"Halo" is a single by American rock band

Starset Starset is an American rock band from Columbus, Ohio, formed by Dustin Bates in 2013. They released their debut album, '' Transmissions'', in 2014 and their second album, '' Vessels'', on January 20, 2017. The band has found success in expandin ...

, off of their studio album '' Transmissions''. It peaked at number 16 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart in 2015.

Background

"Halo" was released as the third single from

's first album '' Transmissions''. The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was debuted on the

Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...

website in May 2017. The song entered the US ''

chart in May 2015, and peaked at number 16 later that October.

Themes and composition

Frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Dustin Bates states that the song's lyrics were inspired by the life of the fictional Thomas Bell, a character whose message is the foundation of the ''Transmissions''

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. He described it as a

love song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

, written from the perspective of a male hero who feels empowered by his female love interest and his love for her. He later expanded on the idea and compared it to the story of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, with the song being representative of a

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

relationship between a hero and who he protects. The song's music video also played into the same concept, featuring scientists in a dystopian future working against unseen but ominous forces, and a male scientist working towards finding a female scientist in the process. Musically, journalists described the song's sound as being similar to the work of

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

30 Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, per ...

. and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

Reception

Journalists generally praised the song and music video for containing relatively heavy and thought-provoking material for a single. Matt Grossinger, staff music editor at The Nerdist, felt that Bates' real-life background of getting his PhD in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

gave more meaning to the song's message, stating "After taking a single glimpse at the dystopian music video for Starset’s song 'Halo', it feels weightier to consider the technophobic vision of our inevitable doom through the lens of someone who has credentialed expertise. With each successive video the band has rolled out, we have seen a wider scope of the doomed world Bates envisions, but 'Halo' actually provides a bit of hope. Though humanity is facing extinction, our protagonist is willing to risk his own life to save his boo, and that is a life-affirming archetype that will never go away no matter how f–ked we are after the singularity/

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

Personnel

* Dustin Bates – lead vocals, keyboard * Brock Richards – lead guitar * Ron DeChant – bass * Adam Gilbert – drums

Charts

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Razor & Tie singles Starset songs