I love the fact a band with no singer is blowing up. It’s fuckin amazing that they can entertain and keep peoples attention off of just their playing abilities alone.
I feel like one of the reasons why I love Polyphia's music so much is because it feels as if the guitars are having a conversation with each other. It's almost as if they are telling you a story because of how well it blends and embellishes itself.
@@fatshady5714 This is what i hear in all "Good" music. a conversation being had, a story being told, either way, its an amazing occurrence, when a musician is able to relay such a beautifully arranged, sonic masterpiece.
thats any prog rock.. go back about 30 years and start listening to some prog rock from 2000’s.. this kinda stuff was all over the place… Dream Theatre was birthed from that whole era. No vocals.. just communication through music. its awesome
i dont feel any of this. For me its just "look how fast i can ply" 2020's edition. I dont hear or feel stories or emotions when i listen to this. its just fast and a bit different and not easy. I feel thats the message too. I feel pain, love, rhythm, ideas and emotion much more in "slower" pieces of music which let u breath. Leaving out some notes out is very underrated these days.
Something I appreciate about you is that, usually I "wish I could play like that guy", but with you, I wish I could hear and understand music like you. Watching your videos is so educational while also being entertaining. Thanks again Mike.
If you don't understand what you're doing and you can't create it first in your head, you can't implement it in practice. If you don't have the chops to implement what you came up with, you can't make good music. Understanding and playing music like "that guy" are both important.
(It was "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria you were thinking about) Somebody pointed out brilliantly in another comment section something that took their creative expression and planning with this video to another place. They pointed out how when the video starts, we see each member of Polyphia sitting in that black throne, wearing brighter clothes and being the center of the shot. As they progress, each person sits in the throne and the scene changes or the "floor" of the building goes up another level. This goes on until finally we are on the roof or the pinnacle (both of the building, but also the guitar as an instrument and as levels of talent and respect), and here we now see Steve Vai sitting in that throne, all the gentlemen are in flat black outfits and lumped together standing off as loyal supporting subjects of their King. The Top Floor, The Pinnacle. The whole thing is almost an homage to Vai. (They pointed out some of this, I added some things like noticing the clothes change, but it's an amazing theory none the less)
For those of you who don't know or necessarily like Steve Vai, you should know that he worked on the Halo 2 soundtrack - he is the lead guitar in basically all of the major tracks.
Anyone else shed a tear when Vai stepped in like Gandolf and took a magical sequence into the audible dimension of heaven? I mean there are few moments in all of music that achieve this level. This song is in my soul now.
@@anonymous.7585 So in the Guitar World Steve Vai is a magical sort of player. Never really lumped in with the others much like Jeff Beck, Zappa etc... So these young dudes in Polyphia have that same approach and respect of the art of guitar compositions, talent and flair. I feel that watching Steve with the future maetros was like watching Gandolf stand in a battlefield with an unstoppable army.
The more i listen to Vai's part the more i appreciate it. The first time i listened, i was waiting for him to unleash a crazy flurry of fingers to shred with the polyphia guys. Instead i was a bit disappointed by his part. But after listening to it again, i realized how beautifully melodic and restrained it was yet still extremely technical in a style that is unlike polyphia. And the "joint shifting" technique with his bends... so cool
agreed. I realized the dude was operating on a higher dimension and only after repeated viewings has it struck me how profoundly beautiful his parts are. Guy really is the king.
I think he went in knowing Tim and Scott were going to do some wild riffs. As I’ve gotten older, I more and more appreciate the idea of master guitarists “making their guitar sing”. That’s the vibe I got from Vai’s part. He could’ve riffed like a madman, I was also expecting such. But yea i really appreciate his part more because it diverges from what we would expect. This song is wonderful and interesting to pick apart.
It's also crazy that Tim and scott effectively re-wrote his solo. They talked about it on one of their interviews, they pulled it apart and re engineered it completely to sound like it does. And they broke Steve's speakers in the process.
Yet...it IS math rock. It is squeezing as many notes into a tiny sonic space as possible. It is a loss of melody due to a desperate attempt to impress. The cold and clinical superseding the soul.
I love that it starts with them ascending up, hitting the roof and meeting Vai, and then at the end demonstrating that all they do is linked to the Blues origins as they look up in awe at the raw brass playing physically elevated above them ^_^ Beautiful video choices!
Steve Vai showing that there are still levels to the game. What incredible and imaginative playing he laid down on this track while showing that you don't have to sacrifice soul and feel for technical wizardry.
It is quite literally psychedelic; the embodiment of a journey you go on leading up to Ego Death while on hallucinogenics. The hollow sound of Tim's playing in the beginning and the white room quickly builds from something sterile and mundane into something alive and dynamic with different textures and colors, but fundamentally doesn't change as they reach enlightenment by climbing higher through the building. Then Vai starts playing at which point there is a crescendo into the wailing throes of death followed by comparative quiet. Then the trumpet, singing as you enter into "heaven", a greater understanding of the world. You've died, but you're more whole than you were at the beginning. What a masterpiece.
Polyphia is amazing because they took a genre that was difficult to digest for 99% of listeners and made it simple enough to follow for the masses but still egregiously difficult to play on guitar at the same time. I love how they'll literally HAND YOU the root notes and then follow it with something insane. The formula for them is very obvious root chord followed by ridiculous lick(s) then back to the next root chord and follow that up with another ridiculous lick or two - lather, rinse, repeat. Sounds amazing, not too difficult for untrained ears to enjoy and still incredibly impressive to the trained musicians as well.
Vai said in Guitar World that Polyphia cut up his parts into something completely unrecognizable from what he sent. Yet... He was still cool with it. Talk about Ego Death.
It’s like mr. Vai is doing more with less. He makes the most out of every note he plays. Such a great juxtaposition to the complexity and awesomeness of Polyphia
Totally agree. One of my fav Vai things is just this. I will always love that first note he hangs on in The Riddle at the very beginning. It’s like a bar and a half of one note, yet you instantly know it’s Vai.
I've written this elsewhere, but I really think Steve Vai plays this with as much or more feel as he's ever played...anything. And I think it's a sign of his greatness and his respect for Polyphia.
I love that this group feels like dream theater, days of the new, pink floyd, jimmy Hendrix, Stevey ray vaughn, apocalyptica. It’s just the vibe through out all compositions and allows all the group to breath. Just stellar and a rarity on this planet!!!
Clay's drum playthroughs collectively have millions of views and he's widely respected by modern musicians, I don't think underrated is the word you're looking for.
@@stillwaitingforblackmetalr2503 I mean if we’re going to talk about the most underrated and untalked about instrument in a regular band, it’s most definitely the bass. Which is sad because the bass is such an important, integral piece to any song.
He has a lot of other drummers helping him co wrote these songs. So much of what they do is collab with other musicians that don’t get credit either it’s interesting.
