ALBUM REVIEW: Starset – ‘SILOS’

Starset are a perfect example of how to love something too much. Its catalyst has always been Dustin Bates’ scientific background (as in, a doctorate in engineering that led to him researching for the US Air Force and teaching at the International Space University in France), plus a passion for sci-fi that always seems to go hand-in-hand. All of that, therefore, gets parlayed into Starset, with the presumed intention of a big, intergalactic hard rock epic that supersedes any and all comers in its format.

And then you actually listen to them, and you realise that’s a bit of a misguided viewpoint. It’s certainly true that Starset surpass the others in scope, underpinned by how long their albums frequently run for. But if you’re searching for deeper symbolism or a narrative worthy of sci-fi’s literary greats, there’s not a lot to speak of with Starset. In essence, they’re like every other US hard rock band they’ve spent the last decade rubbing shoulders with—you’ll get a couple of standouts per album, and while the rest might not always be objectionable, it’s still filler to contend with.

Even so, you get a very pompous air radiating from Starset, on SILOS especially. It’s just shy of an hour (which, for this band, is practically a breeze), and yet, between the glut of instrumental cuts and the omnipresent self-seriousness it’s drenched in, it’s treated as some make-or-break tome for rock music to come. Starset’s compulsion for an absolute cull on levity means that SILOS is far from an outlier; it’s just that, after so many goes around, the self-imposed weight starts crushing down more and more.

The key thing to note with that, as much as Bates wants to perpetuate the notion of something elevated from the norm, it’s remarkably rare to find somewhere that justifies it. On paper, themes of post-humanism and escaping the cataclysm of modern society are quintessential sci-fi ripe to be scooped up and translated into a space-rock blockbuster. On SILOS, however, they’re the slivers of inspiration to draw in kudos and stroke Bates’ ego for a while. Nowhere does this feel truer than TOKSIK, presumably a garbled pastiche / reference / half-joke at TikTok (so, an attempt was made, I guess?). Either way, it’s a song about society’s ills, where a pseudo-rapped bridge puts in the same firing line fascists, groomers and “commie consumers”, which is…an interesting choice of words. It gives a ‘both sides are bad and stupid’ stance that you’d almost expect from someone like Bates, as rooted in science and ‘objectivity’ as he is. And when you notice that kind of high attitude leach down into songs like DARK THINGS and Dystopia—all skin-deep admonishments on society meant to sound way more radical than they are—you really do find your patience tested.

Ironically, SILOS probably achieves the most when Bates is nowhere to be found, or at least it resembles something more tolerable. Going as all-in on interludes and instrumental set-pieces as Starset are does nothing for pacing or flow, but at least you get to see some of their grandeur actually manifest. The grainier synthwave buzz is a great fit on rise of Messenger, even lilting into a post-dubstep sort of form of temple of Milton which also isn’t bad. Crucially, they’re evident of Starset’s ability to actually convey a sense of eerie, space-faring wonderment that their flat slabs of social commentary seem allergic to. If these smaller pieces were blown out and fashioned into a full-length score of some kind, that would be a far better showcase and use of Starset’s talents.

Instead, the vision of space they choose to prioritise is the bleak, empty, soul-crushing void, humanity existing as only a faint speck of a memory. Perhaps there’s the occasional glint of starlight in the more buoyant chorus of SWAY but don’t get used to that. The M.O. with Starset is mechanical coldness for as far as they can take it, where drums clatter and guitars get compressed into two-ton bricks with flexibility as an afterthought. At least for as blatant a Pendulum ripoff as Dystopia can be (down to Bates’ ever-heavy production leaving him sounding identical to Rob Swire), the courtesy towards something approaching tempo is thanked. Past that, SILOS is comfortable to lumber on as always, as another mismanaged look at Starset’s ‘genius’ that only feels less and less earned with every clanger dropped.

What’s more, the fact they’re so averse to shaking that up means it’s all only gotten worse and worse over time. SILOS is a textbook example of a band circling the drain, despite every protestation to the contrary that they’ll try and load their output with. In Starset’s case, the big themes and execution are all supposed to be enough; pay no mind to how half-baked and monotonous they can be, because that doesn’t matter, right? It’s huge and epic and rooted in science in a way that no one else is doing, after all. And while Starset don’t appear to have said any of that outright, they probably do believe it of uplifting themselves as much as possible, while conveniently ignoring how, outside of radio-rock’s insulation, they’d be an afterthought at best. Even within that scene, are you actually going to remember another one of these?

For fans of: Nothing More, Skillet, Sleep Token

‘SILOS’ by Starset is released on 12th September on Fearless Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall