Polyphia's genre-defying guitarist Tim Henson recently sat down with Rolling Stone to pull back the curtain on some of the most exciting creative ventures of his career – chief among them, a high-profile collaboration with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and an ambitious new album from his band Polyphia. Henson, known for redefining the boundaries of progressive metal and internet-era virtuosity, is currently scoring big both inside and outside the world of heavy music.
Henson is lending his distinctive guitar work to Zimmer's score for F1, the highly anticipated Brad Pitt-led Formula 1 film. This collaboration marks a rare crossover between prog-metal flair and cinematic orchestration, signaling the continued rise of guitarists like Henson as not just musicians, but modern composers. And if being tapped by Zimmer wasn't enough of a nod, Henson also shared his reaction to being recognized by none other than Metallica's own Kirk Hammett – a legendary guitarist in his own right. The endorsement, Henson noted, was surreal, further validating his impact in a genre often slow to embrace innovation.
Yet, it's Polyphia's upcoming fifth studio album that has fans and critics alike watching closely. Still in progress and tentatively set for completion by Halloween, the project promises to be the band's most sonically adventurous release yet. Henson emphasized the evolving nature of the record, hinting at an unpredictable creative process that continues to reshape its final form. While early reports teased potential guest appearances from System of a Down's Serj Tankian and members of BABYMETAL, Henson offered a reality check.
"It's an album that we are working on very diligently and we are very excited, and it's pushing us in many ways to grow," he explained. "I am not really doing the [guest singer] talk anymore because we don't actually know which ones are gonna go on it. As I give too much information about it, it's misleading to what it actually ends up becoming."
That open-ended creative journey is central to Polyphia's current mindset. When asked whether the new record might feature a wide variety of guests, Henson replied, "Yes. It also might even have none. Who knows? Now I've thrown that wrench in there. That comes from the further exploration of the record. Its final form may not be how it originally looked when we first started working on it. It is an ever-evolving process."
This spirit of experimentation extends deep into the album's sound itself. "We wanna be finished by Halloween," Henson said. "We've actually put it in the calendar: 'Album-finishing-party-slash-Halloween-party' on the 31st, because we're gonna get drunk that night. Ideally we finish it then, but who knows? This is one of those things where it just might make us both look stupid, because it might not end up being that way. But that's the goal."
Sonically, Henson promises the heaviest and most experimental Polyphia album to date. "It's heavier than anything we've ever done. Sonically, it is the most sound-design-heavy thing we've ever done," he said, signaling a bold departure even from the band's already boundary-pushing catalog.
Beyond riffs and polyrhythms, Henson describes the album's concept as transcendent: "At this stage, the concept is very much of creating something that interfaces between consciousness and reality. Music that almost induces out-of–body experiences, playing with frequencies that move your cells in a way that physically change the structure of your body by creating sound that affects you in a physical way. We're playing with sound design in such a way that the frequencies are intended to evoke different states of consciousness."
With its blend of technical innovation, metaphysical ambition, and sonic extremity, the next Polyphia record is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about releases in modern instrumental music. As Henson continues his journey from viral sensation to a serious force in contemporary composition, all eyes remain fixed on what Polyphia will unveil next.
