The year is 2016, and Suicide Squad was about to be released and the singles for the songs were being released one by one. Then, there’s one single called Heathens by twenty one pilots that slowly plays through the radio. It is added onto their songs, as 2016 had 2 (now with Heathens, 3 songs).
I was in 6th grade and that song really was something I agreed with, something I could connect with. Like the other two twenty one pilot songs, I really liked them. They were comforting to them, and while the music videos are dark and brash the songs to me were just…nice. But, fast forward to 2023 I am a huge twenty one pilots fan and today is Halloween. So, let’s talk about Heathens as it’s one of the spookiest twenty one pilots song.
I will not discuss their Romanian version Heathens//Stranger Things because that one I don’t have access to on Apple Music or Spotify so it doesn’t truly count as it’s own single but nonetheless it’s very cool to watch it and I highly recommend it.
Heathens (Original)
The original Heathens is sung with a lot of distortion. It’s the easiest way to describe it, because it’s just the original. It uses distortion from the main vocals of twenty one pilots, and then in between the lyrics there’s some distorted words/phrases. The only special characteristic is this is the only version of Heathens that was ever on the radio, but it’s also tied to Suicide Squad (sadly). Yet, there’s just nothing too special about it but I enjoy it. With my radio show I played this version because it is tied to a movie about supervillains and it’s not a joyful song. Plus, it just has dark and spooky vibes.
Heathens (Ft. MUTEMATH)
So, this version is in my indigo (music to play at night) for a reason. It takes at least a minute for Tyler Joseph to actually start singing about the ominous intro is just perfect for driving at night. Plus it’s all sung pretty softly except for like 2 parts and even then it’s not sung “violently” or even strongly. It’s just, pretty peaceful. The whole TOP X MUTEMATH album is very differently, and a lot more calm with the music. This is no exception, and honestly this one is just one of my favorites.
Heathens / Trees (Livestream Version)
So in 2021 twenty one pilots released Scaled and Icy, and since we were still in the midst of lockdown twenty one pilots did not do a tour until later (The Takeover Tour), and they did the Livestream Experience which was a virtual concert that reached over 200 countries filmed in Columbus, Ohio (their hometown).
Anyway Heathens / Trees is a combo of two of their songs, starting with Heathens which is a unplugged version, with Tyler Joseph literally in a boat with a ukulele singing the lyric’s (obviously there’s more background sound to add onto it so it’s not totally acoustic) but it’s such a calming song and so relaxing. Especially on the “water” with limited lighting, it really adds onto the atmosphere and oh this song is also in the indigo playlist for that reason. It’s ominous, but so peaceful that you barely notice the transition from Heathens to Trees.
Car Radio/ Heathens
twenty one pilots went on MTV unplugged back in 2022, and they did an “unplugged” version of Car Radio / Heathens and this version is so different from the previous two songs. It’s the final song they did for MTV unplugged and with the grittiness of Car Radio (as that’s the first song) you assume automatically that Heathens follows that grittiness and roughness. There is a transition from the rough bass and just a spew of “ooh” and Heathens has Tyler singing it light but the background bass and the “ooh” makes it a mixture of calm and the wild roughness of the original. It always has a transition from
Car Radio before it quickly without any transition changes back to Car Radio. Unlike the other mashup, Heathens doesn’t have a huge part in this and is just the same lyrical chorus that mostly everyone knows from Heathens.
The Verdict
I think the original is the spookiest while it goes then the MUTEMATH version. The other two are just not as spooky or mysterious, and that’s not bad. It’s just in the spirit of Halloween, the original is the best but for the real spooky calm vibes it’s definitely the MUTEMATH version. The Livestream Experience one is way too calm to be spooky or scary, and just seems so relaxing honestly, and the MTV unplugged version is just too chaotic in tonal shifts where it also just doesn’t fit.
