Ohio alt-metal outfit ASAVA continue expanding their cinematic universe with the release of “Saveyourself,” the latest single and music video from their forthcoming album, Mahjong, arriving August 28 via MDDN Records and Atlantic Records.
Serving as the newest installment in the band’s ongoing How Long Is Forever? episodic series, “Saveyourself” represents a creative turning point for the group. Rather than writing a song first and building visuals around it, ASAVA reversed their usual process by completing the film before composing the music, resulting in what the band describes as its first original score.
Frontman Liam Brocious explained the unique creative approach behind the project:
“‘Saveyourself’ is us tripling down on our goals of being filmmakers. While ‘Leigh’ and ‘Rue’ were shot with the intent of matching the tone and lyrics of the song, ‘Saveyourself’ was the other way around. After the first edit draft was done there wasn’t any song we had that matched the tone and pacing of the episode, so we wrote one for it. Essentially our first score we made for an episode.”
Despite the unconventional process, Brocious emphasized that the band remained committed to crafting a song that could stand on its own.
“It was challenging to write the song because I still wanted it to be a great, relistenable rock song in its own right. But after a lot of time and iterations, we finally hit the perfect presentation we were striving for.”
Dark, atmospheric, and emotionally charged, “Saveyourself” was born from the completed visual rather than inspiring it. After editing the latest chapter of the How Long Is Forever? series, the band realized none of their existing material captured the intensity or pacing of the story. The result is a track that functions both as a cinematic score and a fully realized alt-metal single.
The accompanying visual continues ASAVA‘s ambition of blurring the boundaries between music videos and narrative filmmaking. Band members portray two detectives investigating the disappearance of a missing person, with the case quickly escalating into a dangerous hunt for a suspected killer. As the investigation unfolds, the story leads viewers through a series of increasingly tense twists, revealing a darker mystery beneath the surface.
Formed in Canton, Ohio, ASAVA have steadily built a reputation for combining heavy music with immersive storytelling. Their independently released 2025 album, Mantras, introduced audiences to the band’s cinematic vision, while a feature in Revolver‘s Spring 2026 issue helped elevate their national profile ahead of their signing to MDDN Records and Atlantic Records.
With Mahjong set for release on August 28, “Saveyourself” offers another compelling preview of the band’s most ambitious project to date. By seamlessly merging narrative filmmaking with emotionally driven alt-metal, ASAVA continue carving out a distinctive creative identity that extends well beyond the traditional music video format.