Twenty One Pilots - The Outside (Music Video)

If you have been following the folklore surrounding the band Twenty One Pilots (Wikipedia, proper), you will not be amiss to see the newest release from the band is nothing short of spectacular.

Video provided by Youtube

Without going into the full discography and seeing how deep the rabbit hole goes, it is best to know there was plenty of negative feedback from fans about the latest album release "Scaled and Icy." The album was a severe left turn from previous releases. Eclectic, energetic, and drastically upbeat in comparison. The band had told fans time and time again to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Trust them. The Outside is exactly the trust they were needing from fans. It picks up where their previous music video for "Saturday" ended. A very upbeat and clubby 70's funk vibe ending with a submarine crash brought on by "Trash," a mythological dragon whom takes shape after appearing on the band's album, and briefly in the band's livestream experience. There seems to be much more behind the story of Trash and its significance, but has not been revealed as of yet.

We could go round and round about conjecture and semantics surrounding the lore of Twenty One Pilots, but it's best to focus one breadcrumb at a time. The video washes up frontman Tyler Joseph who is quickly met by bandmate Josh Dunn on a beach while wielding a torch. They begin to explore their surroundings, then met with a mysterious creature we haven't seen since the music video "Chlorine." It is Ned (Again, more folklore to explore)! We then come to the realization there is a lot of Neds. After Tyler meets with the group of Neds and drinks from a (what appears to be) ceremonial cup (after singing the lyrics, "Take a hit..."), he follows through a cave to another beach. Seeing Josh in the distance on his drum set, geared up and ready. The Ned on the beach has removed his adult horns and gifted them to Tyler. In this moment, he brandishes them as his own, enabling a tribal-like dance. This allows him to harness the energy to take shape in a fallen "Bishop." Whom we see is murdered in the beginning of the video. Solely based on the eyes, it seemed that fallen bishop had previously been either controlled or harnessing the energy of Trash (the dragon). Like I had stated previously, this lore goes deep.

After Tyler finishes his dance and the flashing between bodies subsides, Tyler's bishop shape grasps one of the illuminated posts and shatters it to the ground making the other eight bishops flee. The closing of the video we see Tyler and Josh, torches in hand, reach a cliffside, raising their torches into the night sky. They are met with numerous other torches from across the visible area, yet still in the distance. The camera pans up and then back down to another twosome showing their faces almost with a knowing glance. The last few seconds of the video flashes what appears to be their younger selves. This image can be seen in the "Nico and the Niners" music video. This is a direct correlation (in my humble opinion), showing escape is possible from "Dema." The Dystopian society controlled by the Bishops. But we can go further into the lore another time. For now, enjoy the music video, with or without the lore, it is still very entertaining.

#DemaDontControlUs