ALBUM REVIEW: Be Not Afraid – Polyphia

Going from prog metal wunderkinds to the faces of heavy instrumental music on the world stage, POLYPHIA continue their evolution with a huge swing and a hearty dose of religiously themed dubstep. If you have any interest in the world of math rock and instrumental prog metal then Texas quartet POLYPHIA are bound to be on your radar. From groundbreaking early work in the shredding progressive metal scene to collaborations with Chino Moreno and Steve Vai, POLYPHIA try and break free of their niche on their latest full-length Be Not Afraid with less of a focus on shredding guitars and more dense electronic textures and samples lifted from evangelical preachers.

While the band’s previous album presented POLYPHIA at their most diverse and accessible, Be Not Afraid is based around a single, dedicated sound that permeates the entire record. Opening track Let There Be Light sets up expectations by weaving the band’s usual intricate guitar parts back and forth between overwhelming, distorted 808 hits and ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS style pitched up vocal samples. There are enough cool ideas on this opening track to catch the attention of someone wandering past a live set at Download or scrolling through reels on Instagram, but the virtuoso guitar work that made POLYPHIA a big name gets a little lost between the blown-out bass hits.

Be Not Afraid makes for a fascinating comparison to POLYPHIA’s 2018 breakout record New Levels, New Devils, particularly when looking at the two albums’ approach to production. Whereas New Levels, New Devils had a brilliantly crisp and clear sound, perfect for music nerds to pick through songs and learn each intricate track note by note, tracks like Screwtape and Mark Of The Beast chop, obscure, and bury the band’s parts so far under layers of dubstep bass drops and religious ramblings that they’re almost indecipherable. While Be Not Afraid has some of its own hard-hitting moments, the bass-heavy, fuzzy production often leaves the impressive instrumental sections feeling a little foggy.

Despite not being as clear-cut as their previous efforts, Be Not Afraid does have plenty of its own charms and tracks that stand out amongst the band’s discography. Lead single Can You Feel It really plays to the album’s strengths, managing to balance gospel vocal chops with memorable guitar work and groovy programmed drums, letting guitarists Tim Henson and Scotty LePage flex the virtuosity they’re known for while stretching the band’s creative legs. The few moments that Be Not Afraid opens up and lets the band show off, the album reveals a vibrant and unique sound somewhere between KENNY BEATS and UNPROCESSED.

While the distorted 808 hits and electronic elements can give Be Not Afraid an extra punch in its best moments, these same techniques can become meaningless when they’re overused. On the track They Know Not What They Do for example, the aggressive filtering and side-chained bass hits work when used sparingly earlier in the track but end up as a flaccid mess when used to try and boost the energy near the end. Similarly, the closing track Fear God aims for a sense of glorious melodrama which makes sense in the dynamic first half but becomes muddy and underwhelming when turned up to eleven for the big finish. At its best Be Not Afraid does critique the bright and overwhelming feel of evangelical megachurches but often the album ends up feeling bloated and flabby.

Be Not Afraid is a bold swing for a band like POLYPHIA, abandoning their crisp and clear sound for something brash and new. While the vision is clear and there are several moments that shine, the album often forgets what made the band interesting in the first place, losing intricate guitar shredding in layers of distortion.

Rating: 4/10

Be Not Afraid is out now via Rise Records. 

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