“We just met Zakk Wylde so we're gonna ask him”: Polyphia start lining up album Number Five

Polyphia have been talking about their next album and some spicy collabs that could be in the pipeline.

In an interview with Rock Sound backstage at Download last weekend, guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LaPage confirmed that the group have lined up Babymetal as featured artists on their as-yet untitled fifth album.

“At the minute we're playing with sound design and that's very, very fun,” Henson said of the album’s current status. “Features for the next one confirmed are Babymetal; we just met Zakk Wylde so we're gonna ask him and give him a three-minute long session and let him rip.”

“We've been talking to Serj (Tankian) from System Of A Down. We love all kinds of music, so it's fun to reach into all these different things.”

It’s not the first time Polyphia and Babymetal have linked up. Henson and LaPage played on the kawaii metal sensations’ 2019 track Brand New Day. That collab was purely remote but pair finally got to play their parts live when they guested with the band on stage last month at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The interview also covered dream collaborations. LePage name-dropped Fall Out Boy - “Who wouldn't want that?!” - as well as Meshuggah. Previously in a 2023 interview with Metal Hammer, Henson had hinted at the possibility of bass wizard Thundercat making an appearance on the new record: “Hopefully we can get everything cleared legally...There are going to be a lot of features. The sky’s the limit.”

However, more than a year later Henson now suggested that it may be some time before the new album emerges. “Everything's in the demo stage. (After the tour) we get to go home and write, which is our favourite part of the job.

"I don't want to give a (release) date because every time I do it ends up not being that and album five becomes a myth.”

Primarily an instrumental band based around two virtuoso guitarists: Henson and LaPage, Polyphia have come a long way since their 2014 debut album Muse. The band have gradually diverged from their prog metal roots, adding guest vocal features and mixing up influences along the way, with their 2022 album Remember That You Will Die dipping its toes into hip hop and hyper pop.

That album was their biggest to date and also featured guest appearances by Steve Vai and Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno.