POLYPHIA’s Tim Henson Talks New Album, Hans Zimmer Collaboration & Upcoming Stadium Dates With System Of A Down

Tim Henson, guitarist for genre-defying progressive metal outfit Polyphia, recently spoke with Rolling Stone about a range of career-defining moments — including his collaboration with composer Hans Zimmer on the score for the upcoming Brad Pitt-led racing film ‘F1’, his reaction to being acknowledged by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, and progress on Polyphia’s highly anticipated fifth studio album.

Work on the follow-up to 2022’s Remember That You Will Die is still ongoing, with the band hoping to wrap the record by Halloween. While there’s been buzz about potential guest features from Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) and members of BABYMETAL, Henson made it clear those details remain fluid:

“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. 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.”

When asked whether the record might have 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.”

Looking ahead, the band has set a goal to finalize the album by Halloween — but whether they meet that deadline remains to be seen:

“We wanna be finished by Halloween. 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. Musically, it’s heavy. It’s heavier than anything we’ve ever done. Sonically, it is the most sound-design-heavy thing we’ve ever done.”

As for the sonic direction and conceptual intent behind the record, Henson shared:

“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.”

While it remains to be seen whether Serj Tankian will appear on the album, Polyphia will be hitting the stage with System Of A Down later this summer on a run of stadium shows featuring stacked lineups.

With System Of A Down, Korn & Wisp:

08/27 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium
08/28 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium

With System Of A Down, Avenged Sevenfold & Wisp:

08/31 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
09/01 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

With System Of A Down, Deftones & Wisp:

09/03 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
09/05 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium

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