The 40 days of Lent are coming to a close in 2023, meaning it must already be April, with Easter right around the corner! For this month, I chose a song that at face value may not have an Easter message, but let’s take a deeper dive into STARSET and one of their leading hit singles, “My Demons.”
“The ship is slowly sinking
They think I’m crazy but they don’t know the feeling
They’re all around me circling like vultures
They wanna break me and wash away my colors”
I was introduced to STARSET by Taylor Powell and Pastor Drew when we went to see Breaking Benjamin back in 2021. They already seemed to have a familiarity to STARSET, while I was initially hearing of them. They were the opening band of the concert and they set the tone of the whole show, preparing the crowd for Seether, Lacey Sturm, & finally Breaking Benjamin. I remember them performing this song because of the triumphant feel it has with the high energy of the song.
“Take me high and I’ll sing
Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay”
STARSET is a rock band that started up the road in Columbus, Ohio. The number of core members the band consists of has remained the same, while the touring band members have changed since their debut album, “Transmissions” back in 2014, which “My Demons” was featured on. The main members of STARSET are Dustin Bates of Downplay being the front man of the group for vocals, keyboards, guitar, and production, Brook Richards doing guitar riffs and backing vocals, Ron DeChant on backing vocals, keys, and bass, and Adam Gilbert being the drummer. They would rock on to eventually add Siobhán Richards, Cory Juba, and Zuzana Engererova to the live touring version of the band, giving the band a larger presence and sound for stadium level excitement and entertainment.
“I need your help, I can’t fight this forever
I know you’re watching, I can feel you out there”
In the lyrics of the song we hear the singer asking for help from negative people trying to change and break down the singer’s character. They even refer to it as a ‘sickness’ that is hard for the singer to keep from letting take them over; as if it was something that has infected the very people who are trying to break the singer and their beliefs. In the third verse the singer mentions the need of a Savior that they are one of a kind to fly them over the walls and to heal their pain. The chorus of the song is also reaffirming to the lyrics, stating, “Take me high and I’ll sing” and at the end asking for saving even if the singer becomes one of the very people they are trying to not become.
“Take me over the walls below
Fly forever, don’t let me go
I need a savior to heal my pain
When I become my worst enemy”
So, how does this song relate to Easter? Well, on Easter we observe in the text the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, after conquering the demon of death, thus opening the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven, often referred to as an ‘elevated’ place and a place free of pain and sin, to live with God, our creator, who created us in his image. Which is exactly what the song mentions!
“We are one and the same
Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away
Save me if I become my demons”
The theme in the music video for “My Demons” matches the introductory sci-fi space theme of my last review for “Ashes of Eden”, except this one takes place in the future year of 2047, but also in 2013 with Dr. Stephen Browning at the Allen Telescope Array, and in 1911 where we get a feature from Nikola Tesla messing around with a Tesla Coil at the Wardenclyffe Tower. The video starts out with our space traveler (Dustin Bates) in 2047 about to enter a planetary shift and has chosen that it is time to send out a special message. This message is sent out to both of our scientists who are both shocked by receiving a message from the future. Stephen Browning runs out of his office at the sight of the message, and the message breaks Nikola Tesla’s coil. Tesla goes to his boss to ask for more funding for his experiment but his boss blows smoke in his face and tells him that he has
wanted too much money already.
Who would have thought that a song called “My Demons” would be related to Easter? The signs of things being intertwined are all around us, if our eyes are open to see them. Celebrate a rockin’ Easter this Spring and know that Jesus has been resurrected and has conquered our demons as long as we walk with him in faith.
References:
“Starset – My Demons (Official Music Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 6 May 2014. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.
“Starset – My Demons.” Genius.
“Starset.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Mar. 2023.