Into the Trenches: Twenty One Pilots Release New Album

After three long years, Twenty One Pilots has released another highly anticipated album. And may I just say, it is glorious. Any TOP fan can recognize Tyler Joseph’s signature croon in a heartbeat, and he just gets better and better with every album.

Twenty One Pilots has held onto their renowned blend of rock, pop, hip-hop and rap throughout their career, further cultivating this genre in their 2013 album “Blurryface.” But, the duo seems to have perfected this eclectic sound in their newest album “Trench,” which was released on Oct. 5 of this year.  

The album centers around mental health and feels very uplifting in its messages to keep on going, while also feeling very dark as we learn more about the duo’s own struggles with mental health. The duo convey their story with mental illness through the use of a mythological story. The walled city of Dema and its inhabitants’ struggles are used as a metaphor for mental illness, with the wall representing the difficulty of overcoming depression. The Dema storyline is woven throughout the album in songs such as “Levitate,” “Nico and the Niners,” and “Bandito.”

The lead single from “Trench,” “Jumpsuit,” was released back in July with “Nico and the Niners.” The two singles sounded completely different, foreshadowing “Trench” to be full of diverse and genre-bending songs.

“Jumpsuit” exudes rock influences with some surprisingly soft vocals and a piano section. Joseph starts out singing at almost a whisper, but ends the song with a little bit of iconic punk distortion with drummer Josh Dun wailing on the drums in the background. The duo performed this song at the American Music Awards on Oct. 9, and gave a high-energy, authentic performance that made me love the song even more.

“Levitate” and “Morph” dip into the band’s rap repertoire with hip-hop beats backing up Joseph’s voice. “Levitate” emits a chill kind of vibe and fuses rock influences with rap. This song was also released early accidentally back in August, allowing fans to learn that “you can levitate with just a little help” a few months early.

“Morph” blends rap with an R&B sound, demonstrating a type of smoothness and melodic tone that I’ve never heard from TOP before. The song is about being unsure of one’s self and turning into someone else. It describes the act of pretending to be someone you’re not as going into “a defense mechanism mode” in order to blend in and move on.

The album takes a turn with “My Blood,” an electropop track reminiscent of songs like “nn” from “Blurryface.” “My Blood” is one of the more pop sounding tracks on “Trench,” which is a welcome break from the rock and hip-hop tones of the rest of the album.

“Chlorine” transitions us back to the band’s signature alternative/emo hip-hop sound. The tone of “Chlorine” is darker and moodier than some of the rest of the songs on the album, so if you are in the mood to brood, this song is for you.

“Smithereens” is an ode to Joseph’s wife, Jenna, and is about as light in tone as the band can get. One of my favorite lines from the song comes at the end when Joseph sings “you know I had to do one on the record for her like this.” The couple got married in 2015 so this was probably Joseph’s first opportunity to write a song for Jenna on an album. Joseph sings about how even though he only weighs “153,” he would protect her from anyone and “would get beat to smithereens” for her.

Opening with a mellow piano interlude, “Neon Gravestones” condemns society’s glorification of people who commit suicide with smooth vocals and rap. On the other hand, “The Hype” is an alternative pop song about keeping your head up through difficult times and letting things roll off your back. The ukulele in the bridge really adds to the uplifting message of the song with its delightful chords backing up Joseph’s vocals.

“Nico and the Niners” is one of the band’s lead singles for the album and quickly became one of my favorites. All I can say about it is that it is a really cool sounding song, but there’s so many things going on in the song that it is very hard to describe. However, I highly recommend it. It’s a vibe.

“Cut My Lip” and “Bandito” are two of the slower paced songs on the album, although “Cut My Lip” more closely resembles soft rock and “Bandito” is more of a melodic, chill ballad. “Cut My Lip” tells listeners to persevere through life no matter how many times life knocks you down, as Joseph sings, “Though I am bruised, face of contusions// Know I’ll keep moving.”

“Bandito” tells the story of the group of rebels inside the walls of Dema that help others escape the city. The slow pace and the length of the song could represent a slow journey to freedom outside the walls of Dema.

“Pet Cheetah” is an interesting title for a song about writer’s block, but nonetheless, the rap and synth beats still work together to create a dark bop. “Legend” has an older sound reminiscent of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The song is about Joseph’s grandfather who passed away in March 2018. His grandfather was actually the man on the right of the cover of their 2013 album “Vessel.”

The fourteenth and final song, “Leave the City,” is a sober end to a great album. It is a resolution to the album, and the beginning of coming to terms with depression. This song’s indication that the people will someday leave the city of Dema, though not now, is a representation of how Joseph’s battling of depression has not been easy but he will get through it.

Rating: 9/10