On Oct. 5, Twenty One Pilots officially broke its one-year-long hiatus with the release of “Trench,” the duo’s fifth studio album. The highly anticipated album had many on edge, as singles like “Jumpsuit,” “Nico and the Niners” and “Levitate” had been slowly released over the summer. Following their most recent albums, “Blurryface” and “Vessel,” “Trench” is dedicated to singer Tyler Joseph’s grandfather, who appears on the cover of “Vessel” and passed away recently.

The duo’s first single in a year, “Jumpsuit,” leapt to the top of charts with its release in July. The track was originally planned to premiere on various radio stations across the country at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, but was instead released 47 minutes earlier on iTunes and YouTube. The song itself contrasts greatly between Joseph’s hushed vocals and the bass-heavy riffs, until his voice gradually crescendos into a scream and the track abruptly ends. Such similar traits are also found in past songs like “Trees” and “Car Radio.” In an interview with BBC Radio 1, drummer Josh Dun spoke on “Jumpsuit.”

“I would say, me personally, it is kind of like picking up with where Blurryface ended. So, it felt like the first track back to kind of bridge that gap and go from one record to the next,” he said.

The song has since received great reviews from the duo’s fans and other critics. Joseph heavily ponders his own mortality in “Morph.” With the first four lines, he deciphers between the denial of “if” one will die compared to “when,” one representing panic, the other acceptance and sorrow. “Morph” is one of the fast beat tracks of “Trench.” Within four minutes and 18 seconds, Joseph addresses the ideas of death and changing into someone unfamiliar. Whether this metamorphosis is just the death of one’s current self or the ultimate demise is left to interpretation, but Joseph likes to tease with the idea of different personalities. It could also be a defense mechanism/form of disassociating, by “morphing” himself into different personalities like those of a lion or vulture.

“on this new album i am a vulture, a lion, and there’s a cheetah in my basement. so stay with me now,” Joseph said in a tweet, clearly referencing “Pet Cheetah.”

Joseph also references the animals frequently seen throughout the music videos for “Jumpsuit” and “Levitate” as being vultures, along with the eye of a lion during promotion for the release of the first single.

“Pet Cheetah” is another one of Joseph’s attempts at overcoming struggle, this one on the creative end with writer’s block. Developing most of “Trench” in his home studio basement, Joseph had to further develop himself not only as a singer-songwriter, but as a producer as well. Many of the tracks within “Trench” are produced by him, as he speaks of isolation and the slow discovery that can break him past this block.

When asked about the track, Joseph said, “The rap part was something that I’d written a long time ago but had never had the guts to put into an actual song, and Josh challenged me and said, ‘Come on, just put it in there.’”

The rap he referred to was pushed by Dun and referenced a past interview: “I’ve got a pet cheetah down in my basement / I’ve raised him, and bathed him, and named him Jason / Statham, I’ve trained him to make me these beats / Now my pet cheetah’s quicker in the studio than on his feet.”

Overall, Twenty One Pilots’ album “Trench” is quite the success and is a diverse and flowing journey set over the course of its 14 tracks. Devoted fans and first-time listeners alike will not be disappointed.

Image from twenty one pilots via YouTube