Polaris has gained fame in the metalcore scene since their formation, but their latest album has been the one to gain even more recognition. Formed in 2012 in Australia, Polaris has gained the attention of metalcore fans since its beginning. In this post, we explore the band’s career, along with their singer, Jamie Hails.
Green Day Inspired Hails to Be a Musician
It’s likely that you have heard of musicians getting inspired by musicians to become one in the future. Hails, too, was inspired by a band that ultimately made his musical dreams come true. It’s no one other than Green Day. When he was 12, the singer witnessed his first recorded live show, which was Green Day’s ‘Bullet In A Bible’ DVD. After watching it one time with his cousin, he bought the same DVD to bring home and eventually, he was hooked on playing guitar because of it. In fact, the first song he learned to play was ‘American Idiot.’
Polaris Recently Lost A Member
Polaris has been playing with the same lineup of members since 2014. It was until June this year when the late guitarist Ryan Siew passed away on June 19 at the age of 26. The cause of his death is still not clear.
The band then had plans to go on tour with August Burns Red, Currents, and Kublai Khan Tx. On June 20, Polaris withdrew from the tour due to ‘serious personal crisis,’ a week after which it was revealed that their guitarist had passed away.
Polaris Continue to Make New Music
Losing a member did not mean to be the end for the band. Before Siew’s passing, Polaris had recorded their third studio album, ‘Fatalism,’ and it was set to be released on September 1. A month after revealing they were withdrawing from the tour and mourning the loss of their friend, the band clarified that they would still release the album and continue to make new music because the meanings and the love for the songs had not changed. The album dropped on September 1, just as planned.
Hails Did Not Want ‘Fatalism’ to Sound Identical to Other Songs
‘Fatalism’ is perhaps the most different one compared to their previous two albums. Well, that is exactly what Hails wanted while recording the album.
Acknowledging that metalcore is now different than what it used to be, the band wanted the album to sound different than their other works, in his words, Hails did not want to create an album consisting of nine identical songs – avoiding to produce nine tracks that mimic ‘The Remedy’ or ‘Vagabond.’
