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the drummer is so underrated. He really gives the song so much of its bounce.

As a guy who played drums for years, thank you for acknowledging the drums/drummer. This piece was obviously outrageous and masterful as was your breakdown. Thanks, Mike.

Polyphia honestly became a completely different band when Clay joined on drums. Nothing against Brandon, but Clay brought an entirely new energy that helped the brand emerge out of a really stagnant scene.

I saw in an interview with Tim (Rick Beato) that he repeatedly adopts a formula with a riff where he won't add the biggest 'flex' until the third time round. It makes so much sense and really speaks to what you're saying about it being accessible - play the riff, get familiar - hear it again, familiarise with the repeat - play a third time, flex (oh damn, this is insane!) (edited following some corrections and clarifications!)

Video idea. Their drummer Clay has 4 playthroughs on the Meinl channel. Yas, Icronic, OD and GOAT. What about watching some or all in one video? You’d looooove these I promise

Band members: Guitar (Center): Tim Henson Guitar (Left): Scott LePage Bass: Clay Gober Drums: Clay Aeschliman Thanks for reacting to this Michael, I love these guys.

Their arrangements are unbelievable. Every element shines and they lean on easily followable progressions, despite sounding very busy and complex.

Ever since I got into Polyphia, I've said, "I came for the 'Tim Henson', but stayed for the drummer". Such a beast. Straight iron fist in a velvet glove.

Classical music has centuries of instrumental pieces, based off V-I progressions, people didn't seem to complain 😜

Always good to give Clay the love he deserves on the drums. This recording and the sound engineering and mixing are just immaculate. So much going on, but so crisp and cleannnnnn

The jazzy part is really Brazilian-infused. Sounds like Bossa Nova.

I love how you just pick up stuff. Musical talent right here. As good as these guys are, YOU are the shining star in these videos, my man

Their song "Yas" heavily features their drummer (Clay ), and is one of their best "intro/accessible" songs. Might be worth checking out.

4:28 It's Bossa Nova! It's a style of Samba, developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a different beat, that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovative syncopation of traditional samba from a single rhythmic division. Baden Powell Bola Sete João Gilberto Roberto Menescal Tom Jobim

Same here man , You hear the guitar but the drummer is holding it down like a machine. Dude is excellent.

I'm a guitarist and think the guitar playing is incredible, but my ears keep going to the drummer because he's absolutely amazing. It's just perfect.

Agreed, the drummer is just spectacular. I only very recently found this band Polyphia and as you pointed out they're a great blend of metal n' pop. What's nice about this piece "Playing God" is that there are peaks and valleys to the composition whereas so often they're just in your face speed and agility. When I listen to one of their albums I need to take a break after a few tunes before I continue. I grew up on Steve Morse (and Rod Morgenstein) and he has the peaks and valleys composition down to a science, while also tearing off some amazing riffs.. I'm looking forward to exploring this band further. And thanks Michael for breaking this piece down a bit, it helps me wrap my mind around things. Play on.

I love that you do all of this in one take. You don’t cut out the parts where you’re searching for the right words to say to express your excitement. It really reiterates just how much you love what you do.

Your understanding of the music and ability to translate that to the audience is remarkable. I've been a huge fan ever since the GOAT video. Thank you for sharing your observations and introducing me to the world of composition.

The combination of Flamenco and Jazz is pretty mindblowing. And then the drums give it even a "third" angle.

Even though they're instrumental, I really feel "vocals" in their music. The simple chord progressions make it really accessible to anyone like you said, but the drums accent those other super intricate moments that we focus less on normally and it makes you hone in on it. What a combo! Great video!

Polyphia just released a drum studio session for Playing God on their YT channel. For sure worth checking out!

As a guitarist, i can't stop admiring your own guitar, the color is stunning, and obviously the song itself, but that goes without saying. Great video! Entertaining and good comments on the composition for a first listen! Subscribed. You can absolutely see the joy and passion you have for music aswell just in your physical reaction and how you vibe with it, awesome!

don't forget the bass. every piece ties it together and keeps the groove moving along. the song takes you on this wild journey and brings you back.

