Hold on a tick; let me just try to fix my jaw and put some of my bones back in place before I tell you a bit about Reverrse Polarity. The self-titled debut album by the five member hardcore/progressive metal band features 10 ‘get down to the point’ tracks with sinister ferocity, and subtlety at the same time. The record is like a roller coaster ride at the amusement park in the ninth circle of hell; just an absolute treat.

The vocals on this record have a certain menacing whisper-like tone to them, a ‘Gollum from LOTR’-ish cynicism (not a very clever analogy though, considering the fourth track is called ‘Gollum’). It gives the vocals and, more so, the vocalist, a very morbidly intriguing personality; compelling you to pay heed to what the song is trying to say. Now, to be honest, I am not too big on introducing clean vocals in a metal song. Ever. The combination falls into some sort of a paradoxical grey area; you either hate it or you love it. This record is probably the first time I have had no aggressive objection toward the bits with clean vocals. I speculate as to why this might be: A) Perhaps, because I’ve grown older and lost the patience to criticize the merits of clean vocals in a metal song; or, B) (and, maybe the more probable reason) the tonality of the vocals on the album, even through the clean bits, does not lose context or compromise the texture of the song. ‘Cross Poly Nation’ is one such track, featuring Anushka Manchanda from Shkabang on vocals.

Listen to 'Cross Poly Nation' by Reverrse Polarity below:

Some of the songs on this record have instantly addictive and typically progressive riffs; ‘I Pood’, ‘R.A.R.’ and specifically, ‘The Dreaming’ will have you rewinding the songs over and over again. The songs are cleverly sewn with what I like to call ‘punch notes’, a term I created no longer than six seconds ago. And, this is how I hope to define it: notes with a subtle and subliminal placement in the song that peaks the mood of the song. I am not talking about blast beats and breakdowns; I am talking about unanticipated but certainly ‘packing a punch’ kind of notes which take maybe just a moment longer to level you before you realise what is happening. It is an overwhelming feeling when you encounter such notes and the album has these by the bucket loads, if you know what to look for.

Not oddly enough, most would probably look for connecting dots through each song in the album trying to get a clearer picture of the meaning behind it, and more so when it comes to the lyrics. I would say that the listener would rather fall in love more with the musicality of the artist than the songs themselves. ‘Untitled Epic Thing’ is an interesting incorporation to the album, slowing the pace down just a bit with melodic clean tone guitars, allowing the listener a much required breather. The lyrics on this album speak unabashedly of social tyranny, and reek of rebellion; it might not be anything new but it is still fun. The words definitely got me all stirred up. For example, half-way through ‘The Dreaming’, the vocals die down to a demonic whisper with the bass and the drums painting a dark and grim tone to the song:

“Seems like what seems to be
 Is a stream rendering
 For one's self suffering
 Unable to counter an army
Which leads its own battles
For its own war
Against itself
It’s lost its motive, objective, purpose”

Judge this book by its cover (which is awesome by the way) and you will still love it. The album is a right mix of everything and a definite must-have. Any metal-head suffering life-threatening metal malnutrition should be administered with a dose of Reverrse Polarity, ASAP.   

Get Reverrse Polarity's self-titled album free with the new edition of Rock Street Journal magazine or purchase it here