Forming just a decade ago from humble beginnings, instrumental rock band Polyphia have managed to evolve their sound over the years in some very interesting ways. Starting out as one of progressive metal’s more interesting upstarts, subsequent albums like Renaissance and New Levels New Devils incorporated more hip-hop, funk, and electronic influences. Their fourth full-length album (which is out now) even has guests like Chino Moreno (from some band named Deftones), Steve Vai, and Sophia Black. To say the album rollout has been an unqualified success is a correct statement, even though Polyphia were obviously popular before this.
Thanks to Ryan Downey of Stream N’ Destroy, we have some even more reliable chart numbers from the band (his is much more in-depth) for the first-week sales of the record release. Shockingly, their previous three full-lengths didn’t chart at all on the Billboard 200 (instrumental music can be a tough popularity sell), but clearly something clicked on this record. Remember That You Will Die managed to come in at a staggering #33 on the Billboard 200, and earned high marks in many specific categories as well. Honestly, pretty impressive stuff here. Polyphia have managed to avoid pointless riffs and notes (for the sake of virtuosity) and instead craft interesting songs, which sets them apart from many other like-minded bands. Also, two of the album’s tracks are currently featured on Spotify’s USA Viral 50 chart, which is awfully impressive for an instrumental act.
