Shadowed By Vultures will be released on CD, Digitally and on limited to 300 Transparent Blue 12" vinyl release
Forget what you think you know about Polar. All who hear the new offering are set for a big shock. This is Polar 2.0. The beginning of something truly special.
Set for a February 10th release through In At The Deep End Records - "Shadowed By Vultures" is a true masterpiece. Recorded by Neil Kennedy at The Ranch Studios and Mastered by Oz Craggs at Hidden Track Studios, the album features back to back anthems, soaring hooks & blistering riffs.
The first single, "Glass Cutter" was released on 21st Oct 2013 with Daniel P. Carter taking the premiere for the Radio 1 Rock Show and the astonishing video was unleashed by Rock Sound. The single has since received a wealth of radio and TV play from the likes of Kerrang Radio/TV, Team Rock Radio, Scuzz (where it was the number 1 video on the channel) and now numerous plays on BBC Radio 1.
Since their formation in the quintessential English City of Guildford in 2009, POLAR have been on a merciless & devastating pursuit of as many unsuspecting audiences as possible. POLAR supported such acts as Gallows, Trash Talk, This Is Hell, Feed The Rhino & TRC. POLAR left countless awestruck & many more battered when they instigated one of the largest & most destructive circle pits of Hevy Festival 2011, proving to all that they are one of the UK's most exciting live bands.
In February of that same year, the band saw the release of their explosive & critically lauded debut EP 'This Polar Noise'. The band received BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! radio airplay. POLAR also conquered our tellys with their terrifying music video 'Tonight Matthew I am The Batman' peaking at no.1 on the Scuzz Chart.
A little over a year since the release of their EP, POLAR were back with their debut album 'Iron Lungs' (released May 7th 2012). Recorded in January 2012 with Steve Sears & Tom Mitchener of Spy Catcher, 'Iron Lungs' was the fuel which to ignite their career and leave behind it a wake of exhausted exhilaration. Heavy & menacing melodies sustained the bands guttural & ferocious punk crash throughout. In May of this year, the band teamed up with Oli Sykes' (Bring Me The Horizon) clothing label Drop Dead to release their EP, "Inspire Create Destroy". No longer the scrappy hardcore-punk band from Surrey, the quintet had matured to draw influences from all corners of the alternative music world. A heightened sense of melody and rhythm enabled Polar to take a dramatic turn to the band's future. That year also saw them tour with While She Sleeps, Young Guns and Defeater.
The success of the campaign with Drop Dead provided for touring with Heights and 2 tours with the bands heroes, Funeral For A Friend before coming off the road to prepare for the 2nd full length album, "Shadowed By Vultures".
Touring for the band kicks off again Feb 2014 with a European Tour with Hundredth, Being As An Ocean and Counterparts. The boys better get their rest now as 2014 - is set to be another year on the road for the UK's most exciting band.
Big Beats, Strong Booze, Loose Morals, Good Times - POLAR est. 2009
Surrey savages add light and shade to their None More Black attack.
In 2012, Surrey five-piece Polar spewed out a debut album 'Iron Lungs', so searing and caustic it made for uncomfortable listening. On the evidence of it's successor, Shadowed By Vultures , the last two years haven't been all that much kinder. But, this time around, Polar have written anthems, added respite and found glorious peaks to match the relentless strangulating troughs. Adam Woodford's voice still cuts through everything like a serrated edge, but now he's also slicing out choruses (Glass Cutter, Vipers), or taking a backseat entirely (Before The Storm). It makes the impact of the band's punchier riffs and rhythms even more devastating. Not only that, it's battered through the walls and opened a new frontier for the noisy underdogs.
Big Cheese 8/10
Second album from these Guildford Maulers.
Surrey UK metallic hardcore mob Polar follow up 2012's 'Iron Lungs' with eleven tracks of twisted heaviness and savagery. Tracks like current single 'Glass Cutter' are bruisers of epic magnitude but what Polar don't forget is the importance of chorus and song structure, with their rousing gang choruses and breakdowns. This approach sets them apart from many of their metalcore contemporaries who just bash out collections of riffs and growls. A very formidable way to kick off 2014 by setting a high standard.
Metal Hammer 8/10
British hardcore crew find a springboard in the past.
As every day brings a brand new glut of UK hardcore bands, Polar have now, oddly, reached the level of scene veterans merely a few years into their career. It's apt in a way, as Shadows By Vultures is a much more old-school approach to hardcore than the majority of Polar's peers, delving back into the music of Gorilla Biscuits and American Nightmare to concoct huge slabs of 100mph punk rock. When they get it right, as on the teeth-gnashing roar of Glass Cutter, they;re up there with the very best. But second albums are all about broadening scope and refining your established sound, and Polar have made concessions to some modern metallic hardcore trends. 'Before The Storm' features melodi, female vocals over a glacial, post hardcore musical soundscape and, despite the headbang inducing nature of the rest of Shadowed..., is consequently the most memorable song. Something old and something new, Polar are onto a winner.
Rocksound 8/10
Forever trying to break into the top bracket of British bands, Polar were always going to have to step up their game. So with 'Shadowed By Vultures', the fat has been neatly trimmed from their dirty riff-heavy onslaught and replaced with a more focused melodic sound. The big mosh parts are still there, mind, as demonstrated by the devastating 'Blood Lines' and 'Create'. However with the smouldering atmosphere of 'Before The Storm' and anthemic chants of 'Vipers', Polar have taken a big step towards catching up with their peers, and being more than just another band on your iPod.
