"The Monster in the Floor" [Interlude - Sam (female)] (The music starts with a slow, dark, Delta-blues acoustic guitar riff. A single, heavy kick drum thumps like a slow heartbeat. Spoken word, low and atmospheric.) Some men are born quiet. They walk through the world never knowing what it means to be a weapon. But when a man who used to be the nightmare decides to become the shield… that’s not peace. That’s a hostage situation, and he’s holding his own demons at gunpoint. [Verse 1 - Matt (male)] (The electric bass slides in, thick and distorted. Matt's voice is a low, menacing growl.) I used to be a razor wire wrapped around a bomb One wrong look from a stranger, and the devil sang along I’d cut a man to pieces over a twenty dollar bill Run you down out in the street just to prove I had the will I had a trigger on my temper that a passing breeze could pull I wasn’t looking for a reason, I was only out for blood and skull I didn't care about your story, didn't care about your pain I was a runaway locomotive out in the freezing rain. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (A wailing slide guitar enters, matching the vocal melody.) (Matt - male) I was the reaper in the alley... (Sam - female) ...bringing nothing but the dark. (Matt - male) I’d strike a match to the whole damn town... (Sam - female) ...just to watch the spark. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The full band kicks the door down. Heavy, grinding industrial blues rock. Cymbals crashing, talk box screaming.) (Matt - male) But you can’t build a shelter on a foundation of bone! (Sam - female) You can’t raise up a family in a combat zone! (Matt - male) I took the monster by the throat and I locked him in the floor! (Sam - female) He built a cage of iron around the man he was before! (Matt - male) I traded in the madness for a heavy set of chains, Now the only time I let him out is to protect what still remains! [Interlude - Sam (female)] (The heavy instruments cut out abruptly. The slow acoustic riff returns, dripping with reverb. Spoken word, steady and knowing.) It takes a coward to hurt people just because he can. It takes a master to carry that kind of lethal force in his hands and choose, every single morning, to build something beautiful instead. [Verse 2 - Matt (male)] (Voice is more grounded now, firm, carrying the weight of a protector.) Now Jackie is the anchor that holds me in the deep I look at my three girls and my son Rogue, and I swear I'll earn my keep The rage is still down there, scratching at the wood But I harnessed up the venom and I'm using it for good If a threat comes up the driveway, if the shadow crosses the line I don't have to go looking for the devil, I just let him off the twine But until that day comes knocking, I'm the father and the man Keeping the beast buried deep inside the land. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The slide guitar starts to climb, building the tension back up.) (Matt - male) They think I'm just a quiet man... (Sam - female) ...they don't know the toll. (Matt - male) They see the solid iron frame... (Sam - female) ...they don't see the coal. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (Explosive energy, maximum volume from the whole band.) (Matt - male) Cause you can’t build a shelter on a foundation of bone! (Sam - female) You can’t raise up a family in a combat zone! (Matt - male) I took the monster by the throat and I locked him in the floor! (Sam - female) He built a cage of iron around the man he was before! (Matt - male) I traded in the madness for a heavy set of chains, Now the only time I let him out is to protect what still remains! [Bridge - Matt (male)] (Just the bass and the talk box grinding together in a low, heavy groove.) I remember the blood. I remember the heat. I remember the fear when they saw me on the street. (Music pauses for one second of dead silence) I put him in the ground so my family could breathe. [Outro - Sam (female) & Matt (male)] (The music winds down to a slow, deliberate crawl. Heavy acoustic strumming.) (Sam - female - singing softly) The lock holds tight. The forge burns slow. (Matt - male - spoken, very low and calm) Let 'em think I'm peaceful. It's better they don't know. (A heavy steel door slams shut, echoing out. Silence.)