The most popular comment on every video with this band is people saying “the drummer deserves more cred!” He gets more than their virtuoso guitarists ffs
@@yfz450rider39 The collaboration point is very true. Tim put out a "making of" video for Playing God a couple of weeks ago and he makes no secret about it. You should watch it, it's fascinating. Even in this track, I'd wager the piano part in the intro is Summer Swee-Singh who caught Tim's attention with a "fan cover" several years ago.
@@microchrist6122 That's not true. He even talks about how he came up with his beat to this song in a single day. I bet what you're thinking of is when he first joined the band, he had to replicate and even rework some tracks that were already created by the former drummer. They talk about this stuff a lot.
The *beep* x 4 at 15:33 is an old Jeff Beck move. Adjust your bridge pickup closer to the strings but not so close it touches them. Now tap the string onto a pole piece. That's it. Note: Steve Vai has a hot rail type pickup in that position so he has a little more surface area to work with.
Their music is so dense and complicated that it never occurred to me how simple the underlying chord progression was until you explained it here. Great breakdown!
Agree 100%. I never even thought about breaking this down. I could feel the progression in my soul but didnt care to examine it. I just enjoyed it. So effing good. The future of guitar rock.
Clay on the drums said in an interview with Steve Vai that he came up with those drum parts in one day, and for most songs he does them directly as he hears the guitar parts, in the studio on the day of recording.. crazy
Weird cause Tim was saying on a behind the scenes on his TH-cam that clay gets a lot of help writing these songs from other drummers and they work them out for months…
@@microchrist6122 If you check out the video call they did with Steve, posted yestersay on their channel, the part where Clay explains it is a little after the 23:30 mark 👍
Can we talk about how perfectly the two contrasting styles melt together, and polyphia just, lets Steve put his sweeping legato style front and center while they use their signature polytrhythmic style to back him in this glorious mix.. I think around 5 minutes is almost the most symphonic way to build and fade... So gosh darn beautiful.
Polyrhythmic? Polyphia pretty much only does 4/4, probably out of caution not wanting to melt too many listener brains. Check out Sungazer for polyrhythms.
@@rookiebeotch Not to mention, Vai didn't really do any sweep legatos, he stuck to his more experimental whammy bar stuff that sounded way fucking better paired with Polyphia
@@rookiebeotch not talking polyrhythm as it applies to meter, it's all the syncopation and such. Still polyrhythmic... Sungazer is great, I also appreciate Tool for the same reason.
Something he may like to learn is that Tim wrote a TON of songs by taking the chord progressions of popular songs, putting them in midi, going crazy, and then that's he polyphia song. He even admitted it.
@@DurealzForReal You seem like a charming individual. I post something informative and get called a prick. Imagine if this was the only video of him I saw? Glad you took the effort to reply and bump up my comment! 🤣
@@jendiart what tim said about look what you made me do is so good - the whole bit about just because you have a negative reaction to something doesn't mean it's not objectively good
Love watching how into the music this guy is, I don't mind when he pauses a lot because he's in depth with it, this seems like Christmas morning excitement for him. Great video.
I watch a shit ton of guitar teaching vids but yours are the ones I always enjoy and learn the most from. Your honest style and knowledge , the fact you talk about production techniques make this in my opinion the best site going. Thank you Michael
That's what I thought! I don't remember if it's on this song or another one (with an acoustic guitar) but I definitely remember hearing echoes of some famous spanish singer of my childhood. But rock. It's so great to hear this style istg. These guys are truly creative.
You'd probably enjoy his interview from yesterday with the guys from the band. He explains how he first thought he only had audio to come up with for the song and stacked some bend harmonies together.. then when he learned there would be a video for the song he started practicing multiple different bends done at the same time with different fingers, which he calls "joint shifting", to reproduce those stacked bends in a live setting. Vai is a special beast
@@HOSTILEWORKPLACE Its on Music is Win channel. He talks about it here: th-cam.com/video/Ks0EeVGtQCM/w-d-xo.html And the interview is here: th-cam.com/video/VlO_Uly1H-o/w-d-xo.html
Having listened to lots of Vai, the biggest takeaway I get is that this is the condensed, straight to the core, recognizable in a thousand voices sound of Steve Vai. And knowing that what he sent to them is different than what is in the track speaks to Polyphia's ability to say "why did we ask steve vai to collab?" For a voice that no one else has, and absolutely nailing it. It's a gorgeous love letter where his own sound gets sent back to him as fan fiction that works so well. If anyone has any other channels that speak to the voices of other artists, would love to get that too. Some are so very recognizable they may as well be their own voices.
I love how much you love Clay A and I share this love. The entire group are phenomenal but man...clays use of space, making and taking absolutely makes every lick of difference in their music and I'll die on that hill
That song shot right to the top of my favorite all time songs. I almost shed a tear at the end when the video is circling the three of them. That shot and sound is out of this world.
By far my favorite part of the song. Like all the buildup finally resolves and comes together for one final climax, and the end always comes far too shortly after that. Seriously, it feels like that one final moment represents the entire song; that's the final moment of clarity just before death.
I so liked this reaction! Thanks! Your genuine excitement, your understanding of the piece, but also your bowing before where they just leave earth. So good man!
I love how excited you are for polyphia. You can tell composition and voicing in these groups (periphery, animals as leaders, polyphia, etc) is paramount. Then sprinkle in the mastery of their instruments and you get these insane pieces. Keep up the content brother.
what i find remarkable about Tim's playing is the effortlessness... it's like he's totally in control and never really struggling to play and repeat those parts
It only looks like it, though. He said in a stream that in the scene with his part when he was in the throne he damn near had a mental breakdown because couldn't get it right
love the way they all are having such intense conversations with their instruments and each other at the same time. the way the parts entwine is just perfect, and i love how steve moves with his guitar. they're just so in sync with each other and oh my god, when tim, scottie and steve came together shivers went down my spine.
@@MarkMassengale Steve vai's Slides comes from exeptional strikes and timings coordinated with whammy adjustments. basically its a specific force played on a string while he slides he utilises a slight bend and adjusts it with the whammy to stay linear instead of just one way. Its very hard to do. His whammy pedal is actually more cry coordinated most of the time, but just gets used also with pinch harmonics since they even require bigger precision. i would say its just 1 in a million guitarists who can do it. never heared anyone doing it better than steve vai. I am practicing it myself too but even after 10 years it stays difficult while i do play stuff like dream theater genre.
It's impressive how you add more layers. More than just another reaction video, you walk through these brilliantly. You point out things I didn't notice the first time, and definitely made me appreciate this more. Always educational and entertaining, and I love your enthusiasm for music!
Palmisano is just the G.O.A.T of song react videos! It's such a pleasure to watch him all excited about a song, and having this really engaging conversation with us about its elements in a very accessible way. He's a great educator and a person really really passionate about music! Love from Brazil.
been loving polyphias past couple albums, love the experimentation and digital aspects theyve added while still making the instruments the star of each song.
