Heathens by twenty øne piløts was written by band member Tyler Joseph for the DC Comics supervillain movie, Suicide Squad in 2016. The song was a hit for the alternative rock band, earning the number two spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and receiving three Grammy nominations. The band aimed to capture the dark and sinister aesthetic of the film while still incorporating their own sound to please their fan base. The piano, drums, bass, and vocals create an industrial rock-like sound that compliments the ominous lyrics perfectly. Joseph wrote the song in Logic before heading to the studio, where he and his team spent a lot of time working with various synthesized sounds and samples, totaling in approximately 100 tracks overall.
The song is filled with distorted sounds to achieve the “creepy” ambiance of the film. One sound, in particular, that is prevalent throughout the song is a shotgun load. In the background, a higher-pitched automated voice harmonizes with Joseph’s as he sings the lyrics. To obtain this sound Autotune and Soundtoys Little AlterBoy software was used. These are great tools often used for altering artist’s voices, sometimes drastically. Joseph recorded his vocals with a Sony C800G mic, which went into a UA610 preamp that was overdriven. The Sony C800G microphone is a high-quality mic that multiple artists use for vocals due to its sensitivity and impressive ability to capture clear and detailed sounds. Following this, Joseph’s vocals then went through a UA Bluestripe 1176, adding a certain “thickness” and “hotness” to the track.