Review Summary: Diminishing Between Worlds 2.
I’ll begin this review by telling you that if you didn’t like Diminishing Between Worlds, Polarity won’t change your mind. It’s a very similar album. However, if you did enjoy Decrepit Birth’s sophomore album, chances are you’ll enjoy this.
Polarity begins the onslaught with probably the best song they’ve ever written, Ignite the Tesla Coil. A soft introduction starts the song and then it gets right into some technical riffing and plenty of double bass. It then dives down into a heavy, grinding riff (reminiscent of their first album, …And Time Begins) that leads into another soft section. This band can be quite visceral, but they usually keep a melodic sensibility throughout the album. The song begins to build back up, giving off an epic feel. In fact, this entire album has a sort of epic atmosphere to it, almost as if it could be the soundtrack to the beginning and the end of the universe; beautiful, mysterious, and chaotic. Unfortunately, Ignite the Tesla Coil is the only song to have this kind of variation. The rest of the album doesn’t differentiate much but the album remains strong simply because of quality songwriting. The riffs are imaginative and memorable and Polarity can be quite a fun ride. It’s possible for this album to slip right past you on the first listen, so a few listens may be required to truly appreciate this.
The guitars are, of course, awesome. It’s as if they never run out of badass riffs to throw into the pot. Sadly, the bass doesn’t seem as apart of their music as it was on their previous outing, but it’s still mixed up there well enough to where you can hear it and there are a few nice bass lines. Bill Robinson, a hobo who lives on a state park and grows weed for a living, is the vocalist. His vocal attack is a mid-range death growl and it stays that way, not really changing. He isn’t very noteworthy as a vocalist, but he’s not bad either; he just doesn’t add much to the music. KC Howard, the drummer, certainly has chops. However, his most common solution to going along with the music is double bass, double bass, and more double bass. Because of this, I question his creativity. He did do something quite remarkable on track three, The Resonance, though. Close to the end of the song, an evil riff chimes in. The second time it comes around, he begins a start/stop rhythm with the kick drums, complimenting the riffs perfectly. I’m not a drummer, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t easy to do. The skill is there, he just needs be more creative.
This release can’t compete with Diminishing Between Worlds, but it’s still a worthy addition to their discography. I highly recommend this album to anyone who was a fan of their previous album or any technical/melodic death metal. Give it a try.
