{"id":97648,"date":"2024-11-22T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T09:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=97648"},"modified":"2025-02-12T20:10:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T20:10:42","slug":"review-polar-five-arrows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-polar-five-arrows\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Polar &#8211; Five Arrows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-97649 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Polar-Five-Arrows-300x300.webp\" alt=\"Polar Five Arrows\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Polar-Five-Arrows-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Polar-Five-Arrows-800x800.webp 800w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Polar-Five-Arrows-100x100.webp 100w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Polar-Five-Arrows-768x768.webp 768w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Polar-Five-Arrows.webp 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>It\u2019s somewhat surprising to find out hardcore bruisers <a href=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/tag\/polar\/\"><strong>Polar<\/strong><\/a> have been hitting in hard since 2009, yet they\u2019ve never grown past the level of being openers for some of metalcore\u2019s bigger names. However, <em>\u2018Five Arrows\u2019<\/em> is considerably a new start for the band. With the relationship between vocalist Adam Woodford and former members \u201cdissolved\u201d, this outing sees Stefan Whiting (bass), Bruno Consani (guitar), Simon Richardson (guitar) and Max Flohr (drums) come on board to inject some new life into <strong>Polar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Having undergone a radical line-up change, it&#8217;s no surprise that perseverance is embedded in\u00a0<em>&#8216;Five Arrows&#8217;<\/em>.\u00a0<em>&#8216;A New Mentality\u2019\u00a0<\/em>thrives with determination, simultaneously highlighting the musical power that has been injected into\u00a0<strong>Polar<\/strong>. Whether that be Max Flohr&#8217;s destructive drums or Richardson and Consani&#8217;s steamrolling sharp riffs.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface,\u00a0<em>&#8216;Five Arrows&#8217;<\/em> is what you&#8217;d expect from\u00a0<strong>Polar<\/strong>; brash, heavy, and furious.\u00a0<em>&#8216;We Won&#8217;t Sleep&#8217;<\/em> and\u00a0<em>&#8216;Unkillable&#8217;<\/em> are equally punchy with Woodford&#8217;s blaring barks adding to frantic nature. While a flirtation with electronics is hinted at early on, it&#8217;s far from jarring. After smashing through routine bruising metalcore slabs <em>\u2018Dawn of a New Age\u2019<\/em> and <em>\u2018All Hail the Tyrant\u2019<\/em>, the explosive\u00a0 <em>&#8216;Swimming With Sharks&#8217;<\/em> arrives to questionably steal the show. Its robust build, sprawling guitarwork, and Woodford&#8217;s venomous vocal delivery conjure up a thrill ride, making <strong>Polar<\/strong> sound huge.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"POLAR - Swimming with Sharks (OFFICIAL VIDEO)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hu9F2L0kKKI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Soak It in Tragedy&#8217;<\/em> serves as a cathartic interlude, providing a momentary break from <strong>Polar<\/strong>&#8216;s relentless noise. As they soldier on with <em>&#8216;The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Violence&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>&#8216;Paranoia&#8217;<\/em>, their style is unyielding to break away from metallic hardcore battering. That&#8217;s not to discredit\u00a0<strong>Polar<\/strong>, as they&#8217;re able to routinely execute it in a muscular manner. The latter sees them at their darkest as a growling breakdown gives way to stabbing riffs, in part thanks to some assistance from Rachel Aspe of Cage Fight.<\/p>\n<p>As frontman and vocalist, Adam Woodford manages to deliver conviction and emotion through the wall of noise his (new) bandmates serve up. <em>&#8216;Want_Need&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>sees him full of despair, wrestling with his emotions and the weight of mental health struggles.\u00a0 Furthermore, <em>&#8216;Closing Curtain&#8217;<\/em>, with its mournful strings, gives the impression of hopelessness yet it&#8217;s their musical strength that fuels <strong>Polar<\/strong>&#8216;s collective determination.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Five Arrows&#8217;<\/em> may not serve as the breakthrough a band of\u00a0<strong>Polar<\/strong>&#8216;s longevity probably deserves. However for those who have stuck with them for 15 years, especially during the recent change of members, will be rewarded with an impactful set of muscular and steely metallic hardcore. If anything, it shows aren&#8217;t going down without a fight and still have a point to prove.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Five Arrows\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/3yYrSXk9yDZ8PT2buv4dpF?si=ubvGeR-1QduxOQw0Ssj_qg&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Five Arrows&#8217;<\/em> by\u00a0<strong>Polar<\/strong> is out now on\u00a0<strong>Arising Empire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Find <strong>Polar<\/strong> on: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/polaruk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/polaruk\">X (Formerly Twitter)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/polaruk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@polaruk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/6eby39yemH7FjGVwJID1Tw?si=tl4GlSvdRSGrosCQOGKRfg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/artist\/polar\/6668657\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Music<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/polaruk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linktr.ee<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polaruk.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a new line-up, the longtime UK metalcore bruisers return with an abundance of determination and muscular execution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,15420],"tags":[465],"class_list":["post-97648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-download-festival-2018","tag-polar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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