becoming more comfortable. I could go on about the countries that have been so good to us but as a whole I’m so excited to get back out on tour regardless of where we are playing. We love playing anywhere overseas, in Europe or any countries around the world. I just want to keep pushing to go to as many countries and new places around the world and take The Death Of Me everywhere and establish ourselves as a worldwide touring band.”

The Death Of Me is out now via SharpTone Records.

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