Trench: How Twenty-One Pilots Tell a Story 

tyler joseph is such a genius. he created this whole world that on surface is a really interesting story which is all just a huge metaphor for real life things. there are so many lyrics on trench that fit the narrative of dema while also discussing mental illness AND music (the need for it/the creative process/or the industry) AND faith all at the same time. it's all open for interpretation and each individual can take the meanings in their own way however they need it, whether it's emotional, mental, or spiritual. i love this band so much and i'm always in awe of how their minds work. there's no limit to their creativity

skeleton CLEEK

When he said that they had created a community of fans trying to crack the code I kind of teared up because it’s true. I was still in school when the whole was going down and it was the only thing I looked forward to; finding clues with my fellow clique members on discord reddit and twitter. I can’t believe how important the DEMA universe was and still is to me. I finally got to meet Tyler and Josh on Monday and I personally thanked them for uniting us and giving us hope, for creating a haven. This band means so much to me

FINALLY Polyphonic name drops me at 6:20

Tyler and Clancy are two different persons in the story. If you read Clancy's journals he writes about seeing Tyler in Trench, but they didn't tell us too much about who Clancy actually is

Broke: Liking twenty øne piløts because Fantano says it's OK Woke: Liking twenty øne piløts because Polyphonic says it's OK

You know it’s been confirmed Clancy isn’t Tyler at all. In one of Clancy’s letters, he writes about the events from the jumpsuit video as if he were an outside witness. He saw Tyler get taken by Nico. Therefore Clancy isn’t Tyler. There are a couple of other examples too. I just remember that one the clearest.

Fun Fact: Nico and Blurryface are the same person, but when Tyler looked at him for the first time, he didn’t know his name so he called him by the way he looked like: Blurryface

I am so glad that you the person to give this album a proper video essay.

this is such an informative video about the story of Trench and actually goes in depth with the dema website and ties everything together as it should be! great job (-:

This is why I love Twenty One Pilots. I'm not a fan girl that likes seeing them shirtless, I'm a fan girl that obsesses over lyrics and stories and voices and sounds 😂

I smiled so much when you said it's an interactive story where you feel that you're involved. If Tyler really planned it like this, he really deserved a medal

👏👏👏

Well, that is why i love the clique and that is why i love Tyler. He wants us to THINK. He doesn't tell us this genius story, he wants us to use our ability to think and discuss things. And that is the reason why real twenty one pilots fans are people unique and different, people who want to discover, analyse and create. Okay wow, in just a year the boys have managed to put all those things together. That is truly an amazing thing. It was definetly worth the wait. I feel so grateful for having them and for having you guys, the skeletøn clique. I love you all so much... and that screen is keeping me, my soul, and my brain alive♥ ||-//

"Skeleton Cleeeek"

clique = c l e a k

I was actually suicidal but the release of this album actually kept me going on and I'm not disappointed

Jesus. Just imagine how deep a video on their Self-Titled album could go. Oh g o d

I strongly believe that My Blood is about being there for yourself.

I'm so glad so many people are giving tøp recognition for this album! i'm seeing them live in march cannot waittttt

As someone who has been following twenty one pilots and their albums for years, I feel that you hit the nail directly on the head. This was so we'll explained and you really dug into the album to try to and it. I'm definitely linking any questions about twenty one pilots to this video!

"cleek"

I just want my twenty one pilots muse collab already...

I’ve always loved this band. I’m glad you’ve made a video on this album. They deserve all the praise they get.

MCR: *creates a story about a corporation that tries to get rid of individuality and fights it as killjoys* TØP: *makes a story about fighting fear with hope with the metaphor of Clancy and his scape from Dema to join the banditos* FOB: *makes a story about some secret organization that's trying to eradicate rock and roll and good music and how they fight back as youngbloods* Me: *looks at P!atd* do something

This album is SOOOOOOOO good. It's easily their best.

Wait... So Clancy could be the representation of all of us struggling with mental illnesses, for which we seem trapped within (Dema or maybe "demons"(?) inner demons?). The Banditos represents the Clique, which has helped Tyler. Tyler states he's a bandito, and his music helps us.... the other Clancy's in the world.

And me thinking that was about religious and Illuminati things. I loved your perspective on the album

I think this is the best way to explain the story. It leaves you with a lot of information but doesn’t entirely explain it so you have a chance to go deeper than the video did.

