[INTRO —Welding torch. Garage door. Carla sample.]
"Well, well. Look who crawled out of the wreckage."
[Beat drops hard.]
---
[VERSE 1 — Sardonic, spoken delivery. Palm-muted guitar riff.]
I built this kingdom out of scrap and spite
A junkyard queen with an appetite
For diesel, Cordium, whatever burns
Got a workshop full of lessons you ain't learned
They wrote me off when the sky went red
Fifty years ago, I should be dead
But Cinder means the fire didn't take
Now I'm the one who decides what breaks
---
[PRE-CHORUS — Tension building. Synth swell.]
You come to me with blood still on your hands
Looking for a friend who understands
I got one rule, you better hear me clear
Don't get attached to what you build in here
---
[CHORUS — Full distortion. Screamed/sung. Double-time drums.]
They call me Cinder 'cause I survived the flame
Now I'm the one who decides who burns again
Build it up, tear it down, that's the RaD way
I've got nothing left to lose — do you feel the same?
---
[VERSE 2 — More aggressive. Swing groove.]
Walter's kid, huh? Yeah, I knew his dad
Best mind this planet ever had
Till the Corps came knocking, till the Coral burned
Now his ghost pays me in lessons learned
You're just like him, you know that, right?
A stray dog looking for a fight
But dogs get put down when they serve their use
So let's make sure you're the one who bites
---
[PRE-CHORUS — Layered vocals. Tighter cut.]
I got one rule, you better hear me clear
Don't get attached to what you build in here
---
[CHORUS — Same intensity. Backing chants.
They call me Cinder 'cause I survived the flame
(Cinder)
Now I'm the one who decides who burns again
(Cinder)
Build it up, tear it down, that's the RaD way
I've got nothing left to lose — do you feel the same?
---
[BRIDGE — Track pulls back. Clean vocals. Vulnerability.]
I watched them burn
My friends, my home, the sky
I was the only one
Who made it out alive
I told myself
I'd be the fire
Not the ash below
---
[FINAL CHORUS — Hardest iteration. Maximum intensity. Ends abruptly.]
They call me Cinder 'cause I survived the flame!
Now I'm the one who decides who burns again!
Build it up, tear it down, that's the RaD way!
I've got nothing left to lose — DO YOU FEEL THE SAME?!
BOOM [cut to silence]