The Day I Quit Guitar - Polyphia - G.O.A.T Reaction 

I love watching people react to Polyphia for the first time - I honestly search for it. You’ve explained their talent much better than most and I agree that the average person has no clue what they are hearing. Kudos and subscribed

Tim Henson did actually write this track in a DAW. He then deconstructed it into different parts that were physically possible to play on the available 4 instruments (band members). There's a video on his channel explaining the process.

Clay Aeschliman is easily one of the best drummers of all time. He's so creative. He'll be doing funky jazz stuff and then just switch over to the cleanest blastebeats you've ever seen. Ridiculous.

The technique used to give that flutter on the natural harmonic is actually a percussive strike on the whammy bar while its pointing away from the neck. What it essentially does, is coil the bridge and the springs recoil the bridge giving it that fast flutter. The effort to get that sound is minimized to a single movement to initiate the effect, however, the difficulty lies in its timing and accuracy you must have strike the bar to stay in time and not botch the flutter.

I really appreciate how much you added to this reaction. A lot of channels just listen to music and say it was great but don’t add much. You earned a subscription from me.

tim henson's use of the whammy bar is just amazing as well as his use of literally every other aspect of the instrument

Tim Henson said in an interview once that he avoids "boomer bends," meaning the 70s era bluesy style of guitar playing. He caught some heat for it, but I think his overall assessment is right. It's been decades since we've seen any real artistic progress made with the guitar. It's just been mostly seeing who can play the most notes the fastest. BTW, there's another guitarist who has been advancing the guitar. Tosin Abasi. He plays with the group Animals As Leaders. They are a three piece who also only plays without a vocalist.

Definitely a great reaction! Anyone checking out Tim Henson or Polyphia, I generally refer them to check out Manuel Gardner Fernandes or Ichika Nito. They’re all kind of in the same style of guitar and all extremely talented

Phenomenal breakdown man. These guys are from my hometown and it's been incredible to watch them progress, they're absolutely incredible musicians.

I highly recommend Nasty by Polyphia. Its my favorite by far. This band is pretty insane. Always love seeing people discover them for the first time.

The thing I loved about G.O.A.T when I first heard it was even as somebody with zero musical talent I knew that what I was hearing was something very special, unique and incredibly technical. Just had in instant appreciation of the skill these guys have

They're just as good live, I've seen them three times at different venues and it always sounds perfect

I HIGHLY suggest you check out their track “Look But Don’t Touch”. It uses an 8 strings to its absolute fullest extent. I would recommend the guitar play through and not the official video since that could get blocked. Cheers!

I have been out of touch with music since I retired so it is nice to have your guidance. This was another first for me and quite a revelation. They certainly keep your ears busy, really lovely crisp technique, they are at the top of their game. I am doing at least one of your videos a day and feel I hit the jackpot finding you because as I have said before, there are a lot of substandard reaction videos out there.

There’s a flamenco cover of this song on acoustic that even Tim Henson gushed about. I think the dude’s name is Robert Svard and it takes what’s already crazy here and puts a spin on it that’s just as technical but is also amazing in its own way.

They have this song ssssoooo perfect when they play it live it sounds just like the album and the "playtime" is exactly the same it's insane....also if you listen closely you can tell they all are playing with and relying on the drummer to keep them all "in time" there is a reason this song is called G.O.A.T.

I started playing guitar when I was 10, I'm 32 now and I didn't think I would ever hear anything new that would make my jaw drop but when I first heard G.O.A.T ...I was dead lol, it's so beautifully written.

The beauty about music is that there is so much to discover that you've never really heard of before. Keeping an open mind and looking for new music is a great mindset to have. Also yes, the lads in Polyphia are absolutely nuts at their respective instruments. I do know that Tim Henson (short hair lead guitar) practiced for several hours a day for about 16 years, on top of just being very talented from the get go. Some other Polyphia songs that are just absolutely incredible and are worth checking out are O.D, 40oz and Aviator (featuring another insane guitarist in Jason Richardson). Honestly their entire discography are just filled with bangers. If you're looking for another virtuosic instrumental band (and since you already know Animals As Leaders), I'd point you in the direction of a band called 'Covet' and their song 'Shibuya' would be a pretty neat introduction, they're a bit more towards the math-rock side of things.

Love watching along with a fellow aussie. Loved your explanations and thoughts bro, super glad i found your channel :)

I’m so happy to see you listened to this. Where as you should obviously check out more polyphia in general, I highly recommend 40oz live soundcheck and the drummer, clay aeschliman’s, drum play throughs. He’s got one of this song.

Very well put. They are all masters playing together perfectly

What a great review, I loved all the commentary and pausing for discussion. 🙂 I just turned 50, been playing like you, had the same, "Oh no" hyper awareness moment. I thought what's the point, who needs my mediocre skills with people like this in the world. I had to realize: Polyphia is bringing their inspirations to our ears, giving us their best, blowing our minds and making us aware of old limiting ideas. I hear the amazing transitions, the clarity, precision and the definitive groove I just want to lay in. As staggeringly amazing as these guys are, they will never make your song or mine. We are the only ones who hear our muse. I am the only one who can create my music. They could surely play it infinitely better than I can, but not till I share it. ;-) I bow humbly before Polyphia. 🙂

You did a great job on this video. The explanation and everything was amazing. Keep it up

I normally find reaction videos to be cheap and low effort; however, you made some excellent points and observations and managed to make a very common video (reacting to G.O.A.T) original. Well done, this was very entertaining. Also thank you for acknowledgeding the HOURS and YEARS of practice that went into this. So many people just say "wow they are so talented" as if they haven't worked their asses off to get there. I request you review James Franco also by Polyphia, it's an older song and really shows how far they have come, but it's also somehow my favourite polyphia song. Scott's melodies are great and Tim has incredible stuff too. They do a unison sweep picking section that is to die for.

Nice work mate. I appreciate your style.

Dope first Polyphia reactions 🔥 Subbed.

They are all insane. I just saw them in concert a few months ago and they sounded just as good. I'm amazed at how perfectly they can play it every single time.

Great content, thank you. Learnd a lot new today.

Would also LOVE to see your reaction to the live sound check version of this they did 👌

Polyphia is one of my favorites. Glad you are branching out!

I think you'd enjoy Marcin as well. He is a prodigal guitarist (21) who has arranged songs like Kashmir, Toxicity (when he was just 16), Master of Puppets, Moonlight Sonata, Nocturne, etc but has also written his own songs. He basically plays an entire band arrangement on just his guitar. His hands move so fast you can barely see what he's doing but on his IG live video's he shows how it's done.

That was a great post video analysis!

You explained what makes this band impressive, and why/how they’re absolute masters of their craft, better than anyone else i’ve seen react to Polyphia. Well said! Subscribed.

Feeling with you - your ‚Come On!‘‘s were so perfectly timed 😂.

Thank you for your explanations!

What amazes me most about Tim is his super fast licks. They can get muddy very easy but for Tim, every note is crisp and clear regardless of the speed

Polyphia really are insane, and I wonder how many people they have made feel like they just want to quit playing guitar (myself included) :) I agree with several others here that you should check out their tune "O.D." which is definitely my favourite of theirs, and if you want something that will make you feel like quitting drums as well then you could check out the drummers (Clay Aeschliman) drum playthrough of "O.D." on Meinl Cymbals studio. That guy is a beast. \m/

You my friend have a long road ahead of you if you decide to go down the path of polyphia. Not only are there so many other bands like Polyphia but even their own dicsography has changed and progressed drastically over the years. I myself have to start branching out and discorvering older metal artists but ive been in the Polyphia, AAL, Chon, Intervals world for as long as I can remember. I can tell you truly understand the technicallity of the guitar playing so im begging you to try Animals as Leaders, Chon, Intervals, Plini, Unprocessed, and Charlie Robbins just to name a few. All instumentals but even Polyphia has a few tracks with some guest vocals (So Strange, and Look But Dont Touch). All the best, you deserve so many more subs

I've watched a ton of reactions to this video and you are the first one to pick up on the "heaven & hell" dichotomy with them visually moving up and down between floors in the the church.