I don't think I could love Twenty One Pilots or this album any more. Its so amazing. This was a really great breakdown of the album and their narrative.

This is the best overview I have seen of the album. You really analyze it and get into it. It reminds me of people analyzing classic bands of the past. Very awesome.

wow, this video is gold... the editing and he way you explained everything didn't let me take the attention out of it...AMAZING

Hi! I really loved watching this video! I think it is the first video I saw about Twenty One Pilots which went into discussing and presenting the importance of the narrative in Trench and how much the band put into it and how actually enjoyable it is to feel as a part of a secret community in a way! Thank you so much for this video, it really made me to rethink what this album and Twenty One Pilots are to me! Everyone stay positive and have a beautiful day :)

I think this really reflects the purpose with the music and this album, and it's pretty accurate. Great video!

Thank you for this! I've been looking for a video that I could show my friends to explain exactly how complex their music is, and I found the right one! Really well done 🙆🏼‍♀️

This is so well edited and storywise so complete! :D

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why they are the best band of our generation

So glad I am alive to experience this era of music

This video is so well done and edited, good job man!

Your analyzation of music is astounding. New subscriber. Keep up the amazing work, my good man!

Tyler and Joseph also take theories from their fans and implement them into the lore.

I thought you already talked about tøp, I'm having some mandela effect shit going on

I wasnt updated on everything over the hiatus, so this REALLY helped. THANK YOU!

My favorite channel with a video about my favorite band. What a blessing

can we just appreciate the editing

There's another level to the album: Tyler said he was going through a personal crisis of faith while creating Trench (one that he's still going through); the album reflects the struggle of moving from that place of being certain in your faith, to one where there is possibly no God.

I love your playlists so much man, you are an artist.

I had goosebumps throughout this entire video. I don't know why but whenever I listen to Twenty One Pilots I just forget about all the trouble I have and the trouble in the world. Their songs make me feel so relaxed and so good that I will be forever grateful for what they have produced and what they will produce in the future.

Tyler Joseph has Anxiety not depression, the reason why he had his hands colored was because right before Joseph got on stage coloring them helped control his Anxiety so he wouldn't do self harm to take his mind off of it.

subscribing after this video. this was really well done.

Loved the video. It was put together well and def explained in a great manner.

I absolutely love your editing you have a new subscriber poly

But you missed out sooo much..... For those intrested please keep looking this is only part of the story and links. Its a powerful world to let your mind get lost in with so many possibilities that would be viable. Just one example, how when in Nico and the Niners is linked to the video of Heathens by these lyrics being played out. We still dont know directly who blurry face is or who clancy is. "Rent a race horse and force a sponsor And start a concert, a complete diversion Start a mob and you can be quite certain We'll win but not everyone will get out"

Ok, first off ... INSECURITY is NOT a mental illness. Everyone is insecure sometimes. Everyone has to fight their fears. The band is talking to EVERYONE, not just “mentally ill” people. We ALL share the fight between hope and fear. Also, Tyler confirmed to AltPress that the city & trench are places he named to represent a sort of SPIRITUAL battle - the city/Dema is a symbol for a mental state where life has no spiritual meaning, no God ... Dema is a world where only math and science matter and where the goal is fame. Nico (Nicholas Bourbaki) represents those thoughts that pull Tyler into that world. Trench is the name he gave for the place where you search for more meaning than just this world - for Tyler, Trench is where he deals with doubts about the God who was with him in his youth, but it’s also where he just finds “meaning for now” to just “stay alive” - being with others who are searching for a higher meaning. There are lots of other people searching for a higher meaning with him - the Banditos. Tyler told AltPress he hasn’t named the NEXT place that he’s trying to reach - the one where he either gets back to God or finds a higher meaning. Tyler told AltPress: “I’m talking about the world I’m traveling through, but I never really reach the place I’m trying to get to. It’s not because I’m holding on to some secret: You’re looking at someone who is still trying to figure out where that place is. ... “When I make it out of Trench and I get to where I’m going and I know what the name is, I wonder then if I’ll be more bold in my faith and what our purpose is being here.”

Amazing! One of my favs so far

They’re such an exciting band to get into. I’ve been listening to them for about 6 years now but with this album I feel like there’s so much to rediscover.

