On 15 September 2017, Arcane Roots’ second studio album, Melancholia Hymns , was released through Easy Life Recordings. It was a significant stylistic departure, relying heavily on electronic sounds. While the band remained confident in the songs they had written, they were uncertain of the potential response to the new music, with Groves describing his fear that it would be perceived as “Arcane Roots Find a Synthesiser” or “Rock Band Finds Drum Machine”. Nevertheless, the album was well received critically, being included on The Independent ‘s rock and metal year-end list. In support of the album, the band toured across the UK and Europe, the first dates taking place in September with Good Tiger and Gold Key . Complications arose when members of the band fell ill, leading to the London and Wolverhampton dates being rescheduled to the end of the tour. Additionally, Good Tiger could no longer perform and after eight dates were replaced by Fizzy Blood .
Release of Melancholia Hymns
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