twenty one pilots' 'Scaled And Icy' artwork came from an unexpected place

Last week, Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph sent twenty one pilots fans into a frenzy when they announced their new album Scaled And Icy and unleashed first single “Shy Away.” The album’s artwork features “Trash The Dragon,” a blue creature breathing yellow fire out of its mouth, which Joseph introduced on the “Shy Away” release day.

Designer Brandon Rike has teamed back up with twenty one pilots for the Scaled And Icy artwork. Previously, Rike designed the cover art for both Blurryface and Trench. Now, Rike has revealed where the inspiration for Trash The Dragon came from. As it turns out, the colorful illustration was created over 150 years ago for a children’s book.

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By now, twenty one pilots fans know that everything Dun and Joseph release has been strategically thought out with deep meanings. So, naturally, a lot of fans began to wonder what the significance behind the Scaled And Icy artwork is. Over the weekend, Instagram user @20bndk05 asked Rike where the Trash The Dragon illustration came from.

Eventually, Rike revealed on his Instagram post that the illustration is actually from a children’s book that was released in the 1860s. The artwork was created by Walter Crane and is part of the public domain, which is why twenty one pilots are able to use it for their Scaled And Icy cover art.

Crane was a British artist who lived from 1845 to 1915. During his lifetime, Crane illustrated numerous children’s books and nursery rhymes including 1874’s The Frog Prince and Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince And Other Tales. Along with this, he also created numerous dragon illustrations including Prince Cheri And The Dragon and Aschemon The Dragon.

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“Old 1860s (terrifying) children’s book illustration by Walter Crane (public domain),” Rike says on Instagram.

 

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On April 7, twenty one pilots kicked off their Scaled And Icy era with the premiere of their new single “Shy Away” on BBC Radio 1 with host Jack Saunders. Moments before the new track hit the radio waves, Saunders took to social media to share the first listen of “Shy Away” was airing at 1:07 p.m. ET/6:07 p.m. GMT.

Shortly after its premiere, the colorful video for “Shy Away” debuted on YouTube. The captivating visual was directed by Miles And AJ and introduces twenty one pilots’ new era and its accompanying colors of blue, pink and yellow. 

Although “Shy Away” marks the beginning of twenty one pilots’ next chapter, the duo still managed to incorporate plenty of nods to their past albums including their signature ski masks that appear in both the Blurryface and Trench eras.

“Shy Away” follows up twenty one pilots’ surprise holiday song “Christmas Saves The Year” which debuted back in December. After cryptically teasing the track, Dun and Joseph dropped the new song following a Fortnite livestream.

The “Shy Away” video is available to stream below.

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After the global pandemic changed twenty one pilots’ plans for 2020, Joseph began work on their next album. Back in May, Joseph told Zane Lowe during his Apple Music show that he had started writing new material for the project.

“I’m writing a record right now,” he told Lowe. “I’m not sure when it’ll be released, but it’s definitely going to be sooner than we were planning on releasing a record.”

Over the past year, Joseph ended up writing and producing Scaled And Icy from his home studio in Columbus, Ohio. Throughout the recording process, Joseph shared numerous cryptic updates on his social media platforms. More recently, in mid-November, he gave fans an update on his Instagram Story where he simply shared, “I’m working on the album.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph and Dun recorded Scaled And Icy separately. Dun worked from home, engineering drums for the album from across the country. 

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In celebration of the album’s release, twenty one pilots have a special livestream performance in store. On May 21 at 8 p.m. ET, they will be hosting their first-ever streamed concert on Maestro’s platform. 

For “Twenty One Pilots – Livestream Experience,” which is sponsored by Chipotle and Hot Topic, Dun and Joseph will perform tracks off of Scaled And Icy for the very first time. As well, the duo plans to incorporate plenty of other hits from throughout their discography.

With each purchased ticket, fans will unlock a 6-week interactive experience produced by lili STUDIOS. As well, ticket holders will gain access to rare content, limited merch and special editions of the upcoming album. The official poster for the livestream event also includes a subtle reference to the Trench era as it is billed as “A production of dma.org and Good Day Dema.” Tickets are available here. 

twenty one pilots Scaled And Icy tracklist

1. “Good Day”
2. “Choker”
3. “Shy Away”
4. “The Outside”
5. “Saturday”
6. “Never Take It”
7. “Mulberry Street”
8. “Formidable”
9. “Bounce Man”
10. “No Chances”
11. “Redecorate”

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