Teeth In My Chest

[Verse 1]
Wake up already falling
Heart’s running red lights in my ribs
Hands shake like broken branches
Thoughts swarm
A blackened orbit
Stare holes through the ceiling
Counting every crack like scars
Every quiet room turns violent
When I’m alone with where you are
[Chorus]
There’s a wolf at the door of my breathing
Teeth in my chest when I’m sleeping
I’m a riot in a locked room
Screaming
(are you listening? are you listening?)
Every “I’m fine” that I’m repeating
Is another little part of me retreating
If this is my mind
Why am I bleeding?
Somebody drag me out
Drag me out
[Verse 2]
Words sink like rusted anchors
Tongue heavy with “what if I break?”
Smile stapled over panic
I’m a fault line dressed in skin and faith
Tell me
Is this forever?
This siren stuck inside my skull
Every heartbeat feels borrowed
Every breath a loaded pull
[Breakdown]
Rip my doubts out
Nail them to the sound
I’m drowning in a crowd
(but I’m so loud, so loud)
Skin’s a cage for a cyclone
I’m a flare in a blackout sky
If fear is all that I’ve ever known
Will I even know me if it dies?
[Chorus]
There’s a wolf at the door of my breathing
Teeth in my chest when I’m sleeping
I’m a riot in a locked room
Screaming
(are you listening? are you listening?)
Every “I’m fine” that I’m repeating
Is another little part of me retreating
If this is my mind
Why am I bleeding?
Somebody drag me out
Drag me out
[Outro]
Heartbeat
Double-time drumming
Still here
Still scared
Still coming
If I shake
It means I’m running
If I’m breathing
I’m not done yet

High-tension metalcore with drop-tuned guitars in a staggered chug pattern, syncopated kick and china accents. Screamed male vocals in the verses over dissonant riffs, then a soaring, strained-sung chorus that opens harmonically with wide stereo guitars and bass glue. Mid-song breakdown hits with halftime drums, pick scrapes, dissonant bends, and gang shouts; final chorus adds octave lead guitar and stacked harmonies for cathartic lift., metalcore