Twenty One Pilots, composed of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, have released their fifth studio album, titled “Trench.” It contains 14 songs and has come out after a three-year gap between their last album, “Blurryface” and after a year of social media and public silence.
“Trench” is aided with an ongoing story that’s far too complicated to easily describe. It’s shown in the music videos, a website, emails they’ve sent to fans and even includes references that indicate past albums have involved the story as well. This contains lots of imagery and symbolism, including the character ‘Clancy,’ who’s depicted as the vulture in videos and on the album cover. “Clancy” is also a likely representation of Joseph. The videos depict his escape from the city of “Dema,” which seems to indicate living and struggling with mental illness. This city is led by nine bishops, who all indicate different sources of self doubt and insecurity that are unspecified and are left for your own interpretation. Joseph is with a group of “Banditos,” or other people attempting to escape this city and to better themselves once they do so and to deal with their mental struggles better in their lives.
All of the imagery and symbols seem to mostly depict insecurities and mental health problems that Joseph suffers from and bad thoughts that weigh him down. In this album, as well as the past one, he’s shown in music videos and live performances with his neck and hands painted black. He’s explained that the reason for this is because that’s where he makes his music, through his throat and hands. The black denotes his insecurity, so those places are where he has the most insecurity and doubt. He’s commonly spoken about his mental illness and suicidal thoughts in his music, and seems to use it as an outlet. This album is no exception and he seems speak on it here even more so than before, and most cohesively.
Every song on the album speaks on his struggles with mental health. Additionally, it has returning themes of him struggling with his faith, (in “Chlorine”) as the band has had common ties with Christianity and how he wishes God would help him in his personal problems. It also includes a sweet song to his wife in “Smithereens” and a touching tribute to his grandfather in “Legend.” Joseph’s grandfather died in March of this year and is most known for being on the cover of the band’s 2013 album “Vessel.” Along with Joseph speaking on his own problems, in “Neon Gravestones” he attacks the parts of society that glorifies mental issues, specifically those who commit suicide. The title is meant to dissuade Joseph, or other celebrities who struggle, from giving in to their thoughts and receiving posthumous fame in “Neon gravestones,” who he notes as “Calling for his bones.” This is a very powerful song with an incredible message that sits heavily with me long after listening to it.
“Trench” is a beautiful, intense and relatable album. My only personal gripe is I don’t enjoy the act of searching through the videos and internet for all the clues, symbols and secret meanings and honestly find it a little over the top. However, I can appreciate the story they’ve made and know many others enjoy connecting all the pieces together. I have been a fan of the band for many years and consider this their strongest and most powerful album yet. The lyrics are beautiful and the tunes emotional. As someone who personally has issues regarding mental health, I find the way he speaks upon his struggles intensely relatable. It is also at times uplifting and works as a means to provide hope that I too can persevere through my problems. I’ll definitely be listening to this as I work through my seasonal blues, and I’ll be happy to do so.
_Edited by Siena DeBolt | sdebolt@themaneater.com_
