I highly suggest reading this interview with Steve Vai. His solo was chopped up which makes sense why I confused by his presentation knowing his playing styles as I do…(it wasn’t his idea)😊 guitar.com/news/music-news/steve-vai-polyhia-collaboration-ego-death-special/

Everyone knows Steve can shred so him doing such a melodic solo just seems to be the perfect balance to this song. Makes it more relatable to a bigger audience. Some cool videos of him and polyphia live doing improv and that is where you can really see the difference in their playing. Steve is a master at improv. Tim and Scott are more practice practice practice.

Jeff, I gotta tell you THANKS AGAIN for educating me! I had never heard of these guys before this video... but once again you have introduced this old man to quality music and talented musicians! If they are good enough to rate a collaboration with Vai then they are good enough for a subscription! This is why I love your channel man; you always bring it!!!! Thanks!!!!!

I found Vai's contribution as a nice counter weight to the other two players' technical style. And they reminded me about Plini, which can't be bad.

Scott LePage is the longer haired guitarist and plays his own signature Ibanez guitar. I absolutely love these guys and clearly being blown away when we discovered them driving home from vacation, I think San Diego. Love their style of their guitars with the start stop component. Steve Vai apparently said they chopped and edited his contribution to meet their creative style. I guess Steve was saying he felt uncomfortable saying featuring “Steve Vai” stating he really didn’t do much for it. Steve loves them and said after a second listen he said it was kind of a humility thing. Great video Great reaction ❤🤗🎸🎸🎸

I feel like Steve Vai's solo fit this perfectly, because it's a good contrast to polyphias very rhytmic focused playing. They aren't unmelodic, but even their melodies are often very rhytmically intricate and Vai's solo was mainly letting the guitar sing, which only few can do better than him :D Would love to see reactions to other songs from the albon, mainly the audacity (ft. Anomalie), which is very interesting or bloodbath (ft. Chino Moreno (Deftones)), which is one of the songs on the album with vocals.

This group has the same feel as Arch Echo, Nice! Surprising twist at the end 🙂

Beautiful reaction Teacher. I like Polyphia because they often play Playable song for the beginners like us. And Uncle Steve Vai in it is it's completeness

Superdelicious and totally respectful of Steve Vai to actually not take up to much space. Thanx, Jeff!💖

Just discover this group bc of vai featuring. Gifted guutarrist also from chile i watch recently g3 satriani and vai in chile. And on 14 june i ammgoing to watch vai again. Saludos from chile.

I had the same initial reaction to Steve's part but when you break it down technically what he's doing it's crazy and he plays the hell out of this song. The more I hear it the more I love his part

In my estimation of the video and entire composition of the themes; the floors of the building represent the layers of ego to overcome. The throne is passed from scene to scene, player to player. Culminating in the rooftop entrance. The early passages of music show the beginner guitarist, then he duets, then drummer, then full band. They then have their coalescence as musicians in the warehouse scene (mid level) showing a more enhanced virtuosity. Then of course Steve hands the torch in the last layer, as you say with a more refined approach but then magic happens as they all coalesce into a unison of triumph, topped with that I feel is genius; a trumpet sounding out to the skies as call to where musicianship might reach for.

Wow you look just like my football coach Castanon from high school. Love your reaction.

I think Steve Vai is trying to showcase his pitch bending technique which I believe he invented relatively recently. He is able to bend strings individually in different ways as opposed to all together. I would love it if you could check out his song, knapsack, that he composed after shoulder surgery. The song is played entirely with his left hand

Great reaction! More polyphia please!

There's a beautiful contrast to the exact and percussive style of the band, in Steve choosing to bend pitch to almost a microtonal range, and stretch time with his legato notes.

I Guess the Ego Death means not being important as a solist(shredding) but as a part of a bigger collaborative thing. That's represented by the throne. Also by Tim letting Scottie take the lead of the shredding and Steve not shredding at all and going for more melodic-harmonic approach.

I think Steve Vai s contribution was outstanding. God knows how he managed to come up with an insanely amazing contribution to balance the complex and technically brilliant work of the polyphia guitarists is beyond me. You are showing so many wonderfully gifted musicians on your channel. Thanks Jeff. I wonder if Dirty Loops have something on the back burner? Hope so.

the funny thing about the slap bass technique on the guitars (which both Scott and Tim are doing in their parts) is that both of them I believe just learned the technique very recently prior to making this album and they're already extremely proficient at it.

totally agree with you. i think Steve wanted it to be more of a passing of the torch, rather than a competition. imo

Love this one. I think Steve’s part really fit the song. Tim and Scott are so freakin’ good. It’s because of Polyphia (and Ren) that I’m buying my first guitar this week 😝

He just pulled the wibe apart

Awesome musicians, but where is the keyboard player? I hear keys all over this tune!

Polyphia is living on the same block as Jack & Owane but normally they never meet and if they do they don´t seem to be attracted by the others. They have mostly the same skill set but the path they are moving along is a totally different one. Whilst the one family is interested in living the posh and cool way the other is more playful and wants to live a lush live with a flow. Good to have them both... I think that Steve just wanted to step out of the way.

2 fun facts from this album: 1. Tim and Scott were learning thumping technique from Tosin Abasi before make this album. (That's why you can hear thumping riff almost in every song in this album) 2. Most of the drum parts from this album written by Luke Holland and performed by clay. (I wonder if clay is not good enough to play hip-hop drum kinda style)

This song is about the death of Steve Vai’s ego. His own words. Ok jk, I’m talking mumbo jumbo. But I do remember hearing an interview with Steve where he said something along those lines. That he is much more “laidback” now, then what he was in his younger days.

Next Up. -----> Chimera

Scott LePage.

Incredible picking and fingerinng

Hmmmmm....dirty raw but still organized...but not what I expected from the Vai brand. Quite impressive nontheless.

watching all the guys not do anything while playing, does this count as shoe gazing music?

That was ok and then Steve Vai turned up it was good but once again not for me.