Growing up and idolizing Vai and Satriani when I started learning, and then to see these kids who probably weren't even alive when I was in college shredding with Vai and showing a particular style of virtuosic musicianship that in large part didn't previously exist is epic.
Really awesome you pulled the chord progression out, Tim Henson has said in interviews he usually starts with a relatively simple progression and builds out from there so the insane arpeggios actually follow a recognizable sequence and cements the "feel" of the song so the band isn't just playing random sweeps and stuff. Good stuff as always!
I just discovered Polyphia yesterday and ive been today hearing them for 6 hours straight and seeing interviews of Tim , and im so amazed as a drummer of alternative rock, as someone that plays guitar (mediocre) and just curious about music im so shocked how this is so different, your explanation helped so much in understanding but im so shocked but their style, im just so anxious about all the things they do, like i cant relate it to anything from my past, is so awesome !
I have been watching tons of reacts to this song and I think you were one of the first react channels I found to polyphyia years ago. I was WAITING for someone to call out that slide at 11:16. I think that little stunt is one of the coolest sounds in the entire track, and I'm so glad you gave it attention. Love your vids sir! Fantastic stuff
Every time I listen to Ego Death, there are 2 things I *have* to go back and listen to multiple times: Scott's repeating upslide and Steve's whammy-bar/pick scratching whistle thing. By far my favourite parts of the song.
Thank you so much for reviewing this!! You introduced me to this band and they are amazing. Mesmerizing is one of the best words I’ve heard to describe them.
My first visit - astounded by Polyphia after my Guitarist magazine featured them, and now discovered your fascinating analysis of the basic elements which such virtuosity embellishes and magnifies. Been playing guitar for 65 years (and I wasn't born with one!) and still aspire!! Thank you so much Mike, that was so enjoyable.
This guy has one of the best guitar lessons you can purchase. I learned more from guitargate than I have in 25 years of playing on my own. It took me to the next level and I still benefit from it today.
Thank you. When you hear something you like, sometimes you want to know why you like it. As someone with limited musical instruction, I needed to know why this hooked me. The brain knows what it likes, but not always why.
Hey man, I’ve been watching your fantastic channel for a while now & thought of telling you that I find it fantastic, you’re communicating music in such a professional yet a fun way. Thanks much, keep it up!
When you played the chord progression in the first few minutes made me realise it’s sultans of swing by dire straits. Always amazing how you can build massively different songs on the same chord progression.
I really appreciate this video. I know nothing about music composition but you help people grasp what keeps you captivated in the music. The layering overtop of the simpler stuff, no technical talk there but easy to understand. I almost see it as three layers, the basic chord progressions, then they throw some flair on top of that, then when they want things to climax it starts driving forward then resolves back into a variation of the basic chord progression. Maybe I'm reading that wrong but it's what I hear. Their outros for their songs are always so fascinating too, they know how to put a punctuation mark on the whole thing without going nuts, it's usually something quite simple yet feels like it's making some sort of statement about the music.
Man, I crack up every time you say you're going to just let the song play. We all know you won't make it three seconds before you get excited about something else. I do the same thing when I show music to my son, which drives him nuts because he just wants to hear the song. We watched one of your videos together and between your pauses to talk about the song and my pauses to talk about how you listen, I'm pretty sure he wanted to shove me off the nearest cliff. Love it.
the song is super catchy. Even though the chords are normal pop, the voicing and variations is what surprises me and makes me smile. It's crazy how tight the bass and drums are. Without their foundation, it wouldn't be balanced or nearly as interesting. When vai does the cricket sound, it takes me back to 80's and hits a nostalgic bone.
Thank you Michael. YT suggested again made great job of suggesting me your video. I can feel you. I adore and respect the way you do it here. I hope you keep on going and doing what you do. Much love from Poland!
After being a lurker (but subscriber!) on this channel for a couple of months, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this reaction puts you in a class of your own. While every other “reactor” gets hung up on the (superb) technical playing, you are the only one that manages to look behind that and actually tell us something about the structure of the song. The tension between a “simple pop” chord structure supporting excellent virtuosity. I salute you! And am off to be a lifetime member!
Yes. The clean section at 12:45 is one of the smoothest guitar phrases I've ever heard. I play this song at least once a day and it never gets old. It literally plays like a superhero movie
This is the best video analysis-reaction of Ego Death i've seen. Not making an overreaction of amazement and instead making a well constructed explanation about the song (and yet acknowledging these guys technical abilities like 11:02 )
I was more impressed by it but then I learned that Tim and band edited what he submitted for it and cut it all up and reassembled it to what they wanted.
Steve Vai plays them frets like a violin. Absolute magician. Kudos to the Polyphia guys, what a talented bunch, this piece is simply an projectile ejaculation of musical perfection, if I was to put it mildly. Absolutely stunning!
And the reentrance at 8:10 feels like that part in a superhero movie where the superhero has arrived. This is just perfection. These guys made guitar heroes cool again like they brought guitar soloing back in such a modernized way. They're definitely changing the face of modern music and inspiring the next generation of young guitarists
To break it down even further it usually goes in 3's. They also love long phrases. The first pass is to get your ear familiar with it. The second pass throws a little sauce on it, the third full virtuosity. So there's something for everyone. They also do what TOOL does by starting with a motif and squeezing out every possible iteration of it throughout the song. They just have different skill sets and approaches. Either way, it's a mark of a great band and they are prodigies. Another cool thing I haven't heard anyone else bring up. Clay A. the drummer accents Scottie's solo on the cymbals perfectly. It sounds like it's Scottie's attack on the guitar, but it's Clay A! Such attention to detail, it's insane! Good work catching it Michael!
Between your videos and Rick Beato I think I'm starting to get and even enjoy Polyphia. I think this new music from them is a huge departure from their early work which often left me in the dust I confess. Thank you for your wisdom! 😊
What I love most about this track is how there was all that controversy a while back over Tim Henson talking about "boomer bends" or whatever, and then here comes Steve Vai, a literal boomer, with transcendental and mind-blowing solos and counterpoint composed almost entirely of wild bends and slithery whammy work. That wasn't on accident. This collaboration was a call to everyone to be creative and innovative, like Vai and like Polyphia continue to be. Any musical tool, applied with mastery, can take a song to the next level. I think that's what Tim Henson was really reacting to with his "boomer bends" comments. The bends aren't the issue; rather relying on the same old tricks instead of building new things from them is what he objects to and challenges musicians to move past.
Steve said he recorded some stuff for them and they chopped it up and made it into what you hear on the track. So its not exactly how he imagined it would be on his end. They kept some of his "vai-ness" but its definitely been "polyphormized" to fit their style.
I love your reviews..a honest sort.The drummer is awesome in his use of the high hat! They all are on the same side of the conversation..delicate..but bold statements.And then you throw in the Devil...Steve Vai with his wicked licks and we are off....love it !!!!!
