Hey there! Have you ever wondered what the different Twenty One Pilots albums “mean” in a lore/story perspective? Well, for some reason it’s crossed my mind a lot. So I’m going to write about it, and rate them as I go. (Please remember these ratings are based on my feelings, not on quality, specific content or genre.) 🙂 Let’s start from the very beginning!
TWENTY ONE PILOTS / SELF TITLED – 8/10
While I can appreciate this album, I don’t really see it as a TØP thing as much, due to the absence of Josh Dun. It probably offends most of you for me to say this, but it’s my truth. Twenty one Pilots will always be a two-person band in my heart. That being said, I do really like some of the songs. My favorites are Fall Away, Addict with a Pen, Taxicab, and Friend, Please. They are all excellent songs and I love how raw and real they rub you. It’s like they’re standing just a room away singing. It’s a kinda haunting feeling, now that I think about it. However, I don’t think it has a ton of lore influence when looking at the album as a whole. (There is a bit of story hinting at hand in some songs, but it doesn’t play much into it otherwise.) 8/10 Because some of the songs were kinda hard for me to understand, just because some of it is very random. Not a bad thing, I just like being able to dig into the lyrics and this makes it difficult. 🙂
REGIONAL AT BEST – 8/10
Personally, I love this album. Since it features many of the same songs as Vessel, of course I do! But I also love the sporadic collection of music, all with different vibes and subjects. I like the different tunes put together because it’s like there’s a song for every type of listener, almost. Kitchen Sink and Forest are my favorites. As far as the story goes, I think it unintentionally signifies the many, many thoughts and emotions of life. It is unorganized and a bit chaotic, just like daily living. Even though it was discontinued due to the record label signing, I still think it relates in a way. 9/10 Because again, some lyrics are just really weird. I like music that I can relate to the words, and some of these are just odd. But great album!
VESSEL – 20/10
Aaah, Vessel. My good friend. I think I love and relate to this one so much because it is a grayscale. (Literally, haha!) There are songs about the depths of misery, pain, and suicide; as in Ode To Sleep and Car Radio. Then there’s the songs about learning to trust, searching for recovery and reaching towards other suffering people; like in Migraine and Guns For Hands. There are also songs about joy, hope and happiness; like House of Gold. To me it is those chaotic parts of life from before coming together to create a harmonic thought process- pain, recovery, and love. It goes light and dark and in the middle, just like a grayscale. So that’s what this album is to me. A place of hovering, waiting, and hope despite darkness. 20/10 Because I just really love this album. It is very suicide-awareness heavy, and covers many topics that I struggle with daily. It’s a good way to feel understood in my pain. And the vibes are just excellent. 20/10.
BLURRYFACE – 10/10
Blurryface is also a good friend. This album is so… good… *chef’s kiss* It is the epitome of darkness at its core; both the feelings that come with it, and what it looks like when bleeding into your life. It’s fairly obvious that Tyler is struggling with his mental health and faith during this time. Which is what started the building of characters to break down the complexity of emotions. He created Blurryface, later known as Nico, to embody hopelessness and depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, etc. And what happens when Blurryface takes control? A really, really good (but incredibly deep) album. This is, in a way, the beginning of the lore in my mind. All those individual thoughts are coming together to build a little world. My favorites are: all of them. 10/10 Because from a lyrical side, it’s beautiful. From a lore side, it’s a creepily wonderful beginning. From a Christian side, it’s relatable. And for a casual listener, it’s just great vibes.
TRENCH – 11/10
AAAHHH this album is sooo goood… This one speaks primarily to the fragility that is hope. Throughout the songs, our main character finds hope and escapes his anxiety only to be pulled back again and again. Because healing is hard, and hope is fragile, it is easy to spiral back into bad habits or unhelpful ways of thinking. So this album really goes into what growth means, and how hard it can be to achieve even when you are desperately clawing at it. By this point, the other bishops, banditos, and the worlds of dema and trench are in full view. The struggle between characters grows and it really becomes something you can slip into, like an old comfy pair of shoes. For those who struggle with mental illness, like myself, this really allows a safe space to be seen and heard. I love it. 11/10 Because HOPE is a very difficult thing to sing about without sounding preachy, but they did it beautifully. Getting better seems like this simple, easy path sometimes if you aren’t sick. But when you are sick… it becomes very unfortunately apparent how tricky and trying the process really is. Healing isn’t linear. This album explains that. Glorious lyrics, sound, lore, and vibes. 11/10.
SCALED AND ICY – 6/10
Oof… This one’s hard. It seems very lore heavy but I haven’t figured it all out yet. I’m sure others are way ahead of me in the theories but mostly to me, it just feels really fake. Now I will say, the concerts make it a totally different experience. I do not care for the new album at all for casual listening; it sends off light and happy vibes despite the sometimes disturbing lyrics, but there’s no connected feeling anymore. In past albums it’s like they were reaching right through the device and holding your hand, singing into your ear that you aren’t alone. Sometimes they did it by talking about suicide and anxiety and deep sadness, but the feeling of togetherness remains. Because people just don’t talk real about that stuff anymore. Not like this. But the new album seems so disconnected from the fanbase and the people in general. I actually hate Good Day because the lyrics discuss such dark ideas (“I can feel my saturation leaving me slowly” – “Lost my job, my wife and child, homie just sued me” – etc.) while putting on a happy tune and chanting that it was a good day. It is not real and close to the listener anymore. At least, not in my opinion. That’s why I gave it a 6/10. I just don’t like it. I’m sorry to disappoint. Just not my thing.
I hope you enjoyed this! I know it probably didn’t make much sense, I’m so sorry for that. I’ve been pretty out of it honestly. But I like writing about this stuff so it felt good to just throw some words and pictures on a page. Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great day!
♡, Shortie
