Polyphia announce new album Be Not Afraid

Instrumental prog rock band Polyphia have announced a new album, Be Not Afraid, out October 23 via Rise Records, alongside new single "Power In The Blood."

Guitarist Tim Henson described the album as the band's most focused work yet. "Instead of going wide on Be Not Afraid, we went as deep as we could," he said, calling it "by far the most meaningful record we've ever made." Fellow guitarist Scott LePage said the writing process shifted for this record, with the pair building songs together in the room rather than developing ideas separately before combining them. "We physically can't make the same album twice," LePage said.

The video for "Power In The Blood," directed by Caleb Young, was filmed at the Baroque-style São Francisco da Penitência Church in Rio de Janeiro, visually setting up a good-versus-evil theme that Henson says runs through the whole record, moving between music that is "very uplifting and triumphant" and passages he calls "spine-chilling and terrifying."

Be Not Afraid will be available across formats including CD and eight vinyl variants, with preorders and digital presaves live now. The band has an extensive metal and rock tour lined up through early 2027, hitting the US and Europe with support from acts including Ladrones, RJ Pasin, Intervals and Plini at different points on the run.

The album continues Polyphia's steady rise as one of instrumental rock's most commercially successful acts, following a 2026 world tour and guitarist Tim Henson's own solo work under his self-produced "Original Sin" project, and it arrives in a busy season for metal album announcements alongside records from Godflesh and Serena Cherry, all tracked in the release calendar.