Twenty One Pilots has been writing about mental
health since their debut album that was released back in 2009. Their music often discusses mental health through the guise of sometimes complicated but often beautiful metaphors. Their most famous album Blurryface is based upon the fictional character frontman Tyler Joseph created and assigned to the conglomeration of insecurities and mental health struggles he faces. The two band members, Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, are well aware of the audience that consumes their music and often take advantage of the platform
they have created for themselves to reach fans who are struggling with mental health issues. Their song “Guns for Hands” off the 2011 album Vessel addresses fans directly, encouraging them to turn their “guns into a fist,” imagery that suggests powerfully fighting back against the urge to hurt oneself. Joseph claims the song was inspired after countless fans continuously came up to speak with the two band members after live shows, explaining what they were going through in their personal lives. These conversations led to Joseph writing the song, encouraging fans to keep living.
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The two guys have continued to deliver music that will resonate with the people who were drawn to the band for that specific reason in the first place: that they use their position to continue steering the conversation toward mental health in a world where it is still stigmatized. The fandom name is quite ironic. The group of fans go by the name of “The Clique,” turning the idea of an “exclusive club” on its head — as the band’s song “Message Man” lyrics suggests: “These lyrics aren’t for everyone only few understand.” There is a sense of community that has been established for fans of Twenty One Pilots, a sense of comfort that is felt for anyone who identifies with what Joseph is saying, and therefore anyone else who takes an interest in the music.
Perhaps one of the most compelling things connecting the band to mental health recently is the duo’s story of Trench. 6 of the 14 tracks on the album have been confirmed to connect to the storyline, with the arrangement throughout the album constructing a chronological journey through the world of Trench beginning with “Jumpsuit,” continuing on with “Levitate,” “Nico and the Niners,” “Neon Gravestones” and “Bandito,” before concluding with the album’s final song “Leave the City.” These songs tell the story of Joseph failing to properly escape the city of DEMA to Trench, where fellow Banditos (others struggling with mental health) throw petals of yellow flowers, a sign of hope, in celebration of being free. In short and simple terms, DEMA symbolizes depression, where Joseph is trapped, and Trench is the place he’s trying to arrive at to be free from his depression. But throughout the album the “villain” of the album, Nico, always succeeds in finding and dragging Joseph back to DEMA every time he manages to escape.
Joseph created the idea of Trench as a way to wrestle with these thoughts and experiences that emerge from his depression. The final lyrics in “Leave the City” showcase both the way Joseph feels about the space he and Dun have created for and with their fans, and acknowledges the comfort that is possible when finding someone who understands what you’ve been through
Last year I needed change of pace /
Couldn’t take the pace of change /
Moving hastily /
But this year /
‘Though I’m far from home /
In Trench I’m not alone /
These faces facing me /
They know, they know /
What I mean
There is speculation that Joseph refers to the motivation behind the creation of Trench in the lines of “Bandito” that state: “I created this world / To feel some control.” This is not a proven theory, but Joseph’s approach to releasing music and songwriting suggests that this is very likely. He has often described music as a way for him to address these feelings he has, and that it is extremely helpful for him to get the responses he does from fans and know he’s not alone. This thought is articulated well in “Bandito”
Either way, it helps to hear these words bounce off of you /
The softest echo could be enough for me to make it through /
Folina
Sahlo Folina(x3)
Sahlo Folina is Trench-speak for “I am in need.” Joseph created the phrase for purposes of the song, and it is both chilling and beautiful to hear him sing the words in a repeated falsetto in the middle of the song. It is apparent that while Joseph approaches music as a way to effectively address his emotions, he has helped more than just himself when he sat down to write each song that touches on matters of the brain.
I anxiously waited until midnight on October 5th of 2018 for the release of Trench. Alone in my room, I went on the journey with Joseph through the world of Trench, and the moment at the end when he sadly states that he has failed to escape brought me both to tears and a breath of relief. This idea that there is hope for one day overcoming depression, but for now we must try our hardest to stay alive, simultaneously healed and shattered me in many ways. It was not dismissive of my experiences with depression, simply blowing it off with a "it will get better." Nor did it say I would never overcome it. Instead, it was cognizant of the grip depression has on those of us who experience it, careful of the fact that we cannot just easily be rid of it and provided a sliver of hope within hopelessness.
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Spring of 2019 was mentally one of the darkest places I’ve ever been in. Having Trench to lean on throughout those months was crucial to me, especially as I awaited the chance to hear the songs live at the end of May. There is not another feeling comparable to screaming “in Trench I’m not alone” with a room full of people who have shared so many of the same experiences. It was equally therapeutic and heartbreaking to hear and contribute to the emotionally charged yell that came from the crowd during the delivery of that lyric. There was something about walking into that venue and being bonded with a group of people through music without ever having to say a word. I’m not saying that everyone in the room was a diehard fan. (The couple who sat in front of me only knew the radio hits like “Ride,” "Stressed Out," and "Heathens" and drunkenly complained throughout the concert about how they didn’t know any of the songs.) But the overall feeling in the room was something of safety. There was this particular look shared between people who dressed in green and wrapped themselves in yellow tape, the official wardrobe of the people of Trench—otherwise known as Banditos—this unspoken understanding that we had been through some of the same things and had both used this music to get through them in one way or the other. There is something so special about having a bond with a stranger, someone you will perhaps never speak to, through shared experience. Joseph and Dun have created a place for such bonds to exist, for people to know as the lyrics of “Leave the City” suggest that they are “not alone.” This is evident when Dun starts the show by stepping out onto the dark stage holding a lit torch, a symbolic action that suggests rescue has arrived, in response to the collective “Sahlo Folina” the members of the crowd exude just simply by showing up, by being a fan of the music; by knowing what Joseph means.