ON SEPT. 2, 2022, Polyphia hit the primary main speedbump of their newest album cycle.
Twenty-six reveals right into a sold-out 28-date United States tour — simply as they’ve dropped full particulars of their fourth LP, Remember That You Will Die — drummer Clay Aeschliman’s physician confirmed that he’s dislocated his clavicle. Surgery will probably be required to place it back in place. As a lot as Aeschliman and the remainder of the Texan collective are loath to let something disrupt plans which were actually years within the making, their refusal to carry out at lower than 100% implies that scheduled home-state reveals in Fort Worth and Austin have to be postponed.
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“We were on those Bird scooters,” guitarist Tim Henson shrugs. “I guess they’re pretty dangerous…”
For a band which have constructed their title on precision and management — rising from highschool YouTube virtuosos into the world’s hottest instrumental band — there may be an air of disarray this afternoon. At his residence, Henson is at the moment being mobbed by three canine craving their proprietor’s affection after a month away. Fellow founding six-stringer Scott LePage dials in whereas nonetheless on the street, operating errands and ferrying forgotten baggage on the way in which residence. The pair waved off Aeschliman, bassist Clay Gober and the remainder of the touring social gathering mere hours earlier than convening with AP.
[Photo by Lindsey Byrnes]
“This tour has been amazing,” Henson continues, visibly stung by ending such a triumphant run so abruptly. “It feels like right place, right time in where we are with the fans, with the music, with each other. Then this.” Henson remains to be reeling from what he describes as “the weirdest goodbye session” with the band and their crew. “It feels incomplete, like a blue-ball type situation,” he quips. “There’s been no climax.”
LePage concurs. “It leaves us with this strange guilty feeling,” he nods, “even though it’s out of our control.”
In a way, days like these are what Remember That You Will Die is all about. While the title originated — in very Polyphia trend — with LePage Googling “cool phrases” throughout final September’s Dance Gavin Dance tour, it has taken on higher weight over the months since. The authentic Latin translation, memento mori, whispered into the ears of triumphant emperors in historical Rome to make sure their groundedness, has apparent applicability to younger males with the world at their ft. Characteristically, Henson places his personal spin on that. “It’s a seize the day kind of thing,” he smiles, pensively. “You need to do the shit that you need to do when you need to do it — before you can’t.”
If something, their newest setback has solely added urgency to Polyphia’s booming ambition. Although the band are open about the way it’s their fixed crucial to “level up” with every new launch, pushing their technical potential, composition, sound design and mixing, the sheer boundary-obliterating maximalism on present right here suggests they’ve taken a quantum leap. From the placing, nylon-stringed experimentation of “Playing God” to the steely dubstep of “Reverie” and the decadently layered rage beat of “Neurotica,” they’re deftly fusing pop and metallic, jazz, EDM and numerous different genres in-between.
“When someone asks me about a record’s ‘stylistic progression,’” LePage grins, “I normally think of the question as, ‘What was I listening to when we started writing?’ Here, I tried to bring every element that we’ve ever done. I wanted to showcase every sound in my arsenal.”
Striving to clarify how they managed this, Henson narrows Polyphia’s method down to a few bullet factors: higher emphasis on collaboration (extra on that under); elevated maturity of their sound; expanded give attention to sound design and manufacturing. Rather than descending right into a dry dialog about studio strategies and musical principle, although, the shred grasp outlines the album title’s chilling twin that means and the way it connects to the improvements therein: a story of the unstoppable march of know-how, and the apocalyptic way forward for synthetic intelligence. “By second track ‘Playing God,’ we’re already building things that are becoming too smart for us. It builds and builds until ‘All Falls Apart.’ Then there’s a ‘Bloodbath.’ ‘Ego Death’ represents the end of it all.”