They know that very well! THIS is reason why they play guitars facing the drummer. In.Every.Single.Video.

I’m not even a pro guitarist or anything but listening to him explain about how “simple” the song really is and his entire thought process makes this video so good. I learnt a lot about music production and songwriting from this!

I absolutely love the fact that you see the entire band and aren't the traditional guitarist fanboy. Cause as front and center as the guitar is, it takes an entire band to make music that is this good. Each element is at the very least AS important as the lead, and often times truly make the lead good by doing their part correctly. Nice job.

This was a spot on reaction, he has it so right, and here's my take on it. First thing is this band is a very rare combination of 4 people who are absolutely phenomenal at their instruments, now you might see a few others that have that but very, VERY rarely to this degree. This is like putting prodigies together that mesh well. Second, the reason why you hear the drums so heavily and then it's the guitar and the bass layers the melody to bring you back is because they know how to space it so perfectly, that you have just consistent progression after progression of interesting melodies layered on and off. If I were to write it out it would go like this, every other space is the melody, and every other space between it is the intricate part. This is also on purpose to make you hear something amazing, but not give you time to think about it before you move onto the groove. This is one of those songs that's put together so unbelievably well that you can listen to it for years and still not hear everything in it.

that B section sounds so much like those classic nintendo scores, which isnt a slight at all, those scores are immaculate, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a source of inspiration. They've always sounded influenced by video game scores

The second I heard this song I looked up your reaction to this! haha Glad to see you never disappoint!

6:45 lmao dude that reaction was perfect. You were like "What was I saying about their damn drummer!? Exactly, this right here. I don't even need to pause you've got ears you hear it."

I'm no music expert, but I can't even fathom how they came up and played that song. It's absolutely insane.

I love Tim and Scott's playing, truly I do, but you hit the nail on the head: Clay (the drummer) is an absolute monster as well and such a joy to listen to. When he and Clay (their bassist. Yeah, funnily they share the same name haha) lock in it's also epic as well.

at 1:10 you can see he had already watched a reaction to this.

We are guitarists but we can recognize when the band has a good drummer. This guy is the perfect drummer for Polyphia, with perfect drum noises and arrangements when its needed. Maybe we all have a drummer inside or something.

So glad to hear someone else remark over the drums. The melody is obviously incredible but I really think the drums tie this song together

Just discovered Tim Hensen and his band Polyphia yesterday. Just discovered you today and bam everything you said in this video makes so much sense. As a non-musician, I instantly vibed with this song and couldn't explain why. All I knew was I liked the unexpected jazz chords and like you said, the drumming. T'was so good on the first listen, that I had to share it with both my musician friends and non-musician friends to get their thoughts haha

Agree about the odd chords north of the equator but they are two-a-penny in Brazilian music and in fact, this could be mistaken for Brazilian fusion of the late 1970s.

The band is on a different planet to everyone, rapidly becoming one of my most listened to bands... Even the whistling is hard as fuck to do, like c'mon -.-

I LOVE your gesticulating when the drums get crazy and you don’t know what to say 😂 That’s exactly how I feel when I listen to them

his excitement when the drums starts ramping up shows how much he loves music as a whole, lovely

i love you man, best attitude, vibe and knows his stuff. You're an absolute Legend.

This is the kind of music that gets in your head and spreads into your soul... I'm not a musician ., but I know music when it is speaking to me and this is like walking into a library and opening a book you've never experienced before

I think I figured out what Michael means how the bass brings your ear around to tolerate the rest of the technical madness. It allows you to feel that madness instead of seeing it. It's awesome

These are more breakdown/explanations than reactions and i LOVE ITTTT. Keep up the good work

Your eargasms and reactions to Clay's playing is literally me. He really shines in this song. They also posted his playthrough. I think you'd love that haha

This song popped up in my feed a week ago maybe. First time I have heard of Polyphia. I am now obsessed with it. Can't get enough of it. You pined it down. Accessable, and the drums. Then add in all the crazy stuff, and I'm hooked. Great video.

