Polaris

Polaris is an Australian metalcore band hailing from Sydney, New South Wales, comprising vocalist Jamie Hails, guitarist Rick Schneider, bassist and vocalist Jake Steinhauser, and drummer Daniel Furnari. The band formed in 2012 when Furnari and Steinhauser met during a high school Battle of the Bands event. They shared a love for metal and alternative music, leading to the band's creation, with Rick Schneider and Jamie Hails joining through mutual connections. To round out the line-up, Jake's brother, Matt Steinhauser, played bass, and James West joined on synth and keys. The group released their debut single "Summit" and a significant part of the Dichotomy EP in early 2012, adjusting when both Matt Steinhauser and James West left the band, seeing guitarist Jake Steinhauser switch to bass to accommodate the band's evolving sound. The band held public auditions and added Ryan Siew as their new lead guitarist on November 18, 2013 and shortly after his arrival, the band independently released the full Dichotomy EP on November 29, 2013. On March 3, 2015, they released "Unfamiliar," featuring Siew as the lead guitarist. They continued to write music and completed their second EP, The Guilt & The Grief, which was independently released on January 29, 2016, reaching the 34th position on the ARIA charts. On November 3, 2017, Polaris released their debut studio album, The Mortal Coil, under Resist Records and Sharptone Records. It peaked at number 6 on the charts and earned recognition at the 2018 ARIA Awards. On February 21, 2020, they released their second studio album, The Death of Me, reaching the 3rd position on the charts, followed by instrumental versions of both albums on July 3, 2020. On May 25, 2023, their new single "Inhumane," premiered on radio station Triple J, with the band announcing that their third studio album, Fatalism, was set to be released on September 1, along with an Australian tour with August Burns Red, Kublai Khan Tx, and Currents. However, Polaris faced a devastating setback when guitarist Ryan Siew tragically passed away on June 19. Despite the loss, the band announced a month later that they would proceed with the release of Fatalism and its accompanying tour in honour of Siew. The album's second single, "Nightmare," was released on July 26, followed by "Overflow" the following month. Fatalism debuted at Number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, marking Polaris's first-ever chart-topping album.