Machine sounds reign supreme. Although human efficiency stays very a lot on the coronary heart of Polyphia, the multitude of writing and recording periods that took them round America, from Los Angeles (the place Henson was resident in the beginning of recording) to Detroit and residential to Texas, had been largely centered on eradicating the natural tone of metallic in favor of the sensation of preprogrammed beats from pop and hip-hop. On a conceptual degree, this concerned factoring in manufacturing from the very outset of the writing course of as a producer like Skrillex would. On the sensible aspect, it required the development of the carpeted “cave” during which Aeschliman recorded percussion, seen in current playthrough movies from Henson’s newly constructed residence studio back in Texas.
[Photo by Lindsey Byrnes]
“If you were to play this music inside a car, turn it all the way up, then step outside of the car, it would bump like rap music,” he explains, espousing the advantages of such an unusually concerned method. “Comparatively, if you were to do that with a metal record, it would sound like shit.”
In the period of playlist-led listening, too, the method to style was much less “mixtape” than wired mashup. “Each song is drastically different,” Henson enthuses. “It’s almost as if Polyphia were the artificial intelligence — a sonic equivalent to one of those image-generating AIs. You type in ‘Bossa nova classical guitar trap beat’ and you get a song like ‘Playing God.’ You enter ‘Ariana Grande hyperpop prog’ and we play ‘ABC.’ You try ‘trap-style metal’ and you get ‘Fuck Around And Find Out.’ Hell, a track like ‘The Audacity’ could be the result from punching in ‘Jazz, shred, whatever the fuck!’”
BEFORE THEY BECAME THE GENRE-DEFYING disruptors we all know as we speak, Polyphia’s dream label was prog-metal powerhouse Sumerian Records. Following 2011’s four-track demo Resurrect — dropped when LePage was 18 and Henson simply 17 — the LA-based indie reached out by e mail. The message was agonizingly direct: “Where’s the singer?”
It’s a query that has dogged the band for years. Having opted, early on, to take care of tight give attention to the slender core of guitar, drums and bass, most would argue that their instrumental restrictions are why Polyphia stand aside. On Remember That You Will Die, nevertheless, they don’t have any time to be steered by their limitations, bringing aboard everybody from trilingual LA singer-songwriter Sophia Black (“ABC”) and San Diego-based visionary Killstation (“Memento Mori”) to Deftones frontman Chino Moreno (“Bloodbath”) and legendary six-stringer Steve Vai (“Ego Death”).
“When we started working on this record three years ago, our record label asked us to put together a list of dream collaborators,” Henson explains. “We had everyone from Rick Ross to Chino and Steve on there. We had always known that we wanted to do a bunch of different collaborations to stretch our wings in terms of saying, ‘Yes, we can take on any style, and we’ll do it. You want a pop song? A metal song? A rap song? We’ll give it to you.’”
That angle is the actual key to Polyphia’s individuality, compelling them to diverge from the path blazed by revered friends like Animals As Leaders and Periphery. “Number one, we like those other genres,” Henson stresses. “We actively listen to those genres. We want to participate in those genres.” The different bands from their scene? Henson isn’t certain they do. “You have to put the work in,” he explains. “I can’t imagine a djent crossover with a pop artist that would actually be good without having put the work in on the pop side to understand why that kind of collaboration could work.”
[Photo by Lindsey Byrnes]
Unquestionably, RTYWD is a labor of affection. Although Ross by no means returned their calls, and work on an authentic model of “All Falls Apart” with Tilian Pearson of Dance Gavin Dance and SoundCloud star Trippie Redd fell by means of, eight of the document’s 12 tracks nonetheless boast notable visitor spots. Sure, the boys’ guitar work is basically much less ostentatious than that showcased on 2014’s Muse, 2016’s Renaissance and 2018’s New Levels New Devils, however there may be an astounding dynamism and variety that’s testomony to the large effort and a spotlight to element poured in. No characteristic feels tacked on, both: every one on the coronary heart of its personal naturally grown composition. Indeed, the primary sound to actually catch your ear — one which ties by means of to the document’s thumping shut — isn’t guitar however the bellow of horns courtesy of New York hip-hop producer Brasstracks.
