Genre : Instrumental progressive metal, Trap rap, Alternative pop, Math-rock,
R&B, Fusion funk
Released : October 28th, 2022
Label : Rise Records
FFO : Animals As Leaders, Chon, Strawberry Girls
Polyphia have definitely come a long way.
From their early years of relatively underground nerdy instrumental progressive metal to their now chart-topping fusion of progressive metal/math-rock and modern hip-hop.
Back when I first discovered them during the days of their 2014 debut full-length "Muse", despite really enjoying some select tracks I remember thinking to myself "why would I listen to these guys when I could listen to Animals As Leaders, Chon, Scale The Summit, Pomegranate Tiger etc, etc...".
Back then, I felt like they didn't really have any major distinct features that set them apart from other technical, guitar-oriented instrumental prog metal music enough to justify listening to their material all that much aside from having a more upbeat, "standard tuning" take on the style instead of being part of the djent crowd.
Well, saying that this has changed would be a massive understatement given how Polyphia have developed such a unique sound and approach to virtuose guitar music.
Their fusion of guitar-driven technical music with more "mainstream" styles of music, mainly trap rap, has indisputably changed the way guitar is being perceived in the current landscape of both modern commercial music and progressive rock/metal, and no matter how you feel about the result, that is something Polyphia can only be lauded for.
In my eyes, 2018's "New Levels, New Devils" was when Polyphia truly found their "thing", that special spark that indeed propulsed them to a whole new level by writing some insanely complex guitar arrangements and mixing that up with bossa-nova, classical guitar, 808-heavy suave trap beats with both Clay's on drum and bass duties embodying those instrumentals and becoming simultaneously their backbone and the "special sauce" that takes them, well... To the next level.
On "Remember That You Will Die", Polyphia take the genre fusion further than ever before, trading "NLs, NDs" 's star-studded cast of guitar virtuoso features for a much more varied list of guest artists, resulting in an album that pretty much feels like a stylistical mixed bag with Polyphia' s steady presence as a chameleonic instrumental progressive rock/metal band still at its core throughout.
From the jazzy and funky "Genesis" and "The Audacity" respectively featuring Brasstracks and Anomalie, the surprisingly infectious math-rocky bubblegum pop hit "ABC" featuring Sophia Black to the emo trap "Memento Mori" featuring Killstation and the more hip-hop inclined gangsta rap of "Fuck Around And Find Out" (feat. $not) and R&B "Chimera" (feat. Lil West) built around Vildhjarta-inspired riffs which can also be found on the more alternative metal cut "Bloodbath" featuring Deftones frontman Chino Moreno ; there's pretty much something for everyone here, whether it's established prog heads or hip-hop heads finding a gateway into more rock-oriented music or hell, even K-pop/J-pop stans lured in by Sophia Black's performance on "ABC".
While Polyphia attract a lot of contreversy at times due to their unusual genre mash-ups, sparking up gatekeeping reactions among elitists, I personally think that is unquestionably a good thing and it's exactly why you see so much press talking about this band and how they are spearheading the musical evolution of progressive music and rekindling the mainstream appeal of "guitar music" by shaking things up.
However, "Remember You Will Die" creates a bit of a strange situation in which Polyphia are both at the forefront of this record, but also, depending on the track, feel like they are just a very elaborate backing track and take on the role of beat producer within an album that doesn't necessarily always feel like their own.
It's quite a peculiar sensation which has both positive and negative aspects in my opinion.
Guitarist Tim Henson has said in interviews that they don't consider themselves as a guitar-centric band, that every musician has equal space to shine and do their thing, and while this is true on "RTYWD" it also makes for a listening experience that doesn't always feel very balanced.
Like I mentioned earlier, Polyphia take the backseat quite a lot on their own album and while it makes sense for more vocal-focused tracks, on tracks like "Memento Mori" for instance, it doesn't feel like Polyphia are making that big of a contribution even though there's clearly is a lot going on instrumentally, the result just doesn't translate that too well.
And then on the tracks where the band are just among themselves or on fully instrumental tracks, Polyphia tend to stick to what you would expect from them and their past catalogue, except maybe for the futuristic sounding "Neurotica",which creates a bit of an awkward contrast with the enveloppe-pushing genre-bending that occurs otherwise.
I think that this could be the insight into one of the album's biggest shortcomings : that Polyphia might have relied too much on the diverse cast of guest features to push their sound forwards while not really changing their own sound and songwriting to match that change they've brought forward.
That being said, when it works, it works wonders and the overall album is still incredibly entertaining and forward-thinking, it's just frustrating to see these weak points tarnish what could've otherwise been an entirely flawless release.
Ironically, I feel like this sentiment can be felt when you look at the album's closing track "Ego Death" featuring guitar hero Steve Vai.
After experiencing an album that is for the most part, rich with musical diversity, its conclusion kinda feels just like one big flex due to the guest star being featured, but the track itself doesn't embody that forward-thinking, boundary-pushing ethic Polyphia seemed to have embarked on in recent years, if anything, it's quite the antithesis of it and makes Polyphia seem as though they are still stuck in the past despite claiming otherwise the rest of the time.
Overall, despite all of my criticisms, "Remember That You Will Die" is a really fun and satisfyingly good-sounding record and every guest feature brings their own vibe and style to the album's soundscape, making it perhaps one of the progressive rock/metal albums with the most variety to it in recent times.
Despite its flaws, I believe "RMTYWD" is definitely a step in the right direction for Polyphia's experimentation and limit-testing with instrumental rock music that successfully bridges the gap between niche instrumental progressive metal and mainstream commercial music and I can only hope that Polyphia keep improving and perfecting this approach to the genre in the future.
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