People were saying Polyphia's fourth album is a myth, yet here it is in it's full glory. I've been super excited for this record since the first single, Playing God, and I think it exceeded expectations, which is a lot to say considering there were a lot of high expectations for this band.
In the aftermath of their 2018 record, New Levels New Devils, which set a new bar for them boasting tracks like O.D., Saucy and G.O.A.T., I had no idea what to expect for Remember That You Will Die. The singles preceding the album release gave us an astoundingly wide variety of sounds, and I realised I should expect anything and everything on this new record. When they showed the tracklist before the album came out, the guest features made it clear we were not expecting anything like New Levels New Devils, with a wide range of vocalist features from rappers and pop artists to famous metal vocalists and guitarists.
The diversity in genres they've achieved with this record is incredible. Whether it's jazz, trap, pop, rap, rock, djent or anything in between, they've got it down on lock. Every track has a completely different soundscape, and despite that the whole record feels complete and has a strong musical identity to it.
The features play a big part in amplifying the sounds they're emulating in the different styles. Brasstracks on Genesis as well as a lot of the other tracks helps to bring in a unique taste of jazz, Sophia Black's strong vocals lets them go full pop on ABC. Killstation, $NOT and Lil West let them switch gears to a rap-based instrumental, which is something they've been eyeing for a while with the rise of instrumental guitar's involvement in rap music. I particularly enjoy how the guitar melody mimics and complements the vocal melody in Fuck Around and Find Out. Deftones' Chino Moreno on Bloodbath lets them embrace the post-hardcore sound, and more importantly, their metalcore roots. Bloodbath might be their heaviest song in a long while. Of course, the ultimate track Ego Death, featuring Steve Vai, is nuff said. The greatest minds of the guitar world, classic and modern, meeting together for an awesome six minute instrumental masterpiece.
I love the change in focus for this record when it came to how they write music. They used a lot of seven and eight string guitars on this record, which I personally love for metalcore reasons, but also I think it gave them a lot more room to play with note-wise and technique-wise. I heard a lot more guitar thumping in this record, something that I think Tim's been waiting to throw into a record since God Hand. There's also a lot more traditional guitar solos throughout the record, which I will never complain about. They also experimented with a lot of guitar textures, most notably the acoustasonic sound in Playing God, but also whatever was going on in Neurotica and All Falls Apart. I also have to point out how cool it is that Scottie gets to shine a lot more on this record, I feel like I'm finally getting to hear what he's fully capable of in this record.
I think it's safe to say this is their best record yet. Where New Levels New Devils could end up feeling a bit stale, Remember That You Will Die is so diverse and musically interesting that it transcends Polyphia's previous boundaries. An instrumental band like Polyphia, even as big as they are, will remain confined to a limited target audience if they only focus on technicality and impressing other musicians. This record, however, saw them going out of their way to weave their sound into other genres in an intricate and impressive yet accessible way. You don't have to be a guitarist to love songs like ABC and Memento Mori, but if you do it's even better. I think that's one of the main selling points of this record, is how they've gone past being just about the instruments to having a versatile sound to complement any genre they touch. A stellar record, if any, and definitely a new landmark record for their band.
Rating: 9/10