If you like these sort of hidden stories inside music, try Blue Öyster Cult's "Imaginos". There's also a lot of incredible meaning behind the lyrics

While I wouldn't call what TOP is doing right now groundbreaking (see Nine Inch Nails, maudlin of the Well), it is really cool and has rarely been done on this commercial of a level.

i love how regardless of genre and how people fight over what music is "good" or "bad" you appriciate and respect all the effort many different kinds of musicians make in their songs, its incredibly mature and respectful of you as a creator to appreciate so many different things

This helped me understand trench so much better - as i'm a newer fan

Best album of 2018!!! Thanks for the video!!

DUUUDE, I NEVER THOUGHT YOU’D MAKE A VIDEO ON THIS

Love this...great work man

My favorite youtube channel making a video about my favorite band!!

Just when you thought you couldn't love them any more!

Hi Polyphonic! that was a very interresting video, and wasn't aware of that aspect of twenty one pilot but as a French dude, it really make me think of a very VERY good French band called " Stupeflip " who use same technique of cryptic narration, through lyrics and clip, it draw a strange world with obscur religious cult, languagues, and récurent caracter it is also a strange band because they don't really have genre bondaries, rock, rap, electro, French pop, trap, hip pop you name it it is very good, very unique, and I highly recommend it to any curious mind out there, here some easy one to listen, some are really weird ( shouting "caca" shit in frenchduring a whole minute is a thing they do ) Stupeflip Vite La Menuiserie Le Spleen des petit ( kids spleen ) I hope you will enjoy =) ps : and check out the lyrics it is a big part of the fun!

the editing on this is *amazing*

Bruh ur editing is on point U earned a sub

Very interesting!

Please do fugazi!

This video is SO INFORMATIVE!!!! I will be showing this video to anyone who doesn’t fully understand the backstory.! Thank you!

I think its amazing how Tyler created this entire world and how we can feel like we are living in it

Dem you now i am fallen deep into Twenty-One Pilots...

thats why i love this band |-/

I've always been a passive fan of TØP, but as a musician and artist, they have my full appreciation. It's beautiful when artists merge multiple mediums to tell a full story. Inspirational

This is a fantastic video with a concise overview of TØP’s soon to be ‘legendary’ world of DEMA and TRENCH 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 bravo!

Make a video about D E A T H G R I P S

One thing u didn’t mention Tyler isn’t Clancy

this was amazing, just subscribed

Gr8 channel dude, subbed for sure

quickest I've ever clicked on a video

theory on cRAck: The trench album is about Tyler trying to escape the ways of Math Dema = Math I'm bored

Best video essay i have ever watched ever and the cliffhanger in the ending wow next video on marshall mather lp and deep dive on the album and help us understand the album even more

Thats just simply amazing and thank you

I'm not a 21 Pilots fan myself, but this is a really cool story. Thanks for sharing. Also, I wanted to ask, with Remembrance day coming up, are you planning any kind of episode for the occasion? After seeing your Scarborough Fair/Canticle Video, I couldn't help but think about you discussing the history of war songs or something similar to that. Personally, on Remembrance day I am going to listen to one album completely form start to finish. It's called Foreign Skies by a Canadian folk-punk band called The Dreadnoughts. It's all about the First World War, and with the 100 year anniversary of the end of the war coming up, I thought it would be a good time to bring it up. You can listen to the album for free, legally, off of their RU-vid channel at this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NiVLCew4Pu0.html

That was interesting :)

this is a wonderful video! great job! subscribed

THIS VIDEO IS GREAT! it really helped, and it's greatly made :)

Just wait for the rush of fans to this video and equal amounts of praise and cancer

Yo did anyone get those codes yet?

Best video ever so easy to follow thank you for this

Very well explained! Good video!

Theory: Dema and Nico represent depression Every time Tyler tries to escape they bring him back Boom mind blown Btw I could have explained this better but idk how to

Do a video on Devo

Wow, this is unbelievable! Thank you polyphonic

I have been looking for new music -- this seems right up my alley, especially with the recognition of mental illness. Thanks for the intro to this great band!

the strokes ?

This is so much in depth and well done than @theneedledrop absurdist comedic take on album reviews. I get that Fantano makes sense, but there is NO WAY he can uncover a record as deeply as they one needs to because he listens to so much music. Im sorry, I get that music is subjective but nothing should be passed as good or bad based on a arbitrary scoring system, albeit its one doused in personal opinion etc etc.

Im new to the whole twenty one pilots scene and ive been to figure their music out but ive been so clueless the whole time... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO!! (Now i like them even more than i did before watching this haha)

Very well made. Nice video!