Iron in My Veins

[Verse 1]
Coffee’s cold on the counter
Tiny shoes by the door
He’s laughing in the hallway
I’m shaking to the core
Mirror shows me a stranger
Scarred eyes
Hollow grin
I swore I’d break this cycle
But it’s clawing from within
[Chorus]
I’m a fortress made of fractures
Steel that screams and bends
Can I carry all this weight
And never crush him in the end?
If I’m a storm
Then let me shield him
Not the lightning
Not the flames
I’m a father made of failures
Trying to forge a different name (oh)
[Verse 2]
My old man’s voice in the bedroom
Spitting ghosts through the wall
Every promise he shattered
Echoes when my son calls
Hand on the door
I’m trembling
What if I turn out the same?
What if “I’ll be there forever”
Is another broken frame?
[Chorus]
I’m a fortress made of fractures
Steel that screams and bends
Can I carry all this weight
And never crush him in the end?
If I’m a storm
Then let me shield him
Not the lightning
Not the flames
I’m a father made of failures
Trying to forge a different name (yeah)
[Bridge]
I am not your shadow
Old man
I am not your rust and rage
I will stand between the darkness
And the boy who bears my name
Let the nightmare come and find me
Let it tear at skin and bone
I will crawl through every hell
So he never walks alone (never walks alone)
[Chorus]
I’m a fortress made of fractures
But I’m learning how to stand
Every crack is where the fire
Burns a brighter kind of man
If I’m a storm
I’ll be his shelter
Take the thunder
Take the blame
I’m a father made of fire
And I’ll rise every time he says my name

metal, Modern heavy metal with downtuned, palm-muted guitars and double-kick drive. Verses stay tense and syncopated with chugging riffs under a raw male vocal, bass glued to the kick. Chorus explodes into wide, melodic power chords and shouted gang vocals on the hook. Bridge drops to a low, ominous drone with tom-heavy build, then slams back into a final, anthemic chorus.