“Brass is such a triumphant, epic opening and closing sound,” Henson smiles. “They wanted to give us fire.“ And Polyphia wanted to give them, like every guest player, the space to shine. For fans and potential future collaborators, they needed to prove that emotional resonance was more important than nerdy intricacy. “We need to serve the [composition],” Henson stresses. “That’s something that Scott and I will never allow our egos to get in the way of. We care less about showing off our chops than making good music. We want to have songs that stand the test of time.”
So, is there a shared quality that unites the disparate roll call of artists they’ve chosen to bring in?
“The one quality that everyone that we collaborate with [shares] is that they’re sick as fuck,” Henson jokes (sort of). Maybe “audacious as fuck” would be a better description. Every artist featured here has an appetite for working outside the box and a willingness to challenge themselves to keep pace with modern guitar’s most prodigious players. “Polyphia aren’t the most immediately digestible thing,” Henson says, bluntly acknowledging their habit of hitting more notes in a single song than some would across a whole album. “To even entertain the idea of a collaboration with us, people need to be open-minded. They need to have an appreciation for things that are beyond surface-level.”
Naturally, many of the collaborators came from Polyphia’s immediate circle of friends and colleagues. Killstation, for instance, had already featured Henson on the banging “Radiation,” while Brasstracks’ Ivan Jackson is name-checked multiple times during our conversation with real love and respect. There was particular value, all the same, in tapping into the experience and perspective of some bona fide rock legends.
Vai had been one of the boys’ childhood idols, but when a NAMM Jam at the 2020 trade showcase put them on the same stage, they found out the admiration was mutual. In an interview with Guitar World, he subsequently named Henson one of the contemporary six-stringers taking the instrument to the next level: “Tim is exploring new grounds. I’m seeing an evolution in a direction that I didn’t… that I couldn’t even see coming.” Henson gleefully reciprocates the sentiment: “That was fuckin’ awesome: a moment with our guitar hero acknowledging us!”
[Photo by Lindsey Byrnes]
Even more eye-opening were the sessions with Moreno, and his openness to sharing ideas in the studio, not just with the band, but their songwriting buddy and esteemed rapper lil aaron, as well. “With pop and rap, there could be 20 people in a room and everyone’s ideas are welcome,” Henson reflects. “A lot of rock dudes are less open to interjection. We were surprised to see how much Chino enjoyed lil aaron being there and how open he was to take on board other people’s suggestions.”
With familiarity having been sacrificed at the altar of innovation and ambition, though, will fans be as open to this new era of Polyphia? On this tour, no RTYWD tracks featuring vocals were aired, not because there was any fear of backlash, they explain, but to reserve the big reveal for the arrival of their painstakingly crafted studio versions. A clearer indication of the band’s thought process can be gleaned from the sequencing of the album’s advance singles, with relatively conservative instrumentals “Neurotica” and “Playing God” kick-starting the cycle before the full tracklist dropped alongside the brilliantly bonkers “ABC.”
“That was an us decision,” Henson admits. “‘Playing God’ was the first song we had dropped since 2019. We needed to reel back in our fanbase, to rally the troops.” “Neurotica,” he explains, was another fan-service song. “You’re getting fast, you’re getting great melodies, you’re getting instrumental. Plus, it’s a bopper,” he adds, emphasizing the importance of riling up the fanbase before smacking them in the face with such an unapologetically poppy third offering. A mischievous grin. “I guess ‘ABC’ was a way to let everybody know that we’re back on our bullshit.”
AS HEADY AS IT IS HAVING Polyphia unpack their complex musical process, they’re every bit as engaging when setting their instruments aside. Candid recollections of last week’s AP photo shoot feel like proof of that. Wrapped in more layers than even their densest compositions, the boys were shoved into a stretch limo in an anonymous Los Angeles warehouse. The problem is that these kinds of warehouses don’t come with air conditioning. And it’s not possible to spark the engine to turn on the car’s without the fear of carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Man, that was hot,” Henson grins, reliving the well-dressed ordeal. “But it was cool.”
