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Last night, Twenty One Pilots released a four-minute trailer on their social media with a caption hinting at an upcoming album.
The trailer is an exposition that narrates the lore from a storyline they've been building since 2018 that references their previous projects, like Trench and Blurryface.
The video finds an individual, who goes by the name 'Clancy,' reading a letter that explains the various events that led to him achieving a power he should never have had.
A new studio project from the duo will mark their seventh full-length album following up on their 2021 project Scaled & Icy, which debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Unpacking the mysteries of Twenty One Pilots 'I Am Clancy'
The trailer begins with Tyler Joseph, the lead vocalist, diving into a detailed explanation of the lore Twenty One Pilots have been curating with the various projects they've released.
He doesn't appear to be speaking as Tyler but as a character named Clancy, hailing from a fictional city named Dema, which is part of the "Continent of Trench."
Trench is also the name of Twenty One Pilots' fifth studio album, released in 2018.
The video explains how the 'City of Dema' is built within the confines of a large circular wall. Tyler highlights how nobody, except for him, knows what exists beyond the wall, given the many restrictions placed on citizens from leaving the city.
He proclaims himself as an "escapee" who left Dema several times but highlights how none of his attempts succeeded since he always got captured and returned.
The person who always manages to re-capture Tyler is an individual named "Blurryface," the leader of a group called "The Nine Bishops," whose sole responsibility is maintaining the peace within Dema.
Blurryface is also the name of Twenty One Pilots' critically acclaimed fourth studio album, released in 2015.
Tyler narrates how The Nine Bishops have governed the city for a long time because of their access to a "miraculous" source of power and the creation of "hijacked religion."
He explains how power and religion feed each other in a constant cycle known as "Vialism," which teaches its students that the only way to paradise is through self-destruction.
Students of Vialism are brainwashed to forgo their bodies once they die. These bodies are then re-animated by The Bishops and treated as vessels through a process known as "Seizing."
Tyler states,
"I am a Citizen. I am an Escapee. I am an exception to the rule."
Tyler begins to recount a recent incident where he managed to trick Blurryface into taking him outside the walls of Dema. During their expedition, he creates a fiery diversion, giving him time to escape.
Although he was later captured, Tyler states how he encountered a group called "The Banditos," who lived outside the walls. Eventually, The Banditos came to Dema to break Tyler so he could join them and become a part of their group.
It's unclear how long Tyler stayed with The Banditos, but he does state it wasn't long before the Bishops found and arrested him for his crimes. He explains how, because of his many break-outs, the citizens of Dema began to look up to Tyler, which angered the religious government.
As an act of punishment, they made Tyler a public entertainer whose only role was to keep the citizens excited and oblivious to the Bishops' dark acts.
This went on for a while until somebody from within the Bishops betrayed and murdered Blurryface. At the time of the betrayal, Tyler was performing on a ship in the middle of the sea when a sea monster attacked and sank the ship, killing many people on board.
Tyler survives and washes up on the shores of an island called "Voldsoy," along with Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots' drummer). On this island, he meets a strange creature that allows him to seize vessels.
We see how Tyler uses his new power to control the deceased body of Blurryface before supposedly signaling The Banditos about his whereabouts, who later travel to Voldsoy to meet up with the duo.
The video ends with Tyler proclaiming,
"I am an Escapee. I am an Exception. I am returning to Trench. I Am Clancy"
The lore behind 'I Am Clancy'
Twenty One Pilots created a website in 2018 (URL: dmaorg.info) on which strange letters and pictures were uploaded. Although initially considered very vague, the latest trailer for 'I Am Clancy' has clarified many of the hints they've been dropping over the years.
Readers must scroll to the bottom of the website and begin to make their way up to understand the lore and storyline behind 'I Am Clancy.'
The first post is a letter that finds Clancy recalling his decision to leave Dema for the first time while simultaneously stating his admiration for Keons, a primary member of The Nine Bishops.
The letter also pointed out how the West Wall of the city had been blocked, which supposedly was used by The Banditos to enter into Dema in hopes of bringing Clancy back with them to the "outside world."
Several pictures were uploaded after the letter, which includes:
- A notice citing Clancy's escape from Dema
- The Banditos (titled: d_e_ath__eat_E_rz)
- Clancy, as a child
- A close-up portrait of the "City of Dema"
The second letter finds Clancy revealing how he's never felt like the city was his home and considered Dema a place where he just "existed." He identifies how the city's failing society is why he wants to escape and explore the mysteries of the Trench.
The letter reads,
"Hope of Discovery alone has birthed a new version of myself. A better version, I hope, that will find a way to experience what is beyond these collosal walls."
The following were uploaded after the letter:
- GIF containing 32 clips of a cheetah running that reads the phrase: "UNSTILL I DONT C KNOW OH ISNREAL IN A ME CD OOU?"
- Picture of "The Banditos" (titled: __n_ot_myo_nly_fri_en d)
- GIF of a vulture
The third and fourth letters explain Clancy's reasoning behind abandoning Dema and officially siding with The Banditos. He references the Bishops controlling citizens through Seizing and reflects on the day The Banditos broke into Dema.
It appears Clancy was aware of a significant part of where and how The Banditos managed to make their way into the city.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh letters are prequels and highlight events from the first time Clancy left Dema, including memories of him wandering long distances without food or water, encountering The Banditos for the first time, and being rescued by Keons.
A picture was uploaded that showcases the entire continent of Trench, the city of Dema, and the island of Voldsoy.
The eighth and ninth letters highlight how Clancy was arrested for illegally leaving the city. The letters also showcase how the Bishops forced him to write music to entertain their citizens.
Readers also get a deeper explanation behind Blurryface's murder and the sea monster attack that led to Clancy washing up on the shores of Voldsoy.
Clancy wrote,
"This small eerie island has made me a weapon. we both [Tyler and Josh] believe that we can use it to change the momentum of this war."
A picture is also uploaded showing the entire ritual and process of seizing a vessel through diagrams. The bodies of deceased individuals are referred to as the "glorious gone."
Per Twenty One Pilots' teaser trailer, fans can expect the Grammy-winning duo to deliver more information on their 'I Am Clancy' project next week.
