Review Summary: The best groove metal album to come out over the past couple years. This is will please headbangers and Meshuggah fans alike.
For all those out there that are fans of the groove metal scene, I want you to listen here, and listen well. This debut album may just blow your mind. Grotesque strikes an impressive balance between its sophistication and primal rage. Through their thoughtfully constructed songs of progressive structures and varying lengths, they provide value for those who love complex and proggy music. And with their grimy gutturals, brutal riffs and overall contagious anger and aggression this album provides something perfect for groove and death metal fans. After a good bit of contemplation, I've come to the conclusion that Grotesque is one of the best groove metal albums to come out within the last few years.
I first found Polars Collide when I was researching the recent progressive metal bands on Metal Archives and I thought they were just going to be some kind of Meshuggah worship band. This is not just because there is an obvious similarity between both band's vocal styles, or the ever-present groovy palm-muted riffs or mechanical guitar solos (like in "Spider and Fly"). But I was comically amused to see that they, quite literally, look like Meshuggah, perhaps if Meshuggah were a couple of decades younger. Don't get it twisted though, Polars Collide have many more influences in their sound. They sound very akin to what you would imagine the love child of Meshuggah and Lamb of God would be like, with small hints of other bands mixed in as well such as Gojira, Decapitated, and ... Disturbed?
If you want to know what the album is lyrically about, the title is pretty self-explanatory. Grotesque seems like it is an expression of abstract violence and anger. I love the creative ways that this is depicted in the album; for one, just look at that album cover. Gorgeous. I mean, what is even going on there? This twisted, kind of eldritch, theme that they are going for gives the album its own unique kind of flair. Almost like we are entering some kind of realm of pure disgust and volatility. I usually do not talk about the lyrics too much in my reviews but some of them in this album are just so damn over-the-top, it makes the album very enjoyable and self-aware. The lyrics are stylistically actually fairly similar to those of the typical Meshuggah album but they are done in a more exaggerated and visceral, almost comedic, kind of way.
When it comes to the composition of the music, there is a ton to highlight. All of the songs are filled with unexpected twists and turns and they are never too predictable. All instrumental performances are very good. And for a groove metal album especially, there is a good bit of diversity amongst styles that are showcased. Sometimes they'll break down into a djenty, jazzy instrumental section with a slow addition of other layered instruments. Other times, the vocalist Martin Borre will just hit you with super intense screams in a variety of sorts, additionally, his low gutturals are exceptionally good for someone going into his first full-lengthed album. He even has nice cleans when they are necessary. For example, in the song "Cancer" during the more somber acoustic opening, his vocal performance is a great change of pace and fits the tone of the song perfectly, expressing a tortured soul being consumed by darkness.
I'm a simple man. As a fan of metal in general, one of the main things I look for in a metal album are the riffs, and fortunately, the riffs and guitar work on this album are some of its better qualities. These riffs are groove metal, and technical death metal inspired but there is almost never really a time where I see a one-to-one copy of another band's riff style. They seem unique enough for me to want to say they just sound like Polars Collide. There are definite hints from the bands I previously mentioned but none of them are quite so obvious as to take away from the listening experience. Additionally, they are done in a way that feels still fairly original. There are plenty of riffs in Grotesque that will please headbangers everywhere, some peak examples are the main riffs on "Unrelenting" and "Rejected".
A possible criticism I can foresee is that Polars Collide may end up being compared to Meshuggah as far as their technical ability is concerned as will become less impressive by comparison. To this I will say that we should cut them a bit of slack, after all, this is literally their debut album. They sound a whole hell of a lot better than Meshuggah did when they released their debut album (believe me). But this still a valid point. Polars Collide still has a lot of room to grow, not just in their technical ability, but grow into their own sound more. In their next album, I would love to hear more polyrhythms and for them to form their own sound a bit more.
Other than that, I have no major complaints about this album. This is a stellar performance and an impressive debut to be sure. Fans of progressive groove metal, and especially fans of previously mentioned bands need to check Grotesque out. I would not at all be surprised if Polars Collide became really big in the metal scene someday.
Attribution: https://theprogressivesubway.com/2021/07/01/review-polars-collide-grotesque/
