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It’s the end of Twenty One Pilots as we know them. In 2015, the band released their fourth LP, Blurryface, a concept album widely considered to be their breakthrough. As well as establishing the duo as one of the standout rock bands of a generation, it introduced audiences to a dystopian-fantasy universe that spanned a decade of albums and tours. Today, the band release the concluding chapter of the story with Breach.
Recent single The Contract is steeped in Twenty One Pilots mythology, ominous even without delving deep into the complex lore of the last decade. Opener City Walls spares no expense in amping up the storyline and atmosphere, promising a million-dollar music video budget to bring the vision to life. Sprawling out over five minutes, it shifts between their trademark rap-rock, emotional piano breaks, and soaring pop-punk vocals.
Drum Show gives us a rare appearance of powerhouse drummer Josh Dunn’s vocals, low and sombre next to frontman Tyler Joseph’s gritty, strong choruses. Compelling and emotional, there’s a whole lot of passion and power behind this track, burning even brighter in the context of Breach as a whole.
Center Mass is a strange number; half-song, half-conversation peppered with background chatter and radio static, a mood replicated in the second half of Days Lie Dormant. Here, the band deal not only with the dystopian world they’ve created, but also the common anxieties of modern life. Followed by the mellow Cottonwood, the second act of the album is a reminder of the band’s emotional potency, culminating in the moving conclusion of Intentions.
Breach may be a celebratory goodbye for the most diehard fans, but those who are less involved in the story of Clancy and the Torchbearer won’t feel left out – it’s still an album chock-full of Twenty One Pilots’ showstopping theatricality. The end of an era it may be, but Breach is also a promise that the next chapter of Twenty One Pilots will take them to even more thrilling worlds.