@ 15:50ish that sound comes from banging the strings into the pickups down near the bridge, A perfect circle does it for one note on Judith, It's also in the solo for Cherub Rock at one point. Cool video.
I knew it!! You pointed out the horn at the end. It's the guy from Brasstracks!!! I've seen a ton of people review this and no one seemed to notice! Those guys are INCREDIBLE producers and I could imagine they had a huge part in that super sticky progression. Thanks for doing this. I love your take as a guitarist!
Brilliant review. I would like to add that during Scott's solo , the C chord is inverted C/E , bass plays the E. It is so powerful and one of my favourite parts of the song!!! You will need to listen on headphones or good bass response speakers to hear!!!
First time I've watched one of your vids. I so enjoy your enthusiasm and recognition that this is masterclass. Your explanations are accessible and interesting. Nice job.
Every time I hear a Polyphia song I'm pulled equally in two directions: one side I'm amazed by the flex of the entire band, and in the other I'm bored to tears whereupon my mind wanders to what there is to eat in the fridge.
@Manny Bloom they all sound the same; Clean Ibanez guitars running through cranked compression. There are definitely things I've taken from it and utilize now, and I could probably never play one of these songs myself but it's just not my thing. I grew up in a house with a lot of jazz. My father was a purist with too, the word "fusion" wasn't to be used, let alone played. It's the same with that though: I'm awed by the technique and their grasp of theory, but I would never choose to listen to it for anything beyond academic purposes.
I grew up on Primus and I always loved how they let each instrument have the space to go all out. It’s great to see that Polyphia does that too. Different styles obviously but I will always love a band that uses that formula.
I'm not hearing that "space" to me it sounds very dense and full of everyone going all out too just play as much as they can. But, it was my first listen.
Steve Vai is one of the few technical masters that can express feeling and emotion and knows how to let a song breathe. He doesn't have to "shred" non stop , he's musically brilliant on every level
Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria is the song you were thinking of, killer analysis Mike!
IM SCREAMING AT MY PHONE
@@ScreenTalker I was too LMAO just hit that part!!!!
I can confirm this
Agreed Welcome Home is the one. At the beginning it sounded like you were originally going for the solo bass line from The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
I WAS LEGIT LIKE YELLING IT, like he could hear me xD
Nice of Polyphia to showcase new talents like Vai.
That Vai kid's goin' places
Haaaahaha
I heard he sold his soul to the devil.
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
That Stevie Vai, what a nice little boy
I love the fact a band with no singer is blowing up. It’s fuckin amazing that they can entertain and keep peoples attention off of just their playing abilities alone.
They abilities alone is enough to blowing ordinary people minds and ears.
The music that they play is not easy. 😅
they used to have vocals or something I guess, and eventually decided to just let the music do the talking.... or so I've read
@@SloshJomba698 they've never had vocals
@@AmplifyAmbition New album has guest vocals tho and id argue all the vocal tracks are by far the best.
I've been obsessed with their live album lately. Scotty does a hell of Keeping the crowd hyped between the songs
The horn at the end is the most underrated part of that entire song. It’s just 🤌
perfect ending
You know, in Argentina and probably in Italy as well, 🤌 means what the heck or what do you mean by this? :)
@@Testacabezalots of people use it as a chefs kiss
Horn player from Brasstracks. Check'em out.
@@Testacabeza 🤌
I feel like one of the reasons why I love Polyphia's music so much is because it feels as if the guitars are having a conversation with each other. It's almost as if they are telling you a story because of how well it blends and embellishes itself.
Flawlessly said, and I absolutely agree!
@@fatshady5714 This is what i hear in all "Good" music. a conversation being had, a story being told, either way, its an amazing occurrence, when a musician is able to relay such a beautifully arranged, sonic masterpiece.
I love the idea of music telling a story. In the Hall of the Mountain King, The Nut Cracker, among others.
thats any prog rock.. go back about 30 years and start listening to some prog rock from 2000’s.. this kinda stuff was all over the place… Dream Theatre was birthed from that whole era. No vocals.. just communication through music. its awesome
i dont feel any of this. For me its just "look how fast i can ply" 2020's edition. I dont hear or feel stories or emotions when i listen to this. its just fast and a bit different and not easy. I feel thats the message too. I feel pain, love, rhythm, ideas and emotion much more in "slower" pieces of music which let u breath. Leaving out some notes out is very underrated these days.
Something I appreciate about you is that, usually I "wish I could play like that guy", but with you, I wish I could hear and understand music like you. Watching your videos is so educational while also being entertaining. Thanks again Mike.
If you don't understand what you're doing and you can't create it first in your head, you can't implement it in practice.
If you don't have the chops to implement what you came up with, you can't make good music.
Understanding and playing music like "that guy" are both important.
Totally this.
I wish I could make comments like you
@@GinoVanHoudt haha, just saying what I'm thinking!
Yes.
(It was "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria you were thinking about)
Somebody pointed out brilliantly in another comment section something that took their creative expression and planning with this video to another place. They pointed out how when the video starts, we see each member of Polyphia sitting in that black throne, wearing brighter clothes and being the center of the shot. As they progress, each person sits in the throne and the scene changes or the "floor" of the building goes up another level. This goes on until finally we are on the roof or the pinnacle (both of the building, but also the guitar as an instrument and as levels of talent and respect), and here we now see Steve Vai sitting in that throne, all the gentlemen are in flat black outfits and lumped together standing off as loyal supporting subjects of their King. The Top Floor, The Pinnacle. The whole thing is almost an homage to Vai.
(They pointed out some of this, I added some things like noticing the clothes change, but it's an amazing theory none the less)
Wow! And the reverb on the intro sounds like it is coming from the basement. 😮
100% the riff he was talking about
Thank you! It kept going through my head and I just couldn't place it. 🙌🏽
For those of you who don't know or necessarily like Steve Vai, you should know that he worked on the Halo 2 soundtrack - he is the lead guitar in basically all of the major tracks.
As a dude born in '99 who grew up playing Halo, that was my first introduction to Vai.
2 words. Tender surrender. That was enough
I did not know that! Every day's a school day!! 😝
Anyone else shed a tear when Vai stepped in like Gandolf and took a magical sequence into the audible dimension of heaven? I mean there are few moments in all of music that achieve this level. This song is in my soul now.
Who the fuck is Gandolf? 🙄
@@anonymous.7585 🤓
@@metalpiper Highly informative answer, GandALf would be proud.
@@anonymous.7585 So in the Guitar World Steve Vai is a magical sort of player. Never really lumped in with the others much like Jeff Beck, Zappa etc... So these young dudes in Polyphia have that same approach and respect of the art of guitar compositions, talent and flair. I feel that watching Steve with the future maetros was like watching Gandolf stand in a battlefield with an unstoppable army.
@@metalpiper You've missed the point entirely. Again. I know who Vai is, I own a JEM dummy, you just don't know your wizards...
I love your "grounded", theoretical approach that demystifies this music that looks "beyond theory" to novices. Thank you for decoding this stuff.
