Save Us From The Archon – Melancholia (2017)

Depression manifests itself in many ways. Whether diagnosed or not it is a very real and debilitating disease that is nearly impossible to accurately describe to those who are unafflicted. Fortunately there is one outlet that humans have used for thousands of years that portrays these types of intangible emotions: art. Pittsburghian four-piece Save Us From the Archon (SUFTA) revolved their musical process around this concept while writing their new full-length Melancholia. “Since I’ve lived with depression for years now, I decided to turn it into my next art project. I’ve only ever written honest art. I believe the best art comes from honesty” , says SUFTA’s guitarist/composer Andrew Cresto.

The amount of thought and raw emotion that went into writing this album is clear while listening to it. Sporadic breaks, meter changes, and the band’s signature ambient interludes seem to embody a plethora of emotions. These textures, executed without the use of lyrics, makes the music that Save Us from the Archon produces unique and sincere. Emotive guitars ridden with delay, reverb, and reverse effects in ‘All I want is Sleep’ ease the listener into the technical and intoxicating mixture of rhythms and melodies of the second track, ‘Within Walls’. Densely detailed and thoughtfully composed, none of the songs on Melancholia will disappoint SUFTA fans or fans of anything progressive or mathy. Fast-paced phrases intertwining with lush chill-inducing soundscapes paint a sentimental picture with the last two tracks, ‘Lost in a Reverie’ and ‘All I Want is Endless’, bringing Melancholia to an appropriately tranquil end.