Stand Still, City

[Intro – distant horns + slow heartbeat]
Step…
Step…
Hold.

[Verse 1 – Low, menacing rap cadence]
Boots hit stone and the street goes quiet,
Sirens choke when the shadows riot,
No need to sprint when the hunt is diet—
Starve you slow till your hope gets dieted,
Barricades bend when the line walks through,
Eyes don’t blink when the crowd turns blue,
Every alley’s a dead-end cue—
You don’t run from Hell Guard… Hell Guard runs through you

[Pre-Chorus – whispered rise]
Count the seconds you think you’ve earned,
We count the lessons you never learned,
When the city prays for a door to turn—
We are the lock you can’t return

[Chorus – Doom Metal Hook]
STAND STILL, CITY—BOW YOUR LIGHTS,
KNEES HIT STONE WHEN WE STEP IN TIME,
WALLS DON’T SAVE YOU, PATHS COLLIDE—
HELL GUARD’S HERE, SO YOU DON’T HIDE.
STAND STILL, CITY—HOLD YOUR BREATH,
WE DON’T RUSH, WE WALK YOU TO DEATH,
PRAY TO SPEED BUT YOU FAIL THE TEST—
HELL GUARD MOVES… AND THE CROWD GOES LEFT.

[Verse 2 – Nerdcore Rap]
Formation tight like a sealed fate,
Every move boxed by a steel gate,
You play chess—we erase the board,
Turn your shortcuts into a closed door,
Pulse stays low when the chaos screams,
We don’t chase ghosts, we haunt your schemes,
When the night wants to look away—
We make the dark turn and face the beam

[Pre-Chorus 2 – rising chant]
Count the exits you thought you had,
We draw the circles, then we stand,
If the Raiders slip through the gaps—
We are the hands that close the trap

[Chorus – heavier, thicker guitars]
STAND STILL, CITY—BOW YOUR LIGHTS,
KNEES HIT STONE WHEN WE STEP IN TIME,
WALLS DON’T SAVE YOU, PATHS COLLIDE—
HELL GUARD’S HERE, SO YOU DON’T HIDE.
STAND STILL, CITY—HOLD YOUR BREATH,
WE DON’T RUSH, WE WALK YOU TO DEATH,
PRAY TO SPEED BUT YOU FAIL THE TEST—
HELL GUARD MOVES… AND THE CROWD GOES LEFT.

[Breakdown – chant + stomp rhythm]
STEP—
HALT—
STEP—
HALT—
(WE ARE THE LINE YOU CAN’T VAULT.)

[Bridge – quiet, ominous melody]
If the city breaks, we don’t bend,
If the sky falls, we still ascend,
When your plan dies at the final bend—
We are the wall at the story’s end

[Final Chorus – all vocals layered]
STAND STILL, CITY—BOW YOUR LIGHTS,
EVERY SHADOW FALLS IN LINE,
PRAY FOR ROOFS, PRAY FOR FLIGHT—
HELL GUARD WALKS, SO YOU DON’T CLIMB.
STAND STILL, CITY—HOLD YOUR BREATH,
WE ARE THE WAIT THAT EATS YOUR STEPS,
WHEN THE RUNNERS HAVE NOTHING LEFT—
HELL GUARD MOVES… AND THAT’S THE TEST.

[Outro – boots echoing, radio static]

“You had time to run. You used it wrong.”

Nerdcore Rap × Doom/Heavy Metal, female