Thanks so much! So easy to get down in the weeds. The 1000 ft view is also important.
Fellow WoW player, nice. Enjoy your hunter videos.
@@Guitargate This is exactly it. Thanks for teaching us, Mike!
@@GaminWarlord Thanks a lot!
@@Guitargate If you haven't heard, "Bloodlines", by Buffalo Gospel, you should check it out ASAP!!!
Spiffing example of a constructive analysis that actually elevates the understanding of the fellow musician. Thank you!
Thanks!!
The coheed and Cambria reference is totally relevant
The more i listen to Vai's part the more i appreciate it. The first time i listened, i was waiting for him to unleash a crazy flurry of fingers to shred with the polyphia guys. Instead i was a bit disappointed by his part. But after listening to it again, i realized how beautifully melodic and restrained it was yet still extremely technical in a style that is unlike polyphia. And the "joint shifting" technique with his bends... so cool
agreed. I realized the dude was operating on a higher dimension and only after repeated viewings has it struck me how profoundly beautiful his parts are. Guy really is the king.
That's what I love about him. He doesn't need to rip out an insane solo to make everything sound phenomenal. The man's beyond a master of his craft.
I think he went in knowing Tim and Scott were going to do some wild riffs. As I’ve gotten older, I more and more appreciate the idea of master guitarists “making their guitar sing”. That’s the vibe I got from Vai’s part. He could’ve riffed like a madman, I was also expecting such. But yea i really appreciate his part more because it diverges from what we would expect. This song is wonderful and interesting to pick apart.
It's also crazy that Tim and scott effectively re-wrote his solo. They talked about it on one of their interviews, they pulled it apart and re engineered it completely to sound like it does. And they broke Steve's speakers in the process.
Tim has said he doesn't like it when people say Polyphia does Math Rock because all their stuff is in 4/4 with straightforward chord progressions.
Yet...it IS math rock. It is squeezing as many notes into a tiny sonic space as possible. It is a loss of melody due to a desperate attempt to impress. The cold and clinical superseding the soul.
@@jraelien5798 that is absolutely not what math rock is. This comment is highly incorrect on all levels
They base their genre off their drum patterns, which is trap centred, according to Tim.
@@vexedpixels ??? Yes it is.
@@jraelien5798 Math rock is all about non-standard time signatures. Learn your music.
Steve’s part comes in and I get chills every time. The buildup in the songwriting is so sick
When Steve enters is that the "joint shifting" playing I'm hearing. It's magical 😯
Yea I'm going through some things right now. And every time I hear Steve he brings tears to my eyes
@@timmzzzz88 hope things work out for the better for you. you've got this 👍
fyi steve's part was cut and changed into something different completely
@@zakizaini4754 wrong they cut it then put it back to normal
I love that it starts with them ascending up, hitting the roof and meeting Vai, and then at the end demonstrating that all they do is linked to the Blues origins as they look up in awe at the raw brass playing physically elevated above them ^_^ Beautiful video choices!
Beautiful comment my dude
Steve Vai showing that there are still levels to the game. What incredible and imaginative playing he laid down on this track while showing that you don't have to sacrifice soul and feel for technical wizardry.
vai had 3 studio albums and 6 soundtrack credits before henson was even born. and theyre playing together and both killing it. crazy
But in this creation it's the other guitar player Killin it!
@@jasonochoochoski7442 nah, they’re all killin it. It’s a perfect combination of skill and melody on display amongst the best.
@@amostlyreasonableguy Guthrie Govan wins all.
It is quite literally psychedelic; the embodiment of a journey you go on leading up to Ego Death while on hallucinogenics. The hollow sound of Tim's playing in the beginning and the white room quickly builds from something sterile and mundane into something alive and dynamic with different textures and colors, but fundamentally doesn't change as they reach enlightenment by climbing higher through the building. Then Vai starts playing at which point there is a crescendo into the wailing throes of death followed by comparative quiet. Then the trumpet, singing as you enter into "heaven", a greater understanding of the world. You've died, but you're more whole than you were at the beginning. What a masterpiece.
Don't take the brown acid, maaaaan
I want to trip and listen to music with you. Your summary of the song was so very well said.
That's some Grade A Snoop Dogg philosophy shit right there. 👍
Beautiful words to explain the ego death. It's crazy how attached we are to it and that it feels like dying when it resets
Having mourned the death of my own ego, I agree. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Polyphia is amazing because they took a genre that was difficult to digest for 99% of listeners and made it simple enough to follow for the masses but still egregiously difficult to play on guitar at the same time. I love how they'll literally HAND YOU the root notes and then follow it with something insane. The formula for them is very obvious root chord followed by ridiculous lick(s) then back to the next root chord and follow that up with another ridiculous lick or two - lather, rinse, repeat. Sounds amazing, not too difficult for untrained ears to enjoy and still incredibly impressive to the trained musicians as well.
The last trumpet 🎺 part/scene always got me, perfect way to end it beautifully
Vai said in Guitar World that Polyphia cut up his parts into something completely unrecognizable from what he sent. Yet... He was still cool with it. Talk about Ego Death.
Loved this comment! Lol.... Last two sentences neatly tied up everything that came before.
He was not only cool with it, he shot a video with the band "playing" the chopped up version.
What I read was slightly different. They did that but in the end put it back to his original part.
@@nickmaddalena985 that's what I read too.
That's what it's all about. Mutual ego death.
It’s like mr. Vai is doing more with less. He makes the most out of every note he plays. Such a great juxtaposition to the complexity and awesomeness of Polyphia
Totally agree. One of my fav Vai things is just this. I will always love that first note he hangs on in The Riddle at the very beginning. It’s like a bar and a half of one note, yet you instantly know it’s Vai.
Tim needs to take some notes from him, he does too much too fast
@@tuckerhiggins4336 Steve Vai disagrees
I've written this elsewhere, but I really think Steve Vai plays this with as much or more feel as he's ever played...anything. And I think it's a sign of his greatness and his respect for Polyphia.
Tim makes his guitar dance.
Steve makes his guitar sing.
Different styles, different purposes, and they sound really good together.
I love that this group feels like dream theater, days of the new, pink floyd, jimmy Hendrix, Stevey ray vaughn, apocalyptica. It’s just the vibe through out all compositions and allows all the group to breath. Just stellar and a rarity on this planet!!!
And trust me that’s the short list of bands I could go through
Which tracks would you say remind you of Pink Floyd? I just started listening and haven’t got that. However, I get a huge Rush vibe from them!
Oh no rush for sure. ❤ but it’s nice to hear people seeing the depth of an artist. And if you had to mess with it Pink Floyd machine stands up.
And definitely dream theater
Imagine being so talented that it makes a guitar teacher forget how to play 😂
I love the reaction to Clay coming in on drums. Dude is so talented and super underrated.
Polyphia wouldn't be polyphia without Clay's incredibly tight framework. It's incredible.
