Polyphia’s Be Not Afraid Arrives With a Different Starting Point for Guitar

Polyphia’s fifth studio album, Be Not Afraid, has reached its October 23 digital release. Apple Music’s US album page now lists the full 12-song, 46-minute record through Rise Records, rather than the pre-release listing visible earlier today.

For guitar players, the interesting detail is not simply that Tim Henson and Scott LePage have another record out. It is how the band says some of its ideas began: with a sung line, before the fingers worked out where it belonged on the fretboard.

Melody first, fretboard second

In the album announcement distributed in August, Henson described a writing approach that started by singing musical lines and then translating them to guitar. The sessions brought the musicians together to develop ideas in real time, rather than relying only on separately prepared parts.

That offers a useful listening question for the new record: where does a phrase behave like a vocal melody, and where does the instrument take it somewhere a voice could not? It is a way into the music, not a verdict on recordings we have not reviewed.

The announcement identifies work during 2024 and 2025 in Miami, Los Angeles and Dallas with co-producer RJ Pasin and guitarist Spiro Dussias. The emphasis is on a shared writing process, not a claim that one particular guitar or pedal explains the finished album.

Twelve tracks, with physical formats following later

The official tracklist opens with “Let There Be Light” and closes with “Fear God.” Previously released singles include “Can You Feel It,” “Power in the Blood” and “With Eyes to See.” Apple Music currently rounds the album’s running time to 46 minutes.

Digital release and merchandise shipping are different dates. Polyphia’s official store says the CD ships in November 2026, while its Black Ice White Wave standard vinyl listing says March 2027. Those dates should not be mistaken for delays to the digital album, and shipping estimates may change.

You can find the record on Apple Music. Want to dig deeper into Henson’s guitars and approach to tone? Read our Tim Henson guitars and gear guide.

Image credits: GuitarGangsters editorial illustration, created with AI in an original composition. Identity reference: Drew de F Fawkes, Tim Henson, 2023, CC BY 2.0; adapted into an illustration. Instrument reference: Ibanez TOD10 product imagery. Not a documentary photograph or a claim about the album’s recording rig.