Not gonna lie man, I feel the exact same way as you. I have been playing guitar off on on for about 17 years. Never really practiced as much as I did when I was the young angsty kid picking up a guitar for the first time. Though as I get older and seeing how much music has changed over the past it makes me realize that talent also changes and even though you may think you can not be as good, it is always an amazing feeling to see how much talent can really grow amongst us humans. Keep rocking on man and enjoy every minute of it as well as yourself. \m/ You have another sub

If you find this technicality impressive, be reminded that they play this stuff LIVE!

Don’t come across too many artists that actually break down the complexities of music so that the average enjoyer understands. Fantastic review!

As someone who has followed polyphia since their first ep, I love watching these, trying to chase that initial feeling of witnessing them. The way bass and drums match perfectly on each note in clays solo part blows my mind. Also what you said about written on a daw, I'm pretty sure you are right, I think Tim (guitarist) has said he writes everything on a keyboard then goes okay time to play all these notes on guitar. Awesome video man 🤘

Good you listened to me with Polyphia you should check out O.D. as well its mind maze of music ;)

SO SHWEEEETTT...much love Tee with LIONS NAMED LEO.[the music worldwide} and oooo weee fun!!!

Polyphia is amazing. If you wanna dive into more instrumental bands. "I Built the Sky", "Wide Eyes", and "For Giants". Absolutely epic musicians

Finally, someone who talks about the difficulty of the guitar notes!!

Tim Henson, the "lead" guitarist in this, composed this song in DAW and then learned to play it. Here's his video on that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sg_3jkSSbig.html

Great video, liked the explanations

i love these guys. theyre from the Dallas area (as am i) and seen them live a few times. i dont know if its because I've been listening to these guys for 10yrs but i prefer the older stuff and i always see people react to the newer stuff lol if you ever get the chance go see them

Reactions to Polyphia started to pop out in my notifications and it has also made me want to get back on my guitar. When I first heard them I also felt like nope, no more guitar for me. But seeing reactions makes me want to go back to playing. Currently waiting for my pickup replacements and my first multieffects to start learning again. By the way, OD is my favorite. Especially with Clay's Meinl video.

some other active bands to check out that are just next level musicians and pushing music in very exciting dimensions: Dirty Loops: Swedish Jazz Fusion/Pop. did a cover of Thriller transposed into 6/8 that's a lot of fun. Sokoninaru: frenetic Japanese Math Rock, like Dillinger Escape Plan but melodic. Covet: American instrumental band, Yvette Young is a one-of-a-kind guitar artist.

My friend said it best. Polyphia is the type of band that makes music for musicians. Not to say that non musicians don’t enjoy or appreciate the music, but musicians can really sit down and dissect how technical the sound is.

The runs in this song are the most insane things ever. Song title completely makes sense

It's funny you say it sounds programmed, because that's Tim's writing process if I remember correctly. He writes the parts in a program, then he and the band learn it from there. Check out the making of video from Tim's channel. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sg_3jkSSbig.html

They are a machine man. Check out the sound check version of this. On point and time stamp is exactly the same.

and GREAT break down BUT I just listen to them....close my eyes...and take a ride..! and THAT is MOST AWESOME..!!!

more polyphia pls i think it is incridible as each of their songs have it's own style. My favourite one is rich kids

Gotta check out OD by polyphia next for sure

Moar! Check out O.D. or Yas by them. Also amazing breakdown!

I cannot believe what awesome songwriters they are. Each with their own influence on the outcome!

I highly recommend "Awakening" by Ichika Nito. It's the song for his signature Ibanez and he's absolutely insane.

Great video. If unique and heavy music is what you’re looking for, check out Silent Planet, if you haven’t already. Most popular is their song Panic Room, and a newer one is Anhedonia

I share a lot of the opinions you brought up in this video. I totally agree that Polyphia are masters at making complex music sound fun and easy to follow. So many bands shred their guitars to show their technical skills at the expense of a good sounding song. These guys marry shredding with melodic hooks that pull you in. The way the guitars jump between chords, harmonics, arpeggios, tapping, etc. so seamlessly is amazing, and of course the drums and bass give it so much funk. Their older stuff is great, too. Songs like Champagne and James Franco just make you want to dance. If you dig this stuff, you might like more post-rock music, too. If you haven’t heard them before, I’d check out the songs Carpe or Death Rides a Horse by Russian Circles, or pretty much anything by If These Trees Could Talk.

Just for highlights @Prymalchaos I get goosebumps listenin to them playin to say the least. “Polyphia”, comes from the word, “Polyphony”, meaning: “music whose texture is defined by the interweaving of several melodic lines” Playing off this definition, as a band, we capitalize on musicianship, and that, musically, each member of the band is a cornerstone of our sound. Hopefully this helps with the questions asked about what they do. Thanking you for your attention & Happy listenin y'all. From me in Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia. Salute.

i m into metal playing fast alternate picking etc but listening to math rock is always great coz this is another style and it s so hard you can learn it tho it will take a lot of time ,ever forget tim has been playing since more than 15 years with insane practice

Subscribed!! You asked how they got together and I haven't see anyone answer it so I'll give it a try. Original group: Tim Henson (G), Scottie LaPage (G), Clay Gober (B) and Brandon Burkalter (D). They formed during highschool in Plano, Texas (Dallas suburb). They started out super fast sheddy technical metal and got more progressive as they went on. Tried for a vocalist early on but never suited them so they just stayed instrumental. (With the exception of a couple featured vocals.) Brandon left (mostly session drummer now, but he released an incredible solo EP with him on drums and keyboard.) Very talented guy! I suggest his playthrough video "Trenches" if you wanna check him out. He deserves more attention IMO. Then came Clay A. He really allowed the rest of the band to continue on into their new sound with obvious influences from hip hop, trap and R&B. All while still using their ridiculously high caliber chops blending into the sexy amalgam of prog metal. Seen them live about 6 times now and each show I'm more impressed. Hope that's helpful. I'm glad I found your channel. Great reaction and super informative! Love your positive attitude too. Please consider checking out more prog metal stuff like: Plini, Night Verses, Caligula's Horse, Intervals, Sithu Aye, Arch Echo and David Maxim Micic. Cheers!

Yeah these guys are tight!!

At the end, when he hits that harmonic. He slaps the tremelo bar and it makes a spring sound to the notes. Try it out, it's super fun and awesome sounding!

Seen them live a couple times. Good live band.

New to your channel ! Love this video ! Polyphia is such a wild band. If you want to see something really wild from them listen to Aviator. It features another extreme guitarist Jason richardson. In which case Jason richardson has his own instrumental album with a drummer luke holland !

great video Pitch bends is done with wobble stick The song was based on a hibhop Song , cord progression is based on that Tim has a video (on you tube )on how rewrote the song And the drummer plays with clink track And they can play it live !!

You should check out unprocessed the song abandoned. There video is a one take video pretty cool if you like how this video was put together

Every single one of those guys is a virtuoso with their instruments, but the mvp in my opinion has to be the drummer. The fact that he’s able to play things that normally would only be possible through drum machines and play them on time is ridiculous. A lot of their songs are written using midi first and then performed with instruments, which is part of why they’re so difficult. I don’t think many people appreciate the gymnastics that the drummer specifically has to go through lol.

If you're looking for more striking vocals, I would recommend contemporary progressive rock band, Bent Knee. Their lead singer and keyboard player, Courtney Swain, has a spectacular voice. Have a listen to the explosive intro to Way Too Long. If you are expanding your range to general oddness, you may be interested in the unusual music of Lost Crowns. They are a progressive band which incorporates discordance in their music. Not for everyone, but I have acquired the taste. Have a go with Let Loving Her Be Everything (the video is suitably weird also).

Speaking of unique music you should definitely check out Zeal & Ardor! They're releasing a new album now, but I'd recommend you start with "Blood In The River" at Off The Road Studios. It has an introduction to the band as well- don't forget to turn on subtitles!