@@peetiegonzalez1845 100% agree 👌
Clay's drum playthroughs collectively have millions of views and he's widely respected by modern musicians, I don't think underrated is the word you're looking for.
@@coopers1716 just the regular case of drummers being overlooked. Funny how no one ever mentions the bass player lmao 😂
@@stillwaitingforblackmetalr2503
I mean if we’re going to talk about the most underrated and untalked about instrument in a regular band, it’s most definitely the bass. Which is sad because the bass is such an important, integral piece to any song.
The drummer is just on fire, he needs more cred, thanks for pointing him out Mike. Great video, great analysis 👍
He has a lot of other drummers helping him co wrote these songs. So much of what they do is collab with other musicians that don’t get credit either it’s interesting.
The most popular comment on every video with this band is people saying “the drummer deserves more cred!” He gets more than their virtuoso guitarists ffs
@@microchrist6122 that's far from true
@@yfz450rider39 The collaboration point is very true.
Tim put out a "making of" video for Playing God a couple of weeks ago and he makes no secret about it. You should watch it, it's fascinating.
Even in this track, I'd wager the piano part in the intro is Summer Swee-Singh who caught Tim's attention with a "fan cover" several years ago.
@@microchrist6122 That's not true. He even talks about how he came up with his beat to this song in a single day. I bet what you're thinking of is when he first joined the band, he had to replicate and even rework some tracks that were already created by the former drummer. They talk about this stuff a lot.
The *beep* x 4 at 15:33 is an old Jeff Beck move. Adjust your bridge pickup closer to the strings but not so close it touches them. Now tap the string onto a pole piece. That's it. Note: Steve Vai has a hot rail type pickup in that position so he has a little more surface area to work with.
The most honest and humble guitarist/reviewer I've ever watched. Bravo 🙏🏼
This band is unreal! I love how you break it all down. Subbed!
Thx!!
@@Guitargate no problem. Looking forward to your next video.
I'd love to see a Devin Townsend reaction.. something from the latest album 😊
Their music is so dense and complicated that it never occurred to me how simple the underlying chord progression was until you explained it here. Great breakdown!
Same here. But its facts
Agree 100%. I never even thought about breaking this down. I could feel the progression in my soul but didnt care to examine it. I just enjoyed it. So effing good. The future of guitar rock.
Most of their songs do that!
hearing that from you is pretty cool man! been following you on Facebook since can't remember when
Clay on the drums said in an interview with Steve Vai that he came up with those drum parts in one day, and for most songs he does them directly as he hears the guitar parts, in the studio on the day of recording.. crazy
Weird cause Tim was saying on a behind the scenes on his TH-cam that clay gets a lot of help writing these songs from other drummers and they work them out for months…
@@microchrist6122 Two things can be true at the same time. It could be in this instance, Clay managed the drums all on his lonesome.
@@microchrist6122 If you check out the video call they did with Steve, posted yestersay on their channel, the part where Clay explains it is a little after the 23:30 mark 👍
@@baldbearded9601 luke holland also released a video showing how he wrote the drums for one thier songs
he mentions he helped write 6 songs on the album,
Steve has the effortless touch of a master who's spent a lifetime improving at his craft. Those slides are outstanding
The way you can break down songs and explain them is so amazing
Can we talk about how perfectly the two contrasting styles melt together, and polyphia just, lets Steve put his sweeping legato style front and center while they use their signature polytrhythmic style to back him in this glorious mix.. I think around 5 minutes is almost the most symphonic way to build and fade... So gosh darn beautiful.
Polyrhythmic? Polyphia pretty much only does 4/4, probably out of caution not wanting to melt too many listener brains. Check out Sungazer for polyrhythms.
@@rookiebeotch Not to mention, Vai didn't really do any sweep legatos, he stuck to his more experimental whammy bar stuff that sounded way fucking better paired with Polyphia
Polyphia is garbled noise
@@rookiebeotch not talking polyrhythm as it applies to meter, it's all the syncopation and such. Still polyrhythmic... Sungazer is great, I also appreciate Tool for the same reason.
@@njl4515 my bad for any potential misnomer, I was referring to the longer drawn out notes in contrast to the staccato-like play style of Henson.
Something he may like to learn is that Tim wrote a TON of songs by taking the chord progressions of popular songs, putting them in midi, going crazy, and then that's he polyphia song. He even admitted it.
Perhaps that's where the name "Polyphia" came from. MIDI synths used to compete on polyphonic ability.
he knows this, because im not sure if you know but he has reacted to other polyphia songs and some pricks like you mentions it everytime
@@DurealzForReal You seem like a charming individual. I post something informative and get called a prick. Imagine if this was the only video of him I saw? Glad you took the effort to reply and bump up my comment! 🤣
Yeah OD is essentially a Taylor Swift song. Which blew my mind
@@jendiart what tim said about look what you made me do is so good - the whole bit about just because you have a negative reaction to something doesn't mean it's not objectively good
Love watching how into the music this guy is, I don't mind when he pauses a lot because he's in depth with it, this seems like Christmas morning excitement for him. Great video.
I watch a shit ton of guitar teaching vids but yours are the ones I always enjoy and learn the most from. Your honest style and knowledge , the fact you talk about production techniques make this in my opinion the best site going. Thank you Michael
The intro is just an Andalucían cadence, the most common flamenco guitar chord progression. Nice job!
That's what I thought! I don't remember if it's on this song or another one (with an acoustic guitar) but I definitely remember hearing echoes of some famous spanish singer of my childhood. But rock. It's so great to hear this style istg.
These guys are truly creative.
You'd probably enjoy his interview from yesterday with the guys from the band. He explains how he first thought he only had audio to come up with for the song and stacked some bend harmonies together.. then when he learned there would be a video for the song he started practicing multiple different bends done at the same time with different fingers, which he calls "joint shifting", to reproduce those stacked bends in a live setting. Vai is a special beast
He's been doing joint shifting for more than 2 years, he did it in the Candle Power video and talked about it in an interview.
@@usuallyclueless4477 Yeah they started recording the song 2-3 years ago before the pandemic.
"joint shifting" aka carpel tunnel, trigger finger, and rheumatoid arthritis trifecta
Do you know where I can find this interview?
@@HOSTILEWORKPLACE Its on Music is Win channel.
He talks about it here: th-cam.com/video/Ks0EeVGtQCM/w-d-xo.html
And the interview is here:
th-cam.com/video/VlO_Uly1H-o/w-d-xo.html
Having listened to lots of Vai, the biggest takeaway I get is that this is the condensed, straight to the core, recognizable in a thousand voices sound of Steve Vai. And knowing that what he sent to them is different than what is in the track speaks to Polyphia's ability to say "why did we ask steve vai to collab?" For a voice that no one else has, and absolutely nailing it. It's a gorgeous love letter where his own sound gets sent back to him as fan fiction that works so well. If anyone has any other channels that speak to the voices of other artists, would love to get that too. Some are so very recognizable they may as well be their own voices.
