TRAUMATIC (Album)
This article is about the album. For the song from this album, see TRAUMATIC.
TRAUMATIC is the 2nd album by Utsu-P. Released on November 14, 2010 at THE VOC@LOID M@STER 14. It features some of Utsu-P's most well known tracks such as Vermin, Adult's Toy, THE DYING MESSAGE, and Heart Sutra Hardcore.
In 2016, Utsu-P remade this album in full, it's titled Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Production and musical style
The guitar tone and production on this album is noticeably “crunchier” compared to DIARRHEA and previously released tracks
Compared to his previous album, TRAUMATIC features a less sludgy sound and a bigger focus on an energetic thrash metal/metalcore sound. This song also features the introduction of Kagamine Rin to Utsu-P's music, with her vocals being featured on 9 tracks, with Hatsune Miku on the remaining 5 tracks.
Several tracks have a high tempo feeling. Notably, “Constipation Of Death”, “Adult's Toy”, and “Vermin”. The tracks “Corner Of The Public Toilet” and “Black Showtime” feature a synthesizer keyboard, Being the first brush with outwardly electronic elements in Utsu-P's music.
Lyrical Themes
Overall, TRAUMATIC navigates through societal struggles, particularly on a deeply personal level. Often touching on anguish, depression, trauma, and the quest for liberation and understanding in a seemingly chaotic and indifferent world. Songs on this album have a trend of ending in some sort of implied suicide taking place as well.
The opening track, “Constipation Of Death” has themes of societal disillusionment, and personal identity which are presented through a lens of angsty rebellion. “Children's World” is about the yearning of change felt by young people in a world full of disillusionment and outdated views. “Adult's Toy” is about someone being abused, likely raped. It's often theorized that it's about a rape victim killing their abuser. “THE DYING MESSAGE” is a song about resilience found amidst profound tragedy. The final lyrics of the song specifically seem to be directly referencing the Hiroshima bombings in particular. “Corner Of The Public Toilet” is a song about emotional distress in an unrelenting, uncaring world.
“TRAUMATIC” is a short track, quickly reflecting on trauma and an anxious feeling of scrutiny. The song “Monkey Doesn't Know” seems to be a lyrical journey about making sense in a chaotic, ignorant world. The next track, “Black Showtime” is about disillusionment in the entertainment industry and it's usage of pop stars as a resource. “potato-head in wonderland” seems to be about the feeling of estrangement and disassociation becoming so strong that the protagonist of the song resorts to committing suicide. The setting of “Wraith” is a cold and brutal world, and the protagonist feels a sense of hopelessness and depression from their inability to catch up with the rest of the world. The song likely ends with the protagonist dying, possibly by suicide.
“Vermin” deals with themes of apparent survival and feeding off of others in some sort of parasitic way. “Sleepwalk” is another song directly linked with depression, this time directly tackling the emotional numbness aspect of it. The song seems to end in suicide as well. The lyrics of “Doll” are about liberation from a life of control and captivity. “Heart Sutra Hardcore” is the final track of the album, being a bonus track as well. The lyrics are simply the Heart Sutra, a buddhist chant about transcendental wisdom.
Track listing
Links
Additional Personnel
Onew-P – Credited for writing Heart Sutra Pops, which Heart Sutra Hardcore is based off of.
Anonymous – Credited for Heart Sutra words
Kagome-P – Mastering
Hansi – Artwork
Momopan – Layout and design
Gallery
10 images
Trivia
- When Utsu-P uploaded the album to bandcamp in 2020, he initially uploaded the wrong file source, being an early unmixed version.