Heavydirtysoul

"Heavydirtysoul" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. The song was released as the sixth and final single from their fourth studio album Blurryface on December 9, 2016.[2][3] Some of the song's lyrics are directly taken from lead singer Tyler Joseph's "Street Poetry", published on Rock Sound's official YouTube channel on August 27, 2013.[4]

For the Gotham episode, see Heavydirtysoul (Gotham).

"Heavydirtysoul"
Single by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Blurryface
ReleasedDecember 9, 2016 (2016-12-09)
Recorded2015
Genre
Length3:54
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)Tyler Joseph
Producer(s)Ricky Reed[1]
Twenty One Pilots singles chronology
"Heathens"
(2016)		 "Heavydirtysoul"
(2016)		 "Jumpsuit"
(2018)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Heavydirtysoul" on YouTube

Composition

"Heavydirtysoul" is alternative hip hop song that runs for a duration of three minutes and fifty-four seconds.[5][6] Throughout its track, the duo mix multiple genres, including funk-tinged rock, epic pop and R&B hooks while experimenting with electronic dance and hip hop beats.[7][8][9] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music, the song is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 130 beats per minute.[6] "Heavydirtysoul" is composed in the key of D minor, while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and six notes, from a low of D4 to a high of C6.[6] The song is restricted to a droning chord of Dm throughout its verses and pre-chorus, changes to a basic sequence of B♭–Gm–Dm–C at the refrain and follows B♭–G♭m–D♭m–C/E during the bridge as its chord progression.[6]

The musical arrangement begins with its introduction, opening with an ambient drone before quickly morphing into a two-step drumbeat.[10] Following its intro, Joseph's begins rapping over cascading noise.[10][11] "Heavydirtysoul" features Joseph’s most high-speed rapping and intense vocals.[12] They are supplemented by Dun's drumming, generating a soulful groove.[12][13] The beat-laden number then shifts into a dramatic, piano-driven prechorus.[14][13] His voice slows down and the tempo decreases at its catchy, gospel-inspired chorus.[10][11] The musical composition has a vibrant soundscape that effortlessly shifts from drum and bass fills to arena-sized choruses and lengthy bass riffs before reaching a heavy rock climax.[10][15]

"Heavydirtysoul" contains frantic rap verses laced with complex rhymes schemes.[14][12][16] The song's opening verse expresses a self-referential remark.[13] Joseph alternates from rapping and singing, even alluding to the concept by contending, "This is not rap, this is not hip-hop / just another attempt to make the voices stop."[17][18] He invokes screaming in falsetto vocals at the refrain, insisting, "Can you save my heavy dirty soul, from me?”[17][8][10] Towards the end, the song's bridge incorporates an anthemic tag line.[11][13] Joseph's metaphoric lyrics are haunted by mortality as he sings, "Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit."[11][15]

Critical reception

Chris Willman of Variety regarded "Heavydirtysoul" as the best track from Blurryface.[8] AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung cites the song as one of the album's highlights.[9] Calling the tagline one of Joseph's cleverest turns of phrase, Stereogum's Chris DeVille cites the opening track as an instance of how Twenty One Pilots had a way of making counterintuitive, hyperactive musical shifts seem natural. He claimed the song "morphs from some kind of late-’90s trip-hop/Big Beat thing to a Fitz & The Tantrums song to a monolithic heavy-rock climax without ever inducing whiplash."[15] Comparing its grooves to the mid-1990s works of Prodigy, Jason Pettigrew for Alternative Press claimed, "The first track on the band's 2015 release Blurryface successfully encapsulates all the elements fans have come to expect... 'Heavydirtysoul' is guaranteed to have crowds pogoing from Bunbury to Bonnaroo.[13] He continued saying, "Anxious and frightened, yet trippy and badassed, the duo's blend of fearful and fierce here is stellar."[19] Sharing similar sentiments, Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer remarked, "The opener "Heavydirtysoul" sounds like The Prodigy is about to rip through your speakers, as drummer Josh Dun goes absolutely ballistic."[20] Madison Desler of Orange County Register called the track "a beat-heavy banger that features some of Joseph's most rapid-fire rapping."[14] Sam Law from Kerrang! said the song "... spectacularly walks the line between fearfulness and ferocity ... Featuring one of the vocalist’s most assured performances, to the contrary, 'Heavydirtysoul' is a masterclass in both, with heaps of classic pop grandeur and that titular soul loaded on for good measure.[18]

Commercial performance

"Heavydirtysoul" peaked at No. 8 on the Hot Rock Songs chart, No. 2 on the Alternative Songs chart, No. 22 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and No. 25 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in the US.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Heavydirtysoul" was directed by Andrew Donoho. The video features Tyler Joseph sitting in the passenger seat of an out-of-control vehicle playing chicken with Josh Dun and his flaming drum kit.[18]

The music video for "Heavydirtysoul" was released on February 3, 2017. It was directed by Andrew Donoho and shot in the band's hometown, Columbus, Ohio.[21] It begins with frontman Tyler Joseph sitting in the backseat of a vehicle which is driving erratically along a highway. Josh Dun is seen playing drums in the middle of the highway, and his drum kit suddenly catches fire, but he continues playing anyway. The vehicle that Joseph is in is heading towards Dun, and loses one of its wheels just before swerving to miss a head-on collision with him. It's shown briefly that the driver of the vehicle is an unknown figure wearing a black hoodie. The sequence of Joseph driving past Dun is repeated as the car continues to spark from its missing tire. The vehicle continues to fall apart due to Dun's drumming, and when the vehicle loses its roof and its doors, Joseph climbs on top of it and then jumps off near Dun as it explodes further in the distance. The duo perform the remainder of the song on the highway during the night, surrounded by the car's flames. The ending of the video shows the sun rising, and Joseph, along with the vehicle, back to their original state. The car that's used in the video is a grey Cadillac de Ville sedan. This same car is also seen at the beginning of the "Jumpsuit" music video, burnt before once again catching fire.

