Vessels (Starset album)

Vessels (stylized as ▽ESSELS) is the second studio album by American rock band Starset, released on January 20, 2017 through Razor & Tie.[1]

Vessels
Studio album by Starset
Released	January 20, 2017 September 28, 2018 (Vessels 2.0)
Studio	Black Birch Studios, Kennebunk, ME
Genre	Hard rock progressive rock electronic rock
Length	70:21 (Vessels) 109:07 (Vessels 2.0)
Label	Razor & Tie Fearless Records (Vessels 2.0)
Producer	Rob Graves[1]
Starset chronology
Transmissions (2014) Vessels (2017) Divisions (2019)
Singles from Vessels
"Monster" Released: October 28, 2016 "Satellite" Released: August 8, 2017 "Ricochet" Released: April 25, 2018 "Telepathic" Released: September 21, 2018
Deluxe edition cover
Vessels 2.0 artwork

The album peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "Monster", peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in May 2017, becoming the band's highest-charting song to date.[2] The second single, "Satellite", peaked at number 12 on the same chart in November 2017.[3] A deluxe edition of the album titled Vessels 2.0 was released on September 28, 2018.[4]

Writing and recording

Frontman Dustin Bates outlines the process for creating the album:

I start with sonic goals. This time I had a greater understanding of what instrumentation and even arrangements and genres, to an extent, would be amalgamated into these songs… and then chord structures. Once there’s a great chord structure then I always scat melodies. Then once I have the melody I spend an exorbitant amount of time coming up with lyrics that fit the theme that I want, over that melody. I think it is the way I’ve always written, then after that a readdressing of the musical soundscape and flushing out of the atmosphere of it as well.[5]

Work on the album started as early as June 2015.[6] Bates estimates that it took collectively 9 months to create the album, with small interspersed breaks for touring in support of the band's prior album, Transmissions.[5]

Composition and sound

Bates described the album's sound in comparison to their prior album, Transmissions:

Trying to push the sonic boundaries or even the boundaries that were set by Transmissions. Whereas it was centred in the hard rock lane before, now it goes more metal at times, and the guitar work borrows from djent stylings, and it gets more ambient at times, using electronics at a more deeply integrated level. Whereas the strings were more cinematic, there was more of a quartet before, on this record it’s more of an orchestration I would say. Hopefully increasing in breadth and depth and making it more difficult to tie it to a specific genre.[5]

Vessels has been described as hard rock,[7][8][9][10][11] electronic rock,[9] and progressive rock,[12] by professional critics. Bates also stated he implemented some elements of EDM into the music.[13]

Reception

Vessels was critically acclaimed. Many album review publishing sites highly praised the rock and electronic elements present in the album as well as the lyrics.[14] Praise was also directed towards the stand out singles which were said to be well crafted and instant iconic staples for the band.[15][16] The album was strongly praised by Loudwire, stating that "Vessels works on multiple levels. If you're looking for engaging singular tracks to fill your playlist, this album has several songs that could keep the band on radio for a long run. But if you're looking for a deeper connection and a full listening experience, Vessels truly takes the listener on a journey both musically and thematically, utilising synths, drums, guitars and Bates' at times dreamlike, at other times aggressive vocal approach."[17] The lead single from the album "Monster" also received particular praise for being a perfect blend of prominent hard rock and electronic elements, and was featured in many decade end rock songs lists.[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Order"	Dustin Bates	1:06
2.	"Satellite"	Bates Joe Rickard	3:59
3.	"Frequency"	Bates Paul Trust Rob Graves	4:41
4.	"Die for You"	Bates Daniel Ticotin	5:17
5.	"Ricochet"	Bates Rickard	5:10
6.	"Starlight"	Bates Ticotin	4:46
7.	"Into the Unknown"	Bates Mitch Marlow	4:30
8.	"Gravity of You"	Bates Josh Baker Graves	4:46
9.	"Back to the Earth"	Bates Rickard	4:13
10.	"Last to Fall"	Bates Ticotin Graves	5:03
11.	"Bringing It Down"	Bates Trust Graves	5:48
12.	"Unbecoming"	Bates Baker	4:10
13.	"Monster"	Bates Johnny Andrews Graves	4:16
14.	"Telepathic"	Bates Ticotin Jeff Halavacs Graves	4:42
15.	"Everglow"	Bates Rickard Graves	7:54
Total length:			70:21

