Heavydirtysoul

"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, hip hop, epic pop and R&B hooks while experimenting with electronic dance 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] "Heavydirtysoul" features Joseph's most high-speed rapping and intense vocals.[11] They are supplemented by Dun's drumming, generating a soulful groove.[11][12] Following its intro, Joseph's starts rapping over the fast, pulsating rhythm as the song bounds into catchy breaks and cascading noise.[10][13][14] The beat-laden number then shifts into a dramatic, piano-driven prechorus.[15][12] His voice slows down and the tempo decreases at its catchy, gospel-inspired chorus.[10][14] The disjointed track retains 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.[13][10][16]

Lyrically, "Heavydirtysoul" is about asking for help defeating inner demons in order to become something greater.[17] It features an anthemic theme pertaining to self-discovery through being vulnerable.[17] The song's lyrics reveal that deep down, even despite knowledge of one's greatness, aid is necessary to bring that out or else risk getting lost in thoughts.[17] "Heavydirtysoul" contains frantic rap verses laced with fast-paced lyrics and complex rhymes schemes.[15][18][19] The song's opening verse expresses a self-referential remark.[12] 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."[20][21] He invokes screaming in falsetto vocals at the refrain, insisting, "Can you save my heavy dirty soul, for me?"[20][8][10] Towards the end, the song's bridge incorporates an anthemic tag line.[14][12] Joseph's metaphoric lyrics are haunted by mortality as he sings, "Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit."[14][16]

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 and the Tantrums song to a monolithic heavy-rock climax without ever inducing whiplash."[16] André Curcic from Renowned for Sound stated, "The introductory track 'Heavydirtysoul' defines the album which seeks to venture beyond definition. The track is incredibly disjointed that is what makes the track one of the best on the album. It begins with a fast, pulsating rhythm and jumps into catchy song breaks that come together to create something wonderful."[13] 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."[12] He continued saying, "Anxious and frightened, yet trippy and badassed, the duo's blend of fearful and fierce here is stellar."[22] 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."[23] Madison Desler of Orange County Register called the track "a beat-heavy banger that features some of Joseph's most rapid-fire rapping."[15] Loudwire's Chad Childers described "Heavydirtysoul" as a "pulse-pushing opener."[24] 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.[21]

"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.

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.[21]

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.[25] 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.

Twenty One Pilots provided fans with the opportunity to view how they made their music video.[26] 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.[26]

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.[27] 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.[28] 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."[28]'

The song appears on the soundtracks for the video games WWE 2K16 and Madden NFL 16.[29][30]

Twenty One Pilots

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

Additional personnel

• Ricky Reed – programming

• "Heavydirtysoul" Music video on YouTube
• "Heavydirtysoul" (Beyond the Video) on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics