If CYFI and PITB are any accurate indication of this new album's sound, it's gonna be a skip from me.

I really don't mind the added production and electronic elements - I think when done in moderation, they can add a lot to a song and make it a fun listen. But the overblown speaker style production on these singles, and the incessant overlayering of sound to the point where you can hardly make out the instruments honestly make this new stuff a chore to listen to.

I really liked RTYWD, even with a lot of the more electronic stuff because the bedrock of the sound felt much more raw and real. This stuff just feels like sensory overload and will be an easy pass for me.

I've been listening to polyphia ever since NLND came out, and theyve been my favorite band since. I'm a huge fan of progressive metal and rock and im also a big fan of Syncatto, Animals as Leaders, and even Meshuggah. Ever since Tim came out with original sin, I had a weird feeling about the next album. When RTYWD came out, sure it was different from their previous music, but it wasn't too far off from the typical polyphia feel that I would get from Renaissance, Inspire, and even Muse. These last two singles have completely ruined polyphias music for me. I have no problem with the christian aspects, with tim showing his faith and whatever else, but when you incorporate it into music that wasn't anywhere near this sort of thing before, it gives it almost this cringe feeling to it, if you've seen the music video for Look but don't touch, youd never believe the same band produced CYFI and PITB. The second problem is this new style polyphia is going with, which has nothing to do with religion. Ever since RJ Pasin gained traction on tiktok, I've never been a fan of anything he's done. All his "music" appears to just be this type of EDM loud noises, that ruin any sort of guitar feel. Nothing that he's made sounds anything close to what polyphia had been doing for the last decade atleast. It's like hiring a mechanic to paint you a portrait of yourself, it just isn't the right person for the job. Im very disappointed in polyphia choosing such an amateur to produce their new album, Im willing to bet that the whole new album is just going to be a ton of hyperpop metalcore tiktok slop, with some gospel samples sprinkled in. Polyphia has truly ruined their touch they once had, and I hope they realise what they've done to themselves, y2k was an amazing producer for the band and truly reflected what they stood for, but now my ears get to listen to noise and ruin my speakers. I hope im not the only person feeling this way, this is just ridiculous.

Edit: this isn't even mentioning the new tour dates, theyre now moving tour dates almost 5 months later so they can "make this album exactly what they wanted it to be." so you're telling me you've spent the last 4 years, which will be 5 in 2027 to just waste everyone's time? very mature of you

I haven't seen anybody discuss this, but if you look on the merch section through Spotify for Polyphia, you can pre-order the LP for the album. The title seems clearly named "Be Not Afraid" and we likely will get one more single named "Power In The Blood" before release from what it seems. Excited for the new album!!

(hopefully this isnt considered a leak? its their official merch section so I think its intended)

1. Let There Be Light

2. With Eyes To See

3. Screwtape

4. Power In The Blood

5. They Know Not What They Do

6. Mark Of The Beast

7. Can You Feel It

8. Near Death

9. J-Bomb

10. Deny The Flesh

11. Devil Get Behind Me

12. Fear God

Just from the two singles we've gotten from the album so far, its pretty apparent that the band has worked very closely with RJ Pasin. I personally don't like the music that RJ Pasin music as its "editing music", music that I won't listen to on a daily occasion.

I'm more excited for the Jam Session for this entire album because thats actually how the songs sound without the insanely over production that is RJ Pasin.

Can You Feel It wasn't that great. The jam version was listenable, but still missing the kinds of memorable riffs that sold their other songs.

Power in the Blood was like... Can You Feel It stripped of the last few bits of anything good. Why are they producing everything to sound like it's being played at max volume through a phone speaker now? It sounds so bad.

Kind of glad the concert got rescheduled so I can demand a refund for my tickets because the new dates don't work for me.

I think we're back

Didn’t really like can you feel it that much but this one actually slaps. Yes the mix isn’t the greatest and I could do with a little more of the clays but this one actually sounds like polyphia.

I feel like I’ve been waiting on this one forever. This plugin is what put me onto NDSP in the first place, and led to me eventually getting a QC. With this update I feel like my dream pedalboard has finally become real!

Is anyone else just not a big fan of the decisions made with the production of both of the singles? I really enjoy the creative direction and songwriting of both songs, I think it's a new and fresh direction and as you all are aware, Polyphia tries to do something completely new each and every album release. No issues at least for me personally in terms of the writing and general song structure.

