_{By Sammy Collier}

Several years after the release of Origins, Imagine Dragons returned with a bang. Mercury – Act 1 dropped in September 2021. Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 is the double album that followed it in July 2022. This was well worth the wait for current fans, and it had enough hits to reach a brand new audience. The album immediately put the band back into the mainstream.

“Enemy” was a song written for the Netflix Series Arcane. The song easily resonated with fans of League of Legends as well as many others, as shown by the streaming numbers and the near-constant radio time. Multiple songs from this album have already passed 1 billion streams on Spotify in less than two years. The band is more popular than ever. 

This album deals with some heavy topics. Imagine Dragons has been able to use their music to address drug addiction, loss, cancer, and mental health struggles. In an interview with People Magazine, frontman Dan Reynolds discussed the background behind the album. He explained that he had lost a lot of people who were close to him over the past five years. He said “When you lose that many people close to you, or even one person, it makes you rethink life. It makes the things that you thought mattered meaningless and really shows you what matters, so I couldn’t help but write about that.” Everyone who has dealt with these issues can appreciate the level of thought and passion that is evident in this album. In a world where popular music can feel shallow, it is a breath of fresh air to experience this level of depth on a record. 

_{The artwork for Act 1 and Act 2, when viewed as a set, is especially impactful.}

The song that shows Reynolds at his most vulnerable is “My Life.” For a band that is known for anthemic songs that are loud and in your face, this one is more stripped down and feels very honest. It begins with Reynolds singing with only piano in the background, and is all about wishing to have a different life than he currently is living. The vulnerability of this song is haunting. It feels like you are able to look straight into the unfiltered thoughts of Dan Reynolds. 

The song “Giants” is another one that deals with a really important topic: the struggle of substance abuse and the fight to return to sobriety. “Sleeping with giants, I’m tiptoeing quietly. Feeling it all, it’s sobriety.” The entire vibe of this song is stress-inducing. The band was able to bring me into the mind of someone struggling to get and remain sober, but having to deal with brand new demons because of that effort. 

All this being said, my personal favorite song from the album is “Sharks.” I found myself singing along to this song right away, and it was immediately stuck in my head. You need to hear it for yourself.

Imagine Dragons has reached a level of relevance that is unprecedented from an act from Provo. With 59 million monthly listeners and eight hits surpassing one billion streams on Spotify, they have proved that they are capable of brilliant art and sustained success. This album is just more proof that we are going to be hearing their talent for a very long time, and I can’t wait for more.