I love how much you love Clay A and I share this love. The entire group are phenomenal but man...clays use of space, making and taking absolutely makes every lick of difference in their music and I'll die on that hill
That song shot right to the top of my favorite all time songs. I almost shed a tear at the end when the video is circling the three of them. That shot and sound is out of this world.
gets me too. everytime. glad it's hitting people where it matters!
By far my favorite part of the song. Like all the buildup finally resolves and comes together for one final climax, and the end always comes far too shortly after that.
Seriously, it feels like that one final moment represents the entire song; that's the final moment of clarity just before death.
As a non musician that loves music I really enjoy watching an expert break this down. It's impressive. Thanks!
Agreed
I so liked this reaction! Thanks! Your genuine excitement, your understanding of the piece, but also your bowing before where they just leave earth. So good man!
I love how excited you are for polyphia. You can tell composition and voicing in these groups (periphery, animals as leaders, polyphia, etc) is paramount. Then sprinkle in the mastery of their instruments and you get these insane pieces. Keep up the content brother.
The song is "Welcome Home" by Coheed & Cambria I believe. :)
Yep
what i find remarkable about Tim's playing is the effortlessness... it's like he's totally in control and never really struggling to play and repeat those parts
It only looks like it, though. He said in a stream that in the scene with his part when he was in the throne he damn near had a mental breakdown because couldn't get it right
You and I practice, Henson practices to the point of mental breakdown. On e he gets it right, its effortless, thars the difference.
love the way they all are having such intense conversations with their instruments and each other at the same time. the way the parts entwine is just perfect, and i love how steve moves with his guitar. they're just so in sync with each other and oh my god, when tim, scottie
and steve came together shivers went down my spine.
Michael, first time on your channel. You analyzed and broke this tune down so well. Thank you!
the smoothness of how Steve vai slides comes from how he uses the whammy
Yeah it makes his guitar sound like voice.
yeah, it's insane. i think it was whammy bar + Whammy pedal too, so like a double whammy. Just phenomenally difficult to coordinate
@@MarkMassengale Steve vai's Slides comes from exeptional strikes and timings coordinated with whammy adjustments. basically its a specific force played on a string while he slides he utilises a slight bend and adjusts it with the whammy to stay linear instead of just one way. Its very hard to do. His whammy pedal is actually more cry coordinated most of the time, but just gets used also with pinch harmonics since they even require bigger precision. i would say its just 1 in a million guitarists who can do it. never heared anyone doing it better than steve vai. I am practicing it myself too but even after 10 years it stays difficult while i do play stuff like dream theater genre.
@@InkedRyan Jeff Beck
It's impressive how you add more layers. More than just another reaction video, you walk through these brilliantly. You point out things I didn't notice the first time, and definitely made me appreciate this more. Always educational and entertaining, and I love your enthusiasm for music!
Palmisano is just the G.O.A.T of song react videos! It's such a pleasure to watch him all excited about a song, and having this really engaging conversation with us about its elements in a very accessible way. He's a great educator and a person really really passionate about music! Love from Brazil.
been loving polyphias past couple albums, love the experimentation and digital aspects theyve added while still making the instruments the star of each song.
Growing up and idolizing Vai and Satriani when I started learning, and then to see these kids who probably weren't even alive when I was in college shredding with Vai and showing a particular style of virtuosic musicianship that in large part didn't previously exist is epic.
The song you were thinking of was Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria
Really awesome you pulled the chord progression out, Tim Henson has said in interviews he usually starts with a relatively simple progression and builds out from there so the insane arpeggios actually follow a recognizable sequence and cements the "feel" of the song so the band isn't just playing random sweeps and stuff. Good stuff as always!
I just discovered Polyphia yesterday and ive been today hearing them for 6 hours straight and seeing interviews of Tim , and im so amazed as a drummer of alternative rock, as someone that plays guitar (mediocre) and just curious about music im so shocked how this is so different, your explanation helped so much in understanding but im so shocked but their style, im just so anxious about all the things they do, like i cant relate it to anything from my past, is so awesome !
I have been watching tons of reacts to this song and I think you were one of the first react channels I found to polyphyia years ago. I was WAITING for someone to call out that slide at 11:16. I think that little stunt is one of the coolest sounds in the entire track, and I'm so glad you gave it attention.
Love your vids sir! Fantastic stuff
SAME I’m so glad he was as blown away by it as I was 😵💫
OH MY GOD me too!!! Been going through ALL reactions waiting for someone to give this part the appreciation it deserves
Finally yeah and also around 15:32...
Every time I listen to Ego Death, there are 2 things I *have* to go back and listen to multiple times: Scott's repeating upslide and Steve's whammy-bar/pick scratching whistle thing. By far my favourite parts of the song.
Meh, still not nearly as good as Eugene Martone.
Thank you so much for reviewing this!! You introduced me to this band and they are amazing. Mesmerizing is one of the best words I’ve heard to describe them.
My first visit - astounded by Polyphia after my Guitarist magazine featured them, and now discovered your fascinating analysis of the basic elements which such virtuosity embellishes and magnifies. Been playing guitar for 65 years (and I wasn't born with one!) and still aspire!! Thank you so much Mike, that was so enjoyable.
I love how you can tell a guitarist knows his stuff when he can also realize what the drummers up to. Great video!
I love how steve incorporates so much Zappa with his own techniques. Such a great guitarist.
Well I guess that's what you get from being zappas guitarist for years.
This guy has one of the best guitar lessons you can purchase. I learned more from guitargate than I have in 25 years of playing on my own. It took me to the next level and I still benefit from it today.
Thank you. When you hear something you like, sometimes you want to know why you like it. As someone with limited musical instruction, I needed to know why this hooked me. The brain knows what it likes, but not always why.
Hey man, I’ve been watching your fantastic channel for a while now & thought of telling you that I find it fantastic, you’re communicating music in such a professional yet a fun way. Thanks much, keep it up!
When you played the chord progression in the first few minutes made me realise it’s sultans of swing by dire straits. Always amazing how you can build massively different songs on the same chord progression.
11:56 LMAO “THATS NOT RIGHT THOUGH, IT’S NOT RIGHT” literally me whenever I try to play their songs
Outstanding review and breakdown of the playing! Great Job!
I really appreciate this video. I know nothing about music composition but you help people grasp what keeps you captivated in the music. The layering overtop of the simpler stuff, no technical talk there but easy to understand. I almost see it as three layers, the basic chord progressions, then they throw some flair on top of that, then when they want things to climax it starts driving forward then resolves back into a variation of the basic chord progression. Maybe I'm reading that wrong but it's what I hear. Their outros for their songs are always so fascinating too, they know how to put a punctuation mark on the whole thing without going nuts, it's usually something quite simple yet feels like it's making some sort of statement about the music.
