Band:	Polaris
Album:	The Mortal Coil
Style:	Melodic metalcore
Release date:	November 2017

01. Lucid
02. The Remedy
03. Relapse
04. Consume
05. Frailty
06. In Somnus Veritas
07. Dusk To Day
08. Casualty
09. The Slow Decay
10. Crooked Path
11. Sonder

The Australian band delivers their best performance through furious breakdowns and enraged vocals.

The Mortal Coil knows how to start things off right; from the first track "Lucid", I am struck by the effectiveness with which they use the elements that make metalcore a genre.

The breakdowns, a trademark of the genre, happen naturally; they are not there by obligation, but instead they are necessary, as a logical continuation of the music. The drums are satisfactory; the snare drum is handled very well, making the music much clearer. The riffs are also very catchy; I'm especially thinking of the track "Consume", which is one of The Mortal Coil's best for this reason, but also because it ends in apotheosis with several breakdowns and even a solo. This results in smooth pieces of music that are not forced or exaggerated.

Lyrically, it's quite classic, it's not the part where they drew the most inspiration. The vocals, I have already briefly mentioned them, they are relentless and angry as we are used to in this genre: nothing very innovative there either.

Generally, metalcore works a lot through singles, and a lot of albums are just one or two good singles accompanied by not incredible tracks that try to maintain interest with breakdowns without causing excitement for the listener. Such albums often leave listeners hungry, but with this Polaris album, there is a certain consistency that remains from start to finish; the album is neither too long nor too short, and the result is not bad.

There are still small problems, like the fact that The Mortal Coil feels like a good metalcore album, but not like a good metal album. It manages to shine in its genre, however it does not particularly stand out from other metalcore albums within the wider metal scene. It's an excellent album for someone who listens almost exclusively to metalcore; otherwise it's "just" a good album. Even if I can still admit that Polaris did a good job in their style, the music from the album is familiar and recognizable when listening to it.

To conclude, Polaris did a good instrumental job; it's obvious that they refined this album, which makes for easy and satisfying listening. If you want listen to a good metalcore album, don't worry, with The Mortal Coil you won't be disappointed.