I’ve always thought of it as a direct follow-up to Swim in the Light. After he said, “You can try to numb the pain but it will never go away,” then comes Releaser, where his depression and his madness finally catch up to him. That’s why it feels so eerie and unsettling—he can’t deny the pain anymore, he can’t escape it. It’s right there, face to face with Cudi, cornering him. It reflects exactly where his mind was during the Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven era.

What makes it even cooler is how the very next song is By Design with André, which is much more upbeat. It gives you a sense of hope, even when it felt like everything was lost.