AlreadyHeard.com 4/5
Normally with a great record the line "not to be missed or ignored" is pedalled out. In the case of 'Shadowed By Vultures', Polar have created an album with so much fire and energy, fuelling brutal attention grabbing anthems that it would probably come round to your house and kick your door in if you even tried to escape it.
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Hitthefloor.com 9/10
Polar are always reliable for epic pit inducing, crowd chanting tracks but this full length has taken it to the next level. Polar have matured and developed bringing depth, musicianship and ingenuity to create a inspirational and remarkable album that will form an iconic place in their.
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Terrorizer 8/10
If there's one thing the onset of a new Shai Hulud album every five or six years illustrates it's how the majority of bands they've influenced pale in comparison. Chalk Guildford's Polar in that category with their custom of restrained complexity, attentiveness to pulsing rhythms and straight-forward melodies plotting their spot on the family tree alongside contemporaries in Hundredth, Counterparts, Defeater, et al. Regardless, slabs of excellent song writing are on offer here with the spidery, multi-layered guitar and hooky chorus of 'Mountain Throne' and the impeccable structure of the hit-worthy 'Black Days' demonstrating Polar's ability to stickhandle around aping their record collections while still remaining true to the fringes of progressive, textural hardcore.
Altsounds.com 71%
First single 'Glass Cutter', which was released back in October, is a relentless force, with Adam Woodford's brutal vocals that sweep you up into a shout-along frenzy in the track's chorus. Its lyrics "I am the water that fills your lungs," create a huge atmosphere that is inescapable, while proving that the band can write some cracking anthems. 'Black Days' and the record's title track are equally as epic, their fist in the air choruses and heavy swirling guitar melodies are as destructive as they are delicate.
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Deadpress.co.uk 8/10
Although we remain in danger of running out of room on the top bracket of UK hardcore, there's little doubt that Polar. have gone a long way to earning their place amongst the elite with 'Shadowed By Vultures'. Chest cavingly heavy, yet brimming with maturity and ambition, there's a visible focus here which marks out the band as real contenders. Budge up heavyweights, you've got company.
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Massmovement.co.uk
Highly original rocking hardcore, blended with all sorts of delicious ingredients. It's not just the standard rock instruments, crunching guitars, screaming vocals and a pounding rhythm-section. All sorts of unexpected twists take this band into unexplored territories. You should all just listen to 'Before The Storm' to just get an idea of what Polar is capable of. They have truly boldy gone where no punkband has gone before.
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www.holdupnow.com
It's certainly hard for me to find fault with Polar's latest album. The mix of neck-breaking headbangers with exceedingly more low key pieces makes sure that the listener is consistently provided with a sonic diversity. I've found with similar bands in the past that vocal detail can be lost to louder guitar riffs that just don't deserve prominence, but the level of production on Shadowed By Vultures really keeps anything from becoming stale. Polar have pulled off what should be a formidable addition to the UK's growing selection of home-grown hardcore albums, earning themselves a place on the front-line of the movement. Read More
Thelineofbestfit.com 7/10
Released via the infamous At The Deep End Records (who previously guided Architects and Gallows into the hardcore hall of fame) Shadowed by Vultures sees Polar step away from traditional hardcore with a new, crashing wall of sound that's decidedly more structured than ever before.
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Deadrhetoric.com 8/10
Though it's March, we here in central California (my area, anyway) is again enjoying another streak of Indian summer. It's all the more fitting then that a release that fits so well with the idea of an (almost) feel-good summer release has found its way here. Hailing from the UK and something of an amalgamation of working pieces from the last 15 years of indie-heavy indulgences, Polar has put something sticky and colossal.
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Bro-metal.org 10/10
As promised here it is, our album review of "Shadowed By Vultures" from the UK maniacs, POLAR. I am going to get right to it, GREAT album. This is one of the best albums to come out in 2014. With a sound that makes me think BMTH on steroids, this album has an edge. You can call it metalcore, you can call it hardcore, you can call it whatever, we call it metal! When I heard the punch in the face guitar and drums plus the scream "See You In Hell" on track 2, "Bloodlines" I new we had something different on our hands. "Glass Cutter" might be the metal song of the year so far, and "Before The Storm" is a very pleasant stripped down surprise. "Mountain Throne" and "Vipers" are great riff and vocal songs and the final track "Our Legacy" puts a bow on what I believe will be a career defining album for the lads in POLAR. There isn't a bad song on this album and we now have another early contender for 2014's top metal album. With a Bro-Metal rating of 10/10 (yep 10/10), my advice is to go get this album immediately, put on a good set of headphones, and listen. You will be blown away! We were...
Glasswerk.co.uk
'Shadowed By Vultures' is the second full-length album from Polar. From the second you hit play their evolution is obvious. There are still small elements, including Woody's definitive voice, that are noticeable, but other than that, they've developed a whole new sound. Read More
Pushtofire.wordpress.com 4/5
Polar appear to be walking down the same road While She Sleeps were 4 or 5 years ago, positioned on the cusp of the UK's alternative elite. Shadowed By Vultures needs to elevate the Guildford mob to the next level and, if there's any justice in the world, it will. The record is a crushing effort, raising the bar significantly from 2012's Iron Lungs.
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Polar - Inspire Create Destroy 7"
Polar - Shadowed By Vultures CD
Polar - Shadowed By Vultures Vinyl LP
Polar - Inspire Tshirt
Polar - Vultures Tshirt
Polar - Shadowed By Vultures CD + Polar Inspire.. 7"
