[Musical interlude- Atmospheric, clean pads. A slow, pulsing synth bass underpins a hollow, piano]
[Verse 1]
The architecture of this room is changing.
I’ve memorized the cracks where the light refuses to settle,
A map of every year I spent building walls out of sediment and pride.
You stand in the threshold, a silhouette against the coming tide,
Holding a lantern fueled by a breath I haven’t taken yet.
Is this a sanctuary, or just a more beautiful cage?
[Interlude- The music strips back to a weeping, dissonant guitar lead. The vocals shift into a raw, mid-range fry scream—anguished and desperate vocals]
I am terrified of the space between us!
Terrified that your silence is a funeral for the "we" we haven’t become!
Do you feel the weight of the sky when you’re standing out there alone?
Does the independence taste like honey, or does it taste like salt?
DON’T LET THE DARKNESS BE YOUR ONLY WITNESS!
[vocals breaks into a sobbing, melodic cry]
Stay... or let the void have you. Just don't leave me in the doorway.
[Verse 2- Back to a rhythmic, syncopated groove. Ritualistic style vocal delivery—hushed and breathy]
Independence is a sharp blade; it cuts clean, but it leaves you cold.
I see the hunger in your eyes—the desire to be un-held,
To be a sovereign nation of one, answerable to no god.
But even the strongest oak eventually starves for the rain.
To be known is to be altered.
To be loved is to be unmade.
[Chorus- Full band explosion. Crushing, melodic riffs with a soaring, haunting and desperate vocal]
Will you anchor your ghost to mine and let the seasons erode us?
To feel the attrition of a lifetime, the sacred wear of "we"?
Or will you retreat to the cold perfection of your own shadow,
Where the stillness is a nectar that eventually turns to stone?
Walk with me until we disappear,
Or let the loneliness consume the atmosphere.
[Instrumental Breakdown- The tempo drops to a grueling, sludge-paced crawl. The guitars are downtuned to a guttural, earth-shaking register, Double-Drop E, No vocals, mechanical, jarring percussion and "thall" influenced chugging that feels like the walls of the room are physically collapsing. It is oppressive and bleak]
[Interlude]
Erode me.
Erode me.
Erode me.
Erode me.
ARE YOU WHOLE ALONE?
ARE YOU WHOLE ALONE?
ARE WE WHOLE ALONE?
[Chorus- Full band explosion. Crushing, melodic riffs with a soaring, haunting and desperate vocal]
Will you anchor your ghost to mine and let the seasons erode us?
To feel the attrition of a lifetime, the sacred wear of "we"?
Or will you retreat to the cold perfection of your own shadow,
Where the stillness is a nectar that eventually turns to stone?
Walk with me until we disappear,
Or let the loneliness consume the atmosphere.
[Outro- heavy distortion cuts out instantly, replaced by a haunting, distant piano]
The door is swinging on a rusted hinge.
One path is a garden that requires our blood to bloom.
The other is a mirror...
Reflecting nothing...
But the ghost you chose to keep.
Atlantica