They drop the. Bass boost on the tone knob. You can slide harmonics. Check out Vector. Pteropticon.

great reaction

They write all of there songs in a DAW with midi then figure out how to play that with live instruments afterward. That's why it sounds more like an orchestral composition than a standard rock song.

I feel like you could pitch shift a harmonic with the trem, but Im pretty sure he said in GOAT, those bit’s are pitch shofted in post. Could be wrong tho

Dont let it get to yoy man. I felt the same way but like you It inspired me to level my guitar playing skills again, which to be honest no artist had been able to do until these kids started making me feel insecure lol.

Check out Cardiacs! They're a super interesting prog band from the UK, tarred and feathered is my go to song

I hear you man! Ever since I discovered them just like PalmettoPrecision said, I actively look for people reacting to them. These guys scrambled my fucking brain and they make it look easy. I actually looked up a live version of this because I could not believe that in this day and age people that young could do something so absurdly mature in terms of the chops required to actually play it. And there they were pulling it off live and my jaw sitting on my lap, just bonkers from a performance/compositional standpoint😳

If you want to see where polyphia started (technical metal) check out Champagne and Aviator. In Aviator, Tim does flutters that are pretty much just slapping the whammy bar. He may have done that at the end of GOAT. They've been working on album 4 for like 3 years now. Check out O.D. and Yas for sure. Maybe also Unprocessed - Real which features Tim Henson (shorter hair guitarist) and Clay Gober (bassist).

The pitch bend is by starting bent then straightening down to the lower note

Man caught on to it everything that polyphia writes is in 4/4 yet for a lot it doesn't sound like it, but yes you can still feel the groove of 4/4 which just makes it more impressive for me since it shows how creative their composition is as well. Hope that you wanna check out ichika nito awakening, he's a solo guitarist from Japan.

Love your reactions and insight :) Something that would probably also make your jaw drop when it comes to really young guitar talents: Asterism - Dawn I know I was mesmerized when i first saw her play, highly recommended :)

More polyphia plz!! I love their song Yas.

Its experimental Instrumental "rock" reminds me a lot of some of the music by Gordon Giltrap. You also have to understand Tim and his recording process, he uses midi a lot and vst plugins, his own NeuralDSP specifically, layered to give the effects he creates and generates. He records the guitar through DI converts it to midi and then adds in the tones, so his understanding of software is a big part of the sound as much as his musicianship on the guitar itself. He is a genius !!! and once you get PLaying God into your head your hooked your screwed cos it never lets go.

You should check out the live rehearsal version.. sounds excatly the same. Insane. Makes me want to quit guitar lmao.

You should listen to Drown by Polyphia. It's from the same album and it's just a beautiful song.

"except they do it well" you're too humble

Tim’s harmonic whammy flutters are just him quickly smacking the bar when it’s facing down away from him with the side of his palm, you can see him use this technique in some of his other videos it’s too cool

Yeah 20 yrs ago I started learning to play the stuff I used to listen to which was how I wanted to play seemed so impossible to learn I just gave up & got my son a guitar & put time into encourageing him he learned in 6 months wat wauld have tuck me 2 yrs 13 yrs old that's why just carnt learn when you are 30+ to much other stuff on your mind

On Tim's interview on Guitar Villains he almost seemed to be proud to clarify all their stuff was 4/4. If he wasn't, he should be. They are masters at taking something standard and upgrading it in a totally interesting way

Instrumental bands are insane. Usually the vocalist serves the purpose of exciting the crowd and hyping people up. Somehow these bands find a way for usually one guy to do that, except with an instrument. In this band, it’s Tim. Intervals is the same sort of deal too. Foxy Shazam should be on your list. Pretty much the closest modern day equivalent of Queen.

GOOSE is another great one to react to by Polyphia 👍👍

if you loved this imma promise you, you will love berried alive aswell. found them last year and they are in my daily playlist since then

You should react to " In the Cut " by Miguel and Tim Henson, and Yas by polyphia

A flutter is just a flick of the whammy, hes not moving it up and down. The spring, finding its tension, creates the flutter sound.