Divisions is the third studio album by American rock band Starset. It was released on September 13, 2019. It spawned two singles "Manifest" and "Trials", which peaked at number 14 and 8 respectively on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.[3]
Background and concept
Plans for a third studio album were revealed as early as January 2018, though frontman Dustin Bates stated its release would be far in the future, as he was taking a break from Starset to release a side-project electronic album under the moniker of "MNQN".[4] Talks of a third album arose again in August 2018, upon the band's announcement of the re-release of their second album, Vessels, as Vessels 2.0.[5] Shortly after the April 2019 release of MNQN material, in May 2019, the band announced that the third album was scheduled for release on September 13, 2019.[6] The album's title, Divisions, was announced on August 15, 2019.[7] The album's first single, "Manifest", was released the same day, alongside its music video.[8][9] The album is the first to feature session drummer Luke Holland.[10]
Much like the band's prior two albums, the album conceptually refers to frontman Dustin Bates' fictional story about a dystopian future struggling with the misuse of technology.[11] The music video for "Manifest" established the setting of New West, where denizens of a work camp are mind controlled into compliance through technology embedded into their heads, while others start to stage a rebellion.[12] Three other songs, "Where the Skies End", "Diving Bell", and "Stratosphere" were released in the leadup to the album, with accompanying music videos featuring citizens from various socioeconomic backgrounds affected by the mind control technology.[13][14][15]
