sherry shares ♡ my take on "damocles" and its meaning
i feel like this song has been a similar instance of "pulling back the veil" so to speak on who vessel is. i want to make this post and sorta talk about my thoughts because i fear this fandom is going to immediately jump to "vessel is UNHAPPY. so we should STOP DOING THINGS. WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED" in one way or another.
caramel, yes, did have a lot to do with discussion of how the toxic members of the fanbase have treated him as well as the band. it also talked about him on a personal level, on having assumed he recovered and was "better" but didn't, isn't better.
damocles is something beyond that, vessel truly opening up about himself and the way he is feeling. the imposter syndrome feeling. the rawness of emotional struggle, of having to grapple with the expectation of getting better/making something better with every release.
they both have one important thing in common; they're both regarding feeling the pressure of that newfound fame, AND the admittance that vessel himself, is not doing well mentally.
caramel's "i thought the music was going to make me feel better but it didn't", damocles' "well, who am i without the music? am i anything if the music stops?"
it's easy to see yourself in one way or another in vessel and in what he's saying. i know i felt this song heavily in regards to my own situation, my own struggles.
it almost feels like while caramel is like "i do not want people to know who i am behind the mask, i just want them to hear the music"... damocles is like "i can hardly recognize myself without the mask or the music".
this is not and was not ever vessel trying to scold us, to deter us from creativity, from enthusiasm, it was just a reminder of one thing.
he is human. vessel is one guy fighting his own battles behind closed doors, trying to come to terms with the new expectations of fame, and the stress of maintaining anonymity when people have intruded on his and the other band members' privacy.
i think sometimes it's easy to forget, when someone reaches stardom/celebrity status that they are still just a human.
i hope he knows he's loved, but i empathize with him if he doesn't yet. if he hears it but doesn't believe it. it's a journey! and i think it's very telling that he was willing to actually share that. it's deeply personal.
these songs aren't about vessel disliking the fans, or being unhappy with his work or his music so to speak. these songs are a confession to not knowing what to do with it all, on top of just wanting to be seen as a human being with boundaries and struggles like everyone else.
"hey, i appreciate you, i appreciate that you love the music, that you come to the shows, all i ask is that you respect my privacy, and respect that celebrity status does not make me superhuman or healed from what i have going on in my personal life. this is new, this is not easy for me to adjust to. i am still just like you."
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