Vessels 2.0 – Deluxe edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Bringing It Down" (Version 2.0)	Bates Trust Graves	4:58
17.	"Die for You" (acoustic version)	Bates Ticotin	4:30
18.	"Telepathic" (acoustic version)	Bates Ticotin Halavacs Graves	3:51
19.	"Starlight" (acoustic version)	Bates Ticotin	4:47
20.	"Ricochet" (acoustic version)	Bates Rickard	4:52
21.	"Satellite" (acoustic version)	Bates Rickard	3:50
22.	"Love You to Death" (Type O Negative cover)	Peter Steele	5:32
23.	"Telepathic" (Not Your Dope remix)	Bates Ticotin Halavacs Graves	3:37
24.	"Satellite" (TRAILS remix)	Bates Rickard	2:49
Total length:			109:07

Personnel

Musicians

• Dustin Bates – vocals, guitars, additional programming
• Rob Graves – programming, guitars
• Alex Niceforo – programming
• Igor Khoroshev – programming, strings and orchestra arrangements
• Josh Baker – additional programming
• Paul Trust – additional programming
• Ron DeChant – additional backing vocals
• Joe Rickard – drums
• David Davidson – violin
• David Angell – violin
• Elizabeth Lamb – viola
• Anthony Lamarchina – cello

Technical

• Rob Graves – production, engineering
• Ben Grosse – mixing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Mike Plotnikoff – engineering
• Justin Spotswood – engineering
• Paul Decarli – digital editing
• Joe Rickard – digital editing, additional pre-production
• Josh Baker – additional pre-production
• Sahaj Ticotin – additional pre-production
• Paul Trust – additional pre-production

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19]	52
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20]	56
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21]	60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22]	85
US Billboard 200[23]	11
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[24]	2

References

1. "Starset Unleash 'Monster' Single, Announce 'Vessels' Album". Loudwire.com. November 4, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
2. "Starset - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
3. "Starset Chart History". Retrieved September 25, 2018.
4. "Starset announces "Vessels 2.0" deluxe album". Retrieved September 1, 2018.
5. Kennedy, Jade (February 1, 2017). "With Starset's New Album 'Vessels' Dustin Bates Seeks To Bring Out The Scientist In All Of Us". Music Feeds. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
6. Hadsall, Joe (June 12, 2015). "Sci-fi songwriting: Dystopian story fuels Starset's music | Lifestyles: Entertainment, Life and more". Joplinglobe.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
7. "25 Best Hard Rock Albums of 2017". Loudwire. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
8. "2017 Loudwire Music Awards Nominees Revealed". Loudwire. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
9. "Album Review: Starset – Vessels – Rocked". Rockedreviews.net. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
10. Price, Jeremy. "Starset - "Vessels" [Album Review]". puregrainaudio.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
11. "Album Review: Starset - 'Vessels' - New Noise Magazine". January 20, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
12. "Starset - Vessels (Album Review)". Cryptic Rock. January 13, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
13. Mettler, Mike (April 7, 2017). "Starset's Dustin Bates Talks VR Audio, Hi-res Streaming, and Life On Mars". Digital Trends. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
14. Blue, Jeannie (January 13, 2017). "Starset – Vessels (Album Review)". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
15. Deilami, Darien (October 7, 2017). "Starset | Vessels (2017) Album Review". New Transcendence. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
16. "Album Review: Starset – Vessels". Music Existence. January 20, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
17. "Starset, 'Vessels' - Album Review". Loudwire.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
18. November 21, Loudwire StaffPublished:; 2019. "The 66 Best Rock Songs of the Decade". Loudwire. Retrieved August 14, 2020.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
19. "ARIA CHART WATCH #405". auspOp. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
20. "Austriancharts.at – Starset – Vessels" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
21. "Starset Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Starset – Vessels" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
23. "Starset Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
24. "Starset Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2017.