Twenty One Pilots brought a 2016 hit back from the “Upside Down” during a performance in Romania this week, where the alternative duo delivered a Stranger Things-inspired remix of “Heathens.”
In the clip of the crossover shared to the band’s YouTube page, the epic performance begins with the headline-making scene in which Stranger Things character Max (played by Sadie Sink) escapes from Vecna thanks to Kate Bush‘s 1985 hit, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God).”
“Music has the power to save everyone,” the screen behind the band reads in the iconic red font from the Netflix series. Twenty One Pilots then performs a fitting reimagining of “Heathens,” in which the instrumental is replaced by the synth-driven Stranger Things theme song.
“All my friends are heathens, take it slow / Wait for them to ask you who you know,” they sing in the chorus.
Stranger Things has been known for using its soundtrack to enhance the texture or emotion of a scene, with “Running Up That Hill” and Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets” enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to their inclusion in the series’ just-wrapped season four.
“One of the wonders of Stranger Things is that it has a way of connecting each of the songs to its multigenerational audience around the world in very unique ways,” the show’s longtime music supervisor Nora Felder previously told Billboard. “That reflects the power of a meaningful, timeless song — and how its significance can be revived and reconceived when it is married to a remarkable story such as Stranger Things.”
