Polyphia In Concert
Anyone who thinks they know what to expect from the prog-metal genre hasn't yet heard Polyphia. The Dallas-based group is primarily an instrumental band with some familiar reference points — Seattle group Minus the Bear's burbling math-rock riffing, glacial electronic textures, and more evocative folk fingerpicking — mixed in with funky rhythmic edges and bluesy guitar work. The 2017 single "LIT" even emphasizes jagged electric guitar riffs over plusher electronic beats.
Polyphia's 2018 album, New Levels New Devils, goes even further into uncharted territory. Opening track "Nasty" boasts intricate guest work from Jason Richardson (a guitarist known for his work with Born of Osiris and Chelsea Grin), while up-and-coming vocalist Cuco adds vocals on "So Strange." Popular single "G.O.A.T.," meanwhile, shimmers with rhythmic curlicues and latticework-like riffs that combine to create a bustling soundscape. The end result is that Polyphia — which takes its name from the word "polyphony," a musical term to describe sound built around multiple melodies — feels even more impossible to categorize.
That kind of boundary-bumping is built into the band's DNA. Guitarists Scott LePage and Timothy Henson originally formed Polyphia in 2010 while still in high school. Although the duo possesses guitar hero influences — the former is into Stevie Ray Vaughan, while the latter favors Jimi Hendrix — they also appreciate other genres, including electronic music and hip-hop. Clay Gober became bassist in 2012, while drummer Clay Aeschliman linked up with the group in 2016.
With this lineup locked into place, Polyphia exhibit the same precision live as they do on record, although they augment their focused performances with elaborate light shows and dramatic, crowd-pleasing crescendos and witty between-song banter. They've already opened for Coheed and Cambria, Between the Buried and Me, the Contortionist, and CHON, and are bona fide globe-trotters who have toured to places such as the U.K., Australia, and Japan.
