Twenty One Pilots – Drum Show (Single Review) 

‘Drum Show’, the second single released in anticipation of Twenty One Pilots’ 9th studio album ‘Breach’, has surpassed the expectations of even the oldest fans of the band. The track opens with an aggressive riff of bass from frontman Tyler Joseph, similar to that of 2018’s ‘Jumpsuit’, before cutting out the music completely, leaving room for Joseph to state that “He’s putting on a drum show.” The opening line welcomes another phase of instrumental, repeating the original riff, this time accompanied by an exciting groove from drummer Joshua Dun. 

Joseph once again comes in vocally, though there is something beautifully uncomfortable about the high pitch of his voice against the booming of the music, perhaps alluding to the bands first studio album, titled simply ‘Twenty One Pilots,” upon which Joseph’s experimental vocals became the focal point of every song. ‘Drumshow’ follows a basic structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus; until minute two of the song, where the bridge begins to build. 

It is here that the track takes an astounding turn; for Dun performs his vocal debut. The music mellows as Joseph adopts his signature seat at the piano, toying between two gentle keys as the lyrics become a devastating ode of being “this way”, and wanting “to change.” But the surprises don’t stop here. Where one would assume Dun to finish repeating “I want to change”, Joseph rips his way back into the vocals with an impressively long and guttural scream that leaves genres well and truly bent. 

The song resumes once more with a familiar chorus, this time peppered with screams from Joseph, conveying the despair that comes with struggling to knock ones bad habits, before closing with a synth riff that mirrors the tempo of the chorus’ vocals; paired with a repetition of Duns bridge, a ghost in the background of the noise. 

SCORE / EXCELLENT – ‘Drumshow’ is a magnificently fresh piece of music, especially when taking into account the longevity of the bands popularity and success. For Twenty One Pilots, however, this song also marks the beginning of the end of a storyline ten years in the making. ‘Drumshow’ leaves one agonisingly eager for not just the remainder of the album, but for the final chapter of a long and twisted story.