Few bands underwent as dramatic a transformation as Polyphia in the metal scene. Guitar World documents the Texas-born band’s journey from deathcore beginnings to pioneering a hybrid sound that defies traditional genre classifications.
Polyphia Went From Death Metal to Drake
Polyphia’s story begins in the suburbs of Plano, Texas. Guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage lived just five minutes apart and found common ground in their love for heavy music. They drew initial inspiration from death metal and deathcore, particularly bands like Whitechapel and Oceano. Their 2011 demo ‘Resurrect’ showed their technical prowess through intense shredding and blast beats. Their musical direction shifted when mainstream radio and hip-hop, particularly Drake, began influencing their creative process.
“I discovered Drake,” Tim Henson recalls. “And to this day, right now, I listen to Drake every day. I know every lyric to every song. So it was Drake and rap and hip-hop and just generally things on the radio. In fact, that’s where most of the songs on Muse come from. They’re based on popular songs from 2014 that were on the radio. We’d pick out favorites and try to write over them.”
The band revealed their transformation with their 2014 release ‘Muse.’ They began incorporating elements of pop, funk, and electronic music into their guitar-driven framework. This evolution was a big shift in their approach to composition. The group, featuring bassist Clay Gober and drummer Clay Aeschliman, created music that merged technical guitar skills with contemporary pop and hip-hop sensibilities.
Polyphia’s Current Identity and Future Plans
Polyphia’s approach to instrumentation sets them apart. Henson explains their method clearly: “If you were to take the guitars off and then add vocals to what’s playing, it would just sound like whatever genre of music it is we’re doing. The guitar is the only guitar-y thing about Polyphia. The rest is just humans playing programmed parts.” This perspective creates a sound that feels both familiar and revolutionary.
Polyphia now stands at a crossroads. “It’s not really cool to be in a metal band because they don’t make any money,” Henson stated to Guitar.com. Their latest developments point to another evolutionary phase. The upcoming material promises to be “heavy” and features collaborations with metal icons like Serj Tankian from System of a Down and Babymetal. So, it’s not fair to categorize them as metal, but you can still expect ‘heavier’ music from the band.