Seen a couple of your videos, and as a guitarist and solo musician for over 20 years, the way you explained that "instrumental bands are primarily for other musicians" is spot on. Sure, there is a select portion of non-musicians that enjoy it, but the majority don't. Polyphia have bridged that gap better than any other group I can even try thinking of, and I'm always stoked for a new release of theirs. Liked, and subscribed. Keep up the killer content, brother!

I am not a musician but I love instrumental’s and I love Polyphia as I loved Metallica and old classic rock… The drummer is killer… I concur

Dude your ability to instantly recognize and replay some of these licks is super impressive

i prefer your reactions over so many other videos because you actually teach me things and help me appreciate it more. also you have a killer ear! took you 2 seconds to figure out the chords what the heck. amazing.

idk how for the life of me how you just know what chord he's playing and play it so effortlessly without stopping to really look at the shape . crazy

Love how you spell this all out. Your communications skills and ability to explain it out in identifiable terms or concepts is outstanding. I find that your reactions and break-downs really help me identify elements that I knew where always there, but couldn't single out. Look forward to the next post!

I love that the drums hook you, and then when you're in the groove, and you can feel what's coming next, and then it's not there!!!! Like when you're belting it out, and the cd hits a scratch and drops out, but you keep going. His drums make me feel like wiley coyote when he runs off a cliff, but doesn't realize he's not on solid ground lol. Clay knows that you "know" what he's going to do next, and then demonstrates that he knows what your thinking, by not doing what you expect, and it's perfect.... love your breakdowns of everything you do, and I hope someday you and polyphia get a chance to meet up and shoot the shit. Just film it if you do please

Love these break downs! I've been a longtime Polyphia fan but you've just increased my enjoyment of their music even more. Praise the drums!

I’m still waiting for that resolution over a year later. It will haunt me until my deathbed

“Instrumentals - music for other musicians.” I’m no musician, but I love instrumentals far more than music with vocals, and I still agree with you. I’ve rarely come across anyone who isn’t a musician that enjoys instrumentals as much as I do.

You're the guitar teacher I wish I had 10 years ago. Never seen your stuff before but clearly a very adequate musician

2 years after your review, but man you nailed it. Your gestures and your assessment absolutely mirrored my first and forever reaction to this masterpiece.. drummer just brought it all in. I don't think I've ever listened to it any less than a few times at once ever since my cousin turned me on to it.

Honestly this is the best reaction across music types that I’ve seen. Everything you said made so much sense as to why my ear itches to hear more polyphia. I remember listening to goat at first waiting for the singer come in and a couple minutes later after the song was over I remembered there was no singer and that I was so drawn in that I completely forgot there wasn’t one. Amazing

They released a playthrough of the drum part. You can watch it separately. Tim also did an "unplugged" version where he plays it acoustically

I've been studying music since 1981you she'd some light on somethings that I've had questions about for decades.thank you

I love how you highlighted how insane the drummer is. He is on another planet.

Michael, your comment about the bass and the lift, HUGE insight for me to listening to all parts of the music and super appreciate that, and super appreciate everything else you do man, thank you. You truly do a great job and I appreciate you.

Thank you for posting these polyphia videos. You put words to aspects of their composition that the layperson can't formulate. Also the way you dissect and can emulate the chords and scales in a fleeting moment... Brings validity to your own talent as well as that of the artist. Kudos and keep it up!!

this thing you asked at 4:48, is called "Bossa nova"

Thanks for uploading these in 2160p - really helps the audio quality. Your ability to sort this stuff out so quickly still surprises me :) Thanks!

The way you react to the drummer everytime is great.

It would be neat to look back at Polypias beginnings such as “Finale”, where the drummer was absolutely hitting everything on point but from a musicianship sense it felt like he was “following” instead of “playing in sync with”. It’s very obscure but to see how the overall group developed to play with multiple musicians outside of themselves is fairly interesting. Might take a look since many of the vids you focus on the drummer guiding or being the root, whereas at least in my opinion the earlier days the drummer followed the guitarists.