Twenty One Pilots provided fans with the opportunity to view how they made their music video.[22] Following the debut of the video for "Heavydirtysoul", the duo released a "Beyond the video' behind-the-scenes experience. It portrays Tyler and Josh getting up at dawn in freezing temperatures to make the video.[22]

Reception

Writing for Kerrang!, Sam Law regarded the music video as "yet another unforgettable stand-out."[18]

Live performance

Twenty-One Pilots performed "Heavydirtysoul" as the opener of a concert held at Comerica Theatre on in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona October 14, 2015. Once the duo began, a vast majority of the audience started to sing along closely to the song's lyrics.[23] Twenty One Pilots provided a live rendition of "Heavydirtysoul" as their opening performance during a concert at UNSW Roundhouse in Sydney, Australia on April 20, 2016.[24] With the lower half of their faces half-covered in balaclava, Joseph wielded a tambourine and Dun played drums throughout the track before slowing down and segueing into a performance of "Stressed Out."[24]'

Usage in media

The song appears on the soundtracks for the video games WWE 2K16 and Madden NFL 16.[25][26]

Track listing
Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Heavydirtysoul"3:54
CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Heavydirtysoul"3:54
2."Heavydirtysoul" (instrumental)3:54
3."Heavydirtysoul" (radio edit)3:19
4."Heavydirtysoul" (TV track)3:54
5."Heavydirtysoul" (a cappella)3:54

Personnel

Twenty One Pilots

  • Tyler Joseph – vocals, synthesizers, guitar, piano, bass guitar, tambourine, programming
  • Josh Dun – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Platinum 80,000
Italy (FIMI)[37] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[39] Platinum 1,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Blurryface (Booklet). Twenty One Pilots. Fueled by Ramen. 2015. 7567-86692-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Heavydirtysoul Earns Most Added". December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  3. "Heavydirtysoul released by Warner Music Canada". December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  4. Street Poetry With Twenty One Pilots' Tyler Joseph, August 27, 2013, retrieved October 28, 2018
  5. s.r.l, Rockol com. "√ Recensioni | Dischi | Twenty One Pilots - BLURRYFACE su Rockol". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  6. "Twenty One Pilots 'Heavydirtysoul' Sheet Music in D Minor – Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  7. "Twenty One Pilots Soar their Own Way". Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  8. Willman, Chris (October 7, 2018). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Trench". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  9. Yeung, Neil Z. "Blurryface – Twenty One Pilots". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  10. Parker, Jack (May 29, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface". All Things Loud. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  11. Nixon, Kylie Klein (March 25, 2017). "Twenty One Pilots astound with magic and acrobatics at first show on New Zealand/Australia tour". Stuff. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  12. Yim, Sandra (June 24, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots: A Head Banging Good Time". The UrbanWire.
  13. LeRoy, Dan (September 2, 2015). "The 10 best twenty one pilots songs". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  14. Desler, Madison (February 16, 2017). "Twenty One Pilots at Honda Center a spectacle with two stages and a giant hamster ball". Orange County Register. Ron Hasse.
  15. DeVille, Chris (May 28, 2015). "The Week In Pop: Meet Twenty One Pilots, The Biggest Band You've Never Heard Of". Stereogum. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  16. Blumenfeld, Zac (December 4, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Makes Young-Person Angst...Ecstatic?!". Gapers Block.
  17. "Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface". Sputnikmusic. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  18. Law, Sam (April 24, 2020). "The 20 Greatest twenty one pilots Songs — Ranked". Kerrang!. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  19. Pettigrew, Jason (September 26, 2019). "Twenty One Pilots Songs Ranked in All Of Their Pop Majesty". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  20. Nickoloff, Anne; Smith, Troy (July 5, 2019). "All 65 Twenty One Pilots songs ranked from worst to best". The Plain Dealer. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  21. twenty one pilots: Heavydirtysoul (Beyond the Video), February 8, 2017, retrieved October 21, 2018
  22. "Watch The Making Of twenty one pilots' Heavydirtysoul Video". Kerrang!. February 9, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  23. Hillman, Mitchell (October 14, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Fans Are Truly Fanatical". Phoenix New Times. Kurtis Barton.
  24. Deeley, Chelsea (April 21, 2016). "Twenty One Pilots – The Roundhouse UNSW, Sydney 20/04/16". Music Feeds. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  25. "wwe 2k16 soundtrack". WWE. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  26. "twenty one pilots join madden". team rock. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  27. "Ultratop.be – Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  28. "Ultratop.be – Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  29. "Official Russia Top 100 Airplay Chart (week 24)" (in Russian). Tophit. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  30. "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  31. "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  32. "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  33. "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  34. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  35. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  36. "Canadian single certifications – twenty one pilots – Heavydirtysoul". Music Canada. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  37. "Italian single certifications – twenty one pilots – Italy" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Italy" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  38. "British single certifications – twenty one pilots – Heavydirtysoul". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Heavydirtysoul in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  39. "American single certifications – twenty one pilots – Heavydirtysoul". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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