A pointed appreciation of what’s on-trend is the last piece of the Polyphia puzzle. Keen aesthetic focus is part of that, with at least 14 visual artists — one for each of the 12 tracks, two typographers and outfit sculptor Nusi Quero providing music video props — tapped for just this album. “Everybody likes things that look cool,” Henson rolls his shoulders. “If it didn’t look cool, people probably wouldn’t check it out.” An on-point internet presence helps, too. Despite being “more Boomer than Zoomer” when it comes to specific app updates nowadays, Henson emphasizes that they still think deeply about online presentation, having stopped looking to “igno-rappers like Lil Pump doing dumb shit online” for influence, in favor of higher-profile figures like Future, “who’ll put the album art online, and that’s it.”
[Photo by Lindsey Byrnes]
While it’s tempting to see Polyphia’s particular brand of extroversion as a reaction to the hyper-conservatism ripping through their native Texas, too, Henson is reluctant to give weight to such simplistic analysis. Referring back to offerings like 2019’s “Look But Don’t Touch” video — where they posed as Mormon missionaries entering an afterlife that’d make Lil Nas X jealous — Henson admits that may once have been the case. “But these days, we don’t feel particularly attached to any kind of political message,” he explains. “We want to keep it about the music — the aesthetic and sonic qualities of what we do — rather than pushing people’s buttons.”
Far more pivotal is the willingness to tap into their colorful personalities as readily as their mind-bending skill sets.
“A lot of that is just trying to embrace ourselves as people, and to be ourselves,” Henson gestures. Indeed, it’s something the band have long struggled with. But following this tour, they’ve found real confidence in the endless hours of prep and practice put in. “For that hour-and-a-half onstage, we’re owning it,” he asserts. For Polyphia, hiding under a rock isn’t an option.
“It really helps to have three motherfuckers who are your best friends doing it with you, too,” LePage adds. “Half of my [mindset] is the confidence that comes from playing with my bandmates. The other half is self-doubt. Fortunately, having my friends there means confidence wins out.” Henson nods: “Maybe a lot of the guys in these other bands aren’t peacocking around because they don’t have their friends to do it with them.”
That leads to the ultimate question facing Polyphia: Does it feel like they have got what it takes to bring real guitar music back to the forefront of popular culture?
“I’d say that Machine Gun Kelly did that,” Henson says with a playful grin. “MGK is the father of guitar music! Seriously, though, guitar is so prevalent right now. Look at MGK, WILLOW, acts like Internet Money and Lemonade. Guitar itself has been making a comeback. We’re just doing what we do. We exist in a time that we exist in. We don’t want to take credit for something that’s happening anyway.”
LePage struggles even to see the logic of the question. “It’s weird,” he narrows his eyes. “For me, guitar music has never not been cool.”
More pointedly, while there are plenty of acts right now who love to pose with their six-string and can strum a few chords, there surely are none cracking the mainstream (or anywhere, frankly) who can play their instruments like Polyphia. Has there been a band who’ve been able to traverse the worlds of rock and pop, making shred seem this cross-culturally cool, since Van Halen?
“It’s super easy to be mad corny when you’re doing virtuoso guitar,” Henson speaks frankly. “Off-script, it’s almost corny in itself. But to find the things that are musical about that, and to put it in contexts that aren’t corny, is the real challenge. I think a lot of bands who play that way aren’t really concerned about those things. If you look back, taking in Eddie’s work with Michael Jackson on ‘Beat it,’ maybe the last time it was cool was Van Halen.”
It’s not a bad comparison. It’s also one to which Polyphia are unafraid to live up. Leaving behind their “cult” status to come as far as they already have has only stoked the desire — and the belief — that they can be the biggest band in the world.
“I’d like to say that we want that for ourselves,” Henson declares. “We want to be that household name. More than anything, we want to have the freedom to make whatever kind of music we want, with whoever we want, whether that’s today’s largest stars, legacy acts or newer artists. Getting through the door is just so difficult. We just want access. To get that, you have to grow. At the end of the day, the better things go for us, the more time we have to make dope shit.”
Whatever Polyphia’s next evolution may be, count on it to melt your face and blow your thoughts.
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