Yeaaaa, were gunna need a Ego Death reaction.

His energy and enthusiasm in every video is so contagious. I love watching Michael's breakdowns.

not first time reaction (of course), but profound and I'm learn a lot here. Thanks!

I love that you give the time on guitar but you can tell you are vibin HARD on the drums lol

I think that this song mixes cultures built around acoustic nylon guitars, Spain and Brazil are clearly the most audible influences.

I absolutely love how you explain things. You put to words what my brain cannot when I hear one-of-a-kind songs like this.

it is called bossa nova. bossa is a brazilian acoustic guitar musical genre that started with guys like joão gilberto, vinícius de moraes and many others totally jazzy and worth listening to

I have never been a fan of instrumental music but Polyphia just blows my mind

The voicing and purposeful emphasis on all those leading tones that re-centers the theme is reminiscent of bach. As a violinist I've seen a lot of sonatas that have ridiculous embellishments and such, but the tonal theme is never truly lost. I appreciate your relatable breakdowns that don't get lost in technical jargon.

Aeschliman really is the glue that holds the genius of everyone together and makes it cohesive. An absolute madman on the set, love seeing him get love

This was great to watch! I love how into it you are and how much you clearly appreciate it! Cheers!

This is the greatest react ever! "It's B*TCHIN" LOL! Tim and the boys need to throw that on a t-shirt

Earned ya self a sub dude, love this. Similar to Rick Beato you have a infectious enthusiasm and genuine authentic love for music and love how you can break the details and nuances down.

I love how every aspect of their music is good. The guitars, the bass and the drums.

The DRUMS !!!!! I've been playing guitar for 30+ years. This drummer is on another level.

I had always asked myself why I like tim Henson and Polyphia cuz I have no idea how guitar works. I see guitarists being all excited over it but Im far from understanding anything. I finally had an answer going through several just “ow” “wow” reactions. You had the best reaction and understanding of their songs I’ve seen so far. I also liked how your body were immersed in the rhythm and synced with the song. Thanks man!

that part near the 5 minute mark definitely reminds me of a Japanese fusion type song. reminds me of something you'd hear on Persona. the beginning of this song has a lot of similarities to goat but enough to be its own thing (especially the resolution sounding similar) Such wild chord combinations and so clean

You blew my mind talking about that lift section 8 minutes in. It really does bring the listener’s ear back. I still consider myself an amateur when it comes to music composition but you broke it down beautifully. Great video, man!

Drums are the glue of a song. They often go unnoticed but they keep everything together and make stuff work.

The drummer in Polyphia always steals the show. He's just so good. The rest of the band are very talented too, but every time I'm listening to this band, it's usually not the guitar playing tickling my ears.

I would love to see you do a whole series of just polyphia songs. Greatly enjoy your insight/reviews and dissection of their playing.

I love how fired up you get when the drummer is doing his thing!

New sub, thanks for the great content. At sixty three years aged, fifty six years playing guitar I'm loving where these kids are taking music.

So much beach vibe in this song… I could close my eyes and imagine being somewhere in Mediterranean….or Malibu…or wherever. Such Boss vibes!

Never heard of these guys until your goat video, but after listening to the rest of the album and then digging further back I think the new drummer definitely helped take their music to a better level. (Though I do wish the old drummer the best)

Best music reaction channel, hands down. I hope you do more stuff with this style of music in the future. Love the break downs! Keep it up, brother!

“Nah not resolving it” lol you’re the shit man love your vids and your riffing

4:02: am I the only one that sees a little Lindsey Buckingham in Tim here? Black suit jacket, classical acoustic electric hybid, crazy hair, otherworldly guitar skills, just jamming with that head bob. Everything about it screams Buckingham to me.

You analysis is the best one available. Thanks. Other observers dont get past the ohmygod stage. Thanks

You're one of the first people I've heard refer to this type of music as "accessible". I've always said it wasn't easily digestible. Thanks for the addition to the musical vocab.