Freshly out today is the brand new fifth studio album from American Rock band Starbenders, called The Beast Goes On. Launching through Sumerian Records, the album The Beast Goes On explores themes of personal battles, relentless perseverance and the chaotic and unstoppable nature of existence. After their last album Take Back The Night which was released in 2023, this 13 track album is a big blend of glam rock, goth and metal.
If you haven’t heard of Starbenders then don’t worry, as even though they are an incredible band they are also not too well known by the mainstream media, especially in Europe. Starbenders are an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia; they formed in 2013 with founding members vocalist Kimi Shelter and bassist Aaron Lecesne, who have since been joined by Kriss Tokaji (Guitar) and Qi Wei (Drums).
Album opener ‘The Beast Goes On’ is my first stand out track from this album, largely because of how beautiful the pipe organ instrument in the intro sounds mixed with Shelter’s vocals; it just sounds so perfectly gothic. This track is also the title track for the album and I feel it has a very strong Creeper vibe, with the retro instrumentals and lyrics on the darker side. The entire album has a strong gothic glam-rock atmosphere, creating a retro-mystical quality which I absolutely adore. Imagine Fleetwood Mac but gothic, with a few 80s and 90s style twists – that sounds absolutely phenomenal to me.
Another thing that this album does for me is make me crave for autumn and halloween time – summer rainy days would also work though. This is because of those dark themes and sounds that you can hear throughout every track, generating a seriously romantic yet vampiric atmosphere, just screaming with visuals of a ruined castle rising from the fog in the middle of a gloomy forest. I also love the pure rawness of the vocals, especially when there’s short, sharp screams at the ends of some words in the songs. There’s a lot of chaotic energy thrown into the mix within the album, which as a listener you just can’t help but move along to and feel energised by – there’s a raw realness to this album that made me feel as if I was listening to the songs live, and I can definitely say that this album is going straight onto my iPod (yes, I still use one!).
Something else I really enjoy is the rebellious attitude that can be heard throughout the album. The way the lyrics are written and sang makes me feel like I am part of a cult and it makes you scream hell yeah! Every track is full of animalistic rage and chaotic energy; there’s no bad or boring track across the entire album, which makes it one of the rarest of beasts – a non-skippable album!
The second track that really stands out to me is ‘Cold Silver’. The best way to describe the whole vibe to this track is with a visual image – take the creepiest, most gloomy and gothic building you can think of (a castle or cathedral perhaps) and imagine yourself as a vampire in a long, flowing black dress or cape, dancing in the rainy moonlight outside of it. It’s like I have stepped back in time and I’m in an 80’s rock music video! The third track that stands out to me is ‘Summon My Heart’; the chorus especially is so powerful: “Call my name, under the black skies when the lightnings hitting the vein”, as well as my absolute favourite line: “Call my name, say it three times like a moonlight serenade”. When combined with the upbeat instruments and the seductive and strong vocals from Kimi Shelter it all just comes together as a complete package to me. In terms of inspirations and parallels, I hear a lot in The Beast Goes On album that remind me of iconic works from HIM, Type O Negative and even Sisters Of Mercy, which will have many an old-school goth feeling pretty nostalgic. I myself used to listen to a lot of HIM back in High School, and I genuinely miss those days, so the fact that this album alone can take me back there gets it a huge thumbs up from me.
All in all, I seriously enjoyed this album, maybe even fell in love with it. The pure chaotic, nostalgic and goth feels were the icing on the cherry on top of the cake for me. This album definitely will be on repeat for me for the foreseeable future, especially when late summer early autumn shorter days and darker nights come around. I really cannot wait to see what else Starbenders come up with after this album; I hope that it gets the attention that it deserves, as it’s simply brilliant.