Man, I crack up every time you say you're going to just let the song play. We all know you won't make it three seconds before you get excited about something else. I do the same thing when I show music to my son, which drives him nuts because he just wants to hear the song. We watched one of your videos together and between your pauses to talk about the song and my pauses to talk about how you listen, I'm pretty sure he wanted to shove me off the nearest cliff. Love it.
the song is super catchy. Even though the chords are normal pop, the voicing and variations is what surprises me and makes me smile. It's crazy how tight the bass and drums are. Without their foundation, it wouldn't be balanced or nearly as interesting.
When vai does the cricket sound, it takes me back to 80's and hits a nostalgic bone.
Thank you Michael. YT suggested again made great job of suggesting me your video. I can feel you. I adore and respect the way you do it here. I hope you keep on going and doing what you do. Much love from Poland!
love seeing the excitement on your face when discovering certain things while breaking down these Polyhia songs Mike. consider me subscribed.
After being a lurker (but subscriber!) on this channel for a couple of months, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this reaction puts you in a class of your own. While every other “reactor” gets hung up on the (superb) technical playing, you are the only one that manages to look behind that and actually tell us something about the structure of the song. The tension between a “simple pop” chord structure supporting excellent virtuosity. I salute you! And am off to be a lifetime member!
You could totally make this a 40+ min reaction/analysis and I certainly would not complain. Love your vids man!
I've listened to about 10 responses to this song; this one, by far, gave me the most feel / appreciation for why this song is so good.
Yes. The clean section at 12:45 is one of the smoothest guitar phrases I've ever heard. I play this song at least once a day and it never gets old. It literally plays like a superhero movie
This is the best video analysis-reaction of Ego Death i've seen. Not making an overreaction of amazement and instead making a well constructed explanation about the song (and yet acknowledging these guys technical abilities like 11:02 )
Took a few listens for the Vai solo to grow on me and I'm a huge Vai fan
I was more impressed by it but then I learned that Tim and band edited what he submitted for it and cut it all up and reassembled it to what they wanted.
Steve Vai plays them frets like a violin. Absolute magician. Kudos to the Polyphia guys, what a talented bunch, this piece is simply an projectile ejaculation of musical perfection, if I was to put it mildly. Absolutely stunning!
And the reentrance at 8:10 feels like that part in a superhero movie where the superhero has arrived. This is just perfection. These guys made guitar heroes cool again like they brought guitar soloing back in such a modernized way. They're definitely changing the face of modern music and inspiring the next generation of young guitarists
To break it down even further it usually goes in 3's. They also love long phrases. The first pass is to get your ear familiar with it. The second pass throws a little sauce on it, the third full virtuosity. So there's something for everyone. They also do what TOOL does by starting with a motif and squeezing out every possible iteration of it throughout the song. They just have different skill sets and approaches. Either way, it's a mark of a great band and they are prodigies. Another cool thing I haven't heard anyone else bring up. Clay A. the drummer accents Scottie's solo on the cymbals perfectly. It sounds like it's Scottie's attack on the guitar, but it's Clay A! Such attention to detail, it's insane! Good work catching it Michael!
Steve Vai seems to have injected some serious soul into this piece of music. Absolutely beautiful.
I love your breakdown and excitement. All the things you pulled out are the things I love about their music
Between your videos and Rick Beato I think I'm starting to get and even enjoy Polyphia.
I think this new music from them is a huge departure from their early work which often left me in the dust I confess. Thank you for your wisdom! 😊
What I love most about this track is how there was all that controversy a while back over Tim Henson talking about "boomer bends" or whatever, and then here comes Steve Vai, a literal boomer, with transcendental and mind-blowing solos and counterpoint composed almost entirely of wild bends and slithery whammy work. That wasn't on accident. This collaboration was a call to everyone to be creative and innovative, like Vai and like Polyphia continue to be. Any musical tool, applied with mastery, can take a song to the next level. I think that's what Tim Henson was really reacting to with his "boomer bends" comments. The bends aren't the issue; rather relying on the same old tricks instead of building new things from them is what he objects to and challenges musicians to move past.
Steve said he recorded some stuff for them and they chopped it up and made it into what you hear on the track. So its not exactly how he imagined it would be on his end. They kept some of his "vai-ness" but its definitely been "polyphormized" to fit their style.
I love your reviews..a honest sort.The drummer is awesome in his use of the high hat! They all are on the same side of the conversation..delicate..but bold statements.And then you throw in the Devil...Steve Vai with his wicked licks and we are off....love it !!!!!
@ 15:50ish that sound comes from banging the strings into the pickups down near the bridge, A perfect circle does it for one note on Judith, It's also in the solo for Cherub Rock at one point. Cool video.
I knew it!! You pointed out the horn at the end. It's the guy from Brasstracks!!! I've seen a ton of people review this and no one seemed to notice! Those guys are INCREDIBLE producers and I could imagine they had a huge part in that super sticky progression.
Thanks for doing this. I love your take as a guitarist!
Seeing them retweet this collab is how I discovered Polyphia and it's so cool to see their styles mesh so well here!
Brilliant review. I would like to add that during Scott's solo , the C chord is inverted C/E , bass plays the E. It is so powerful and one of my favourite parts of the song!!! You will need to listen on headphones or good bass response speakers to hear!!!
I caught that as well. Gives that part a nice lift.
Just joined guitargate and got a hand me down guitar! Loving it right now working on the finger warmups and memorizing the general chords 🤙🏻
First time I've watched one of your vids. I so enjoy your enthusiasm and recognition that this is masterclass. Your explanations are accessible and interesting. Nice job.
Every time I hear a Polyphia song I'm pulled equally in two directions: one side I'm amazed by the flex of the entire band, and in the other I'm bored to tears whereupon my mind wanders to what there is to eat in the fridge.
@Manny Bloom they all sound the same; Clean Ibanez guitars running through cranked compression. There are definitely things I've taken from it and utilize now, and I could probably never play one of these songs myself but it's just not my thing.
I grew up in a house with a lot of jazz. My father was a purist with too, the word "fusion" wasn't to be used, let alone played. It's the same with that though: I'm awed by the technique and their grasp of theory, but I would never choose to listen to it for anything beyond academic purposes.
I think this video encapsulates your skill set as a teacher, making the theory accessible. speaks volumes about your efforts
dayum i love this reaction, not only reaction i get but also knowledge, cool stuff bro!
Love the insightful lyrics of this song. Absolutely beautiful.
I grew up on Primus and I always loved how they let each instrument have the space to go all out. It’s great to see that Polyphia does that too. Different styles obviously but I will always love a band that uses that formula.
I'm not hearing that "space" to me it sounds very dense and full of everyone going all out too just play as much as they can. But, it was my first listen.
Steve Vai is one of the few technical masters that can express feeling and emotion and knows how to let a song breathe. He doesn't have to "shred" non stop , he's musically brilliant on every level
Cool analysis! Thanks for that, looking forward to seeing more on your channel.
You come across so great as a teacher, lover of music and expression. Thanks!