POLARIS TURN LOSS INTO SOMETHING DEVASTATING ON “WITHOUT YOU”
Photo Credit: thirdeyevisualsau
Australian metalcore heavyweights Polaris have returned with the powerful new single “Without You,” a deeply personal track shaped by grief, loss and the devastating passing of guitarist Ryan Siew.
“Without You” marks the band’s first new original music in nearly three years, following 2023’s Fatalism. More importantly, it represents Polaris moving forward after an unimaginable period for the band, confronting the absence of their friend and bandmate rather than attempting to move beyond it.
The result is one of Polaris’ most emotionally charged songs to date.
“Without You” carries all the weight and aggression fans have come to expect from the Sydney band, but there’s a different kind of heaviness underneath it. Crushing riffs and massive breakdowns collide with moments of melody and vulnerability, while Jamie Hails delivers a performance that sounds genuinely anguished. The song doesn’t treat grief as something clean or easily resolved. Instead, it captures the anger, guilt, confusion and emptiness that can continue long after someone is gone.
That emotional weight makes the accompanying video hit even harder, turning “Without You” into something that feels less like a conventional comeback single and more like Polaris finding a way to put years of complicated emotions into music.
Siew passed away in June 2023 at just 26 years old, shortly before the release of Fatalism. His death left the band facing not only the loss of a guitarist and creative partner, but one of their closest friends. Polaris ultimately chose to continue as a band, releasing Fatalism as planned and spending the years since carrying Siew’s legacy with them onstage.
There’s no attempt to replace what was lost or pretend that returning with new music means the grieving process is finished. Instead, Polaris have taken that grief and allowed it to become part of the band they are now. It’s painful, furious and vulnerable, while still unmistakably sounding like Polaris.
After nearly three years without new original material, “Without You” is a hell of a way to return.
POLARIS TOUR DATES:
Sept 19 - O2 Academy Leeds - Leeds, UK*
Sept 20 - O2 Academy Glasgow - Glasgow, UK*
Sept 22 - O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester - Manchester, UK*
Sept 23 - DEPOT - Cardiff, UK*
Sept 25 - Alexandra Palace - London, UK*
Sept 26 - O2 Academy Birmingham - Birmingham, UK*
Sept 27 - O2 Academy Birmingham - Birmingham, UK*
Sept 30 - Ancienne Belgique - Brussels, Belgium*
Oct 1 - Poppodium 013 - Tilburg, Netherlands*
Oct 3 - PSD Bank Dome - Düsseldorf, Germany*
Oct 5 - Porsche-Arena - Stuttgart, Germany*
Oct 6 - Zenith Paris - La Villette - Paris, France*
Oct 8 - Halle 622 - Zürich, Switzerland*
Oct 9 - Alcatraz - Milan, Italy*
Oct 10 - Wiener Stadthalle - Vienna, Austria*
Oct 12 - Klub Stodoła - Warsaw, Poland*
Oct 13 - Velodrom - Berlin, Germany*
Oct 22-25 - Hellbound Cruise - Sydney, Australia
Dec 4 - Good Things Festival - Melbourne, Australia
Dec 5 - Good Things Festival - Sydney, Australia
Dec 6 - Good Things Festival - Brisbane, Australia
* w/ I Prevail