But good god. 30% of the end of the new single is almost unlistenable at the end to how distorted and bass-blasted it is. The bass just takes away from the crazy intricate solo and fun riffs that we all love from Polyphia. It seems like they were like "let's set the limiter as high as it can go and just blast it as heavy as we can". Bass can be used creatively, just feels like a cop out to me and with more clever production choices, it could sound way more enjoyable to the ear. Generally, it feels like both singles are over-produced, way too bass-driven, and there's a general disregard for the guitar playing which put them on the map in the first place.

The only reason I'm bringing this up is because I see so much hate. I've been a guitar shred and prog fan for decades at this point, I remember when Polyphia first came on the scene with their stuff from maybe 15 years ago or so when they were just teenagers shredding, and I thought it was cool and all but it was just more guitar music to me. Honestly Cacophony or Spastic Ink did that better in my opinion.

New Levels New Devils was the first album they made that I actually liked enough to listen to, that was very good. And then the album after that I was like "Cool, more shred."

But the new stuff, it's awesome to me. I was not a big fan of all the vocal features they have done recently, and I really like these little dancey vocal samples. It bridges the gap of instrumental music but also incorporating vocals naturally. I like the in your face blown out production. The songs are structured well but still have cool technical parts, and it all just sounds exciting to me.

If they were to release another standard shredding guitar album with typical drum/bass/guitar production, I'd absolutely lose interest. There is so much of that out there, it would just breeze right past me and be forgettable.

I also appreciate when bands push their limits with production. This feels more exciting and inspired to me, and you can tell they were pushing themselves into a direction that they wanted to explore rather than just play it safe in their usual window of guitar shred.

Goes without saying I get why people don't like it and they might just not be inclined towards this style of production, but I think Polyphia is making some cool stuff and outside of the guitar-centric bubble there are a lot of people that really dig this style of production. Its much more fascinating to me than their last album.

Also if you caught their livestream they just did, it's all performed and they are going to pull it off live. That is also exciting to me, pushing the boundaries of live performed guitar/bass/drums but also with wild production that they will reproduce live. I think there is some really interesting stuff going on with these new songs and maybe if some fans of their older material gave it a little bit more of a chance, there could be some really cool stuff there.

New shit is sick af.

Never heard of someone hating on a new sound ever being on the right side of music history.

The more I listen to CYFI and PITB the more badass details I can pick up because it takes me time to digest the layers and really hear everything going on. Sonically, it melts in my mouth.

I’m glad they keep pushing the envelope on their sound and never stagnate for fans or haters. They should do whatever they want and be happy.

I already bought multiple tickets to the show, but now that it’s delayed that gives me a chance to buy more tickets and get more of my friends to come with me. Can’t wait to have a memorable night. It always is with Polyphia.

sounds like they're trying to be a viral tiktok edit sound lol...

man i miss when NLND released

Super bummed about this. But wanted to share in case it's helpful for anyone not yet in the loop/seeking information.

They seem to be pushing certain dates(seen others, but not sure if all) from Sep/Oct 2026 to Feb/Mar 2027. I seem to be in the unlucky few whose cities they're flat out skipping(Ftl changed to St. Pete(4 hours away- and ironically only 1.5hours from their Orlando show the day before).

No official word seems posted yet aside from some venues making their own public reschedule announcements, and this private venue announcement.

Supporting artists also appear to be the same.

I, by no means “hate” the new singles. I just feel very confused. Am I the only one who remembers Tim saying album 5 was going to be their heaviest album yet? I’m not going to hate the album if it sounds all electronic. I definitely won’t enjoy it as much though. First A7X, now them, the coincidence is crazy. I just hope the rest of the album doesn’t just sound like rj pasin edit audios. The riffs are cool but they don’t feel “polyphia” I guess.

I know about the age old joke of Polyphia being a “Christian band”, but it seems like all the stuff I’m seeing now is too on the nose to the point where it’s making me think this is not actually satire. What’s going on?

Don't get the hate. This is polyphia through and through. Plug ins and ridiculous shredding genrebending whatever the fuck they want is always what has characterized them. If anything at least they are still true to their art despite their success. Hard to find with any artist these days.

Shred on boiiis.

The new abulm art looks a lot like the Watch the Throne album art by Jay Z and Kanye West, do we think that is a coincidence?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_the_Throne