[Intro- Massive wash of distorted chords, heavy delay, and feedback swelling in and out. The drums are playing a slow, driving beat with lots of cymbal wash.]
[Verse 1- Shoegaze texture - Vocals are breathless, layered with reverb, floating over the fuzz]
The preachers sell a map to a city made of gold
A promise of a warmth that we can never hold
They say we have to die to see the face of God
But I can trace the holy lines right here in the sod
I’m tired of looking up, my neck begins to break
Why chase a phantom when I’m wide awake?
[Pre-Chorus- Drum fill speeds up. Guitars switch from strumming to a tremolo lead line]
Let the pearly gates rust in the rain
I don’t want a paradise that needs so much pain
I don’t want wings if it means I have to fly away
From the gravity that holds you in the gray.
[Chorus- Explosion of "Gaze" noise. Major key, but melancholic. Vocals switch to a melodic, strained yell]
This is the only Heaven that I need!
Not a garden in the sky, but the earth where we bleed!
Don't tell me about the glory of the afterlife
It pales against the color of your eyes!
We are gods in the static!
We are saints in the dirt!
I’ll take the paradise that comes with the hurt!
[Verse 2- Bass guitar takes the lead—thick, fuzzy tone. Guitar plays ambient feedback swells]
[Whispered]
They call it sacrilege.
To love the creature more than the creator.
But look at us.
We are infinite right now.
[Singing returns]
Cancel my ascension, cut the silver cord
I’m perfectly abandoned, I’m perfectly ignored
By the angels who are jealous of the touch of skin
They’re locked outside the heaven that we are in.
[Bridge- The "Dream" Section. All distortion cuts. Clean, sparkling guitar with chorus effect. Very quiet]
If this is all there is...
(It's enough)
If the lights go out forever...
(It’s enough)
I don’t need the eternity.
I just need the now.
[Chorus- Explosion of "Gaze" noise. Major key, but melancholic. Vocals switch to a melodic, strained yell]
This is the only Heaven that I need!
Not a garden in the sky, but the earth where we bleed!
Don't tell me about the goddamn afterlife
It fucking pales against the color of your eyes!
[The Build- A low, digital sub-bass synth starts to pulse. The feedback rises in pitch, becoming uncomfortable. A snare roll builds tension like a machine gun.]
I am not waiting to die to feel alive.
I am not waiting...
I AM NOT WAITING!
[The Breakdown- drop E Drop. The shoegaze wall vanishes instantly. It is dry, tight, and impossibly heavy. The guitars are gating, cutting silence between chugs.]
Heaven! IS! HERE!
[LOW BASS CHUG - SLOW BEND - CHUG]
STOP LOOKING UP!
[DISSONANT SQUEAL]
LOOK AT ME!
THERE IS NO AFTER! ONLY THIS disaster!
[POLYRHYTHMIC CHUG PATTERN]
THIS IS PARADISE!
THIS IS PARADISE!
BURY ME IN IT!
[Outro- heavy riff rings out into one long, sustaining feedback note. The shoegaze wash slowly fades back in, drowning out the aggression.]
[Clean Vocals - Distant]
...right here...
...heaven is here...
Atlantica
