Breathtaking, otherworldly and cinematic are the best words to use when describing “Horizon,” an album released by Starset on Oct. 22, 2021. Reaching top 10 on BillBoard.com’s Top Hard Rock Albums, it is certainly a wonderful experience for any casual listener of Starset or electronic/hard rock.
The album is made up of 16 songs, with “Infected” getting the most views on both Genius.com with 33.4 thousand page views and Youtube with 6.9 million views. At first, each song on the album sounded alike – both to each other and their sister album; “Divisions,” from the clashing of the drums and the rough strumming of some guitars, to occasional moments of calmness with the guitar and an absence of the drums, when paying a bit more attention to the sounds of the instruments, the lyrics and the vocals, each song has their own unique way of conveying a feeling of fulfillment for any listener while maintaining the same vibes and theme that they used in their other album from 2019, “Divisions.”
The vibes usually have a large sense of urgency and mystery, which compliments their concept narrative or “theme” of a futuristic, dystopian society. One of their strongest songs is “Symbiotic.” So much pure and raw feeling can be heard from the vocals and the lyrics, especially from the hook, which conveys the feeling of dependence on the person who answered their calls for help. The lyrics tell a story – a cry for help, which was heard, and a feeling of attachment towards the unfamiliar feeling of fulfillment and hope is made. While still being hard rock, it holds a strange feeling of comfort within its core message: someone or something will respond to your cries of help.
The strongest song is last on the album, “Something Wicked.” It feels so surreal listening to it, starting off softly and beautifully until it surprises you with heavier strumming of the guitar, the beating of the drums, and the continued, careful but gorgeous playing of what sounds like the violin. The lyrics cleverly craft a story between a guilty person who is repenting and an unstoppable foe that “…rose to the top again, back like a long-lost friend.” It is a perfect way of ending such an underrated and legendary album.
Overall, “Horizon” is an album that is worth listening to for any enjoyer of Starset or hard-rock. The style of the songs is consistent, but, at the same time, they make this consistent style different between their sister album and each other, by strumming the guitar differently to throwing in other instruments. They’re able to keep their style consistent while still making it different enough to enjoy and not be the same, repetitive thing. All the songs in the album capture the brilliance of the others while also being a huge compliment to their previous work.
