Twenty One Pilots are back with Trench (Music Review)

Post date: Nov 19, 2018 8:34:35 PM

By: Eddie Inchaurregui, Staff Writer

Posted November 19th, 2018

Hello Slinger High, Today I will review the latest album by Twenty One Pilots called Trench. The band Twenty One pilots is a two person band formed in Columbus Ohio by Tyler Joseph as the lead singer and Josh Dun as the drummer. The genre of their music is commonly known as alternative rock. The Trench album has a total of 14 songs: Jumpsuit, Nico and the Niners, Levitate, Chlorine, Pet Cheetah, Neon Gravestones, Leave the City, Cut my Lip, My Blood, Legend, The Hype, Smithereens, Bandito, and Morph. Tyler had Paul Meany co-produce several of the songs.

Storyline

There is a fictional story that Tyler Joseph has culminated. It is set in the city of Dema, and controlled by The Bishops. The lead Bishop is known as Nicolas Bourbaki or ‘Nico’. Dema is a representation of the insecurities in society. Clancy, the main protagonist of the Trench Storyline, is apart of the Banditos. The Banditos is the protagonist group responsible for liberating those under the control of The Bishops. The vulture on the cover is an allusion to the religion of Zoroastrianism. The city of Dema,“Tower of Silence,” is where they have vultures consume the remains of the dead. The “Trench” is the land surrounding Dema.

Themes

There are multiple themes that are intertwined with the songs in this album. The common ones death, mental health, suicide, loyalty, and escaping and countering Dema. Jumpsuit is about making the leap from insecurity into confidence. Nico and the Niners is about the struggle of the abstaining from The Bishops. My Blood plays on the concept of dedicating your loyalty to a friend. Cut My Lip is about seeing something through no matter how much pain and suffering induced. It’s about staying strong to what you believe in. Chlorine is a song based on the toxic double edged sword that is songwriting. Pet Cheetah is a metaphor about songwriting and writer’s block. The Hype is about not giving into peer pressure by realizing that you don’t have to change to be happy. Bandito is about joining the Banditos. Legend is a tribute to Robert Joseph, Tyler’s grandfather, who passed away March 17, 2018. Smithereens is a tribute to Tyler’s wife, Jenna Black. Morph is about life after death. Leave the City is about being unfaithful in terms of religion - Tyler Joseph is Christian. Finally, Neon Gravestones is based on the concept of suicide in modern society. In Tyler’s view, he believes that suicide is over-glorified by the public. He believes that we should celebrate those that have made it this far. As Tyler said, ”find your grandparents or someone of age… to life they were dedicated, now that should be celebrated.”

Teasers

They first promoted Trench in an acceptance speech in which Josh thanked the public and apologized for Tyler’s absence. He said “he is severing ties with Dema.” On the 21st of April in 2018, a hidden URL was discovered containing cryptic teasers about Dema. Other information found was the journal entries of Clancy about departing from Dema. They also posted GIFs and videos of yellow eyes progressively opening with each post The last posted video contained the muffled intro of Jumpsuit.

Review

Undisputed Fan, Megan Michaelchuck:

“When they teased that a new album was to be released, I was ecstatic! It had been so long since they had been on social media, and I couldn’t wait to hear their new tracks! The night that Trench came out, I went to a friends house and waited until it came out to listen to it in a group. It has been a month since it came out, and I still love every song just as much as I did when I first heard it. My favorite song is Neon Gravestones because the lyrics and music are so enchanting. Overall, I recommend Trench to everyone. Whether you’ve never listened to Twenty One Pilots or even didn’t like their music before, Trench is a new and revolutionary album that has songs that appeals to anyone.”

My Opinion

In my opinion. I believe this album is one of the greatest albums made by Twenty One Pilots. It’s based on an old religion, and yet it remains relative to modern society. It’s Tyler’s story that parallels with the history of others. It is a perfectly crafted album. There is little to no negative aspects of this album. I’d have to say my favorite song was Chlorine because of its tone and message towards relationships.