Columbus, OH · cinematic rock

Starset

2 upcoming festivals ↓

Space-suit cinematic rock — sci-fi lore with radio-metal hooks, a full 'demonstration' rather than a mere concert.

Starset formed in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013 around singer Dustin Bates, previously the vocalist for the band Downplay. Bates holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Ohio University, has done research for the US Air Force, and has taught at the International Space University, interests that fed directly into the project he built afterward.

The band's music pairs heavy, down-tuned guitars with radio-scaled melodic hooks, layered over electronics, strings and other cinematic arrangements. Bates wrote a fictional backstory casting Starset as the public arm of the Starset Society, an organisation formed to explain a mysterious signal from space called the Message, and the band maintains the story as fact in most interviews.

Debut album Transmissions came out in July 2014 and entered the Billboard 200 at number 49, one of the strongest chart debuts by a rock band that year, and had sold more than 79,000 copies by 2016. Its lead single, 'My Demons,' brought the band to rock radio and racked up over 280 million YouTube views. 'Carnivore' and 'Halo' followed as further singles, and a tie-in novel, The Prox Transmissions, filled out the Starset Society lore.

The 2017 follow-up, Vessels, debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 and produced the single 'Monster,' which reached number 2 on the Mainstream Rock chart, the band's most successful song to date. A Marvel Comics graphic novel extending the story followed, co-written by Bates, and the band toured behind the record with acts including Seether, Shinedown and Halestorm.

Starset released Divisions in 2019, Horizons in 2021 and Silos in 2025, each one extending the concept. Live, the band performs in space-suit-inspired costumes and calls its shows 'demonstrations,' with staging and visuals tied to the story.

Read more

cinematic rock