One way to celebrate your fifteenth anniversary is to release a new album, which is what hardcore quintet Polar have opted to do. Aren’t we meant to buy them a present to celebrate their anniversary, instead of them gifting us this new release?
Nevertheless, ‘Five Arrows’ is unyielding in its power and a gift that no one will turn down. ‘We Won’t Sleep’ pulses with energy and bruising riffs. Lines of, “It’s all about to blow / Stand back, stand back” may be seen as quite on-the-nose, but it’s easy to envision a call-and-response with their fans in a small, heaving venue.
‘Unkillable’ and ‘A New Mentality’ continue the heavy tread throughout the release. ‘Unkillable’ – a track written after Polar injected new life into their line-up with a complete change in guitarists, bassist, and drummer – makes the themes of survival and resilience the beating heart of this anthem. ‘A New Mentality’ follows a similar thought process; it’s Polar’s way of proudly stating that change is in the air, and you can get on board or be left behind. Your choice.
Striking riffs and unwieldy drum work come together to form ‘House of Cards’, which also showcases Adam Woodford’s huge vocals. That’s one thing Polar still have buckets of – raw talent and energy, culminating in tracks such as ‘Dawn of a New Age’ and ‘All Hail the Tyrant’.
Single ‘Swimming With Sharks’ is, put simply, quite stunning. The pounding drum work, riffs that will leave tremors in their wake, coupled with massive and robust vocals created a single that left fans aching for new music. And when you look at the lyrics like, “These are deadly waters / the current pulls me under / all this time / I’ve been swimming with sharks”, it’s not hard to see why this track was chosen as a single, especially after the huge change in line-up.
‘Soak It in Tragedy’ is a really beautiful instrumental, before segueing into ‘The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Violence’ and ‘Paranoia’. Both tracks are crushing and pack a punch, which is what Polar have been consistently delivering with this release.
‘Need_Want’ is almost desperate in its delivery. Lines of “I don’t need saving / I want to fall down” coupled with a female vocalist, who’s shining vocals are almost delicate compared to Woodford’s, is quite breath-taking and simply adds more depth and layers to this outstanding track.
Then there’s ‘Closing Curtain’, so aptly named for the finale. It doesn’t lose any of the tenacity and power that Polar have demonstrated throughout the course of ‘Five Arrows’, which is testament to the new blood injected into this group. Polar has absolutely nothing to fear when this album is released – fans will devour it in its entirety.
JESS TAGLIANI