Click here to read the first part of this series, which focuses on the lore associated with the Twenty One Pilots’ album “Trench.” Click here to read the second part of this series, which focuses on the lore associated with the album “Scaled and Icy.”
Twenty One Pilots is known for the in-depth lore attached to their albums. Here is everything you need to know about the lore attached to their new single “Overcompensate” before the release of their new album Clancy.
Following the events of “The Outside” music video, Clancy released his last letter on DMA.org, posted on March 18, 2022. The letter explored Clancy’s unease about his ability to use psychokinesis and his past in Dema, worried that his living body had also been “seized” by the bishops. He expressed this concern by saying “this whole time I thought I was battling my inner self. Was I actually under assault for something else? someONE else?”
He concluded the letter by stating that by giving him the power of psychokinesis, Voldsøy had made him a weapon. Once they return to the mainland and reunite with the other Banditos, Clancy and the Torchbearer believe that they can turn the tide of the war.
After nearly a year of silence, 1500 red letters were sent out to the band’s fan base from the Sacred Municipality of Dema. The letters contained evidence that appeared to have been taken from Clancy’s belongings, including a new letter, an updated map of the Paladin Strait and a request for information on Clancy from the bishops.
In this new letter, Clancy appeared to be more confident and less frightened of the bishops, revelling in his newfound abilities and the power it was bringing him.
On Feb. 17 of this year, all of the covers for the band’s studio albums were updated, each covered in a strip of red tape.
On Feb. 29, Twenty One Pilots’ newest album Clancy was announced, along with the release of the music video for the record’s first single “Overcompensate.”
The music video for the single opens with flashes of the Paladin Strait, Voldsøy, and the city of Dema, which is surrounded by hundreds of neon tombstones marking the burials of the Glorious Gone. Clancy and the Torchbearer appear in an empty theatre, which is soon filled by citizens of Dema, all dressed in grey.
Clancy performs “Overcompensate” to them, asking the people of Dema to join his cause and help him in the war against the bishops. Throughout the music video, he presents the material from DMAORG to the audience, helping them to understand what the bishops are doing. His rallying seems to work as the people in the audience start to follow Clancy’s motions before it cuts to all of them wearing the signature Bandito stripes.
But before anything can continue, Clancy falls to the ground unconscious. When the newly recruited Banditos take off his mask, a dead young man has taken Clancy’s place. It is revealed that using the power of telekinesis, Clancy has possessed this vessel to communicate with the people of Dema as he and the Torchbearer are still stuck on the island of Voldsøy, finally preparing to make the journey home.
While Twenty One Pilots has always been known for their intricate lyrics and storytelling nature, the addition of albums Trench, Scaled and Icy and Clancy to their discography showcases just how much the band has stepped up their game.
Front man Tyler Joseph has hinted that there will be a music video for each of Clancy’s
13 songs, possibly bringing the narrative of Clancy and the Torchbearer that started in Trench to a vastly anticipated conclusion.
