[Intro – distant heartbeat, low distorted drone, ragged breathing] (deep inhale) Hhhh—ahh… (long exhale) We stayed… We suffered… We rotted in the dark… (whisper) But something… Something woke up. [Verse 1 – restrained, ominous] Buried underneath the weight Something underneath still moves Bones that learned to tolerate Every wound we couldn't lose We wore the silence like a crown Let the darkness call our name But every time they pushed us down Something underneath remained (choked breath) We thought the fire had gone cold We thought the flame had left our veins But embers hiding under stone Don't need permission to remain [Pre-Chorus – building tension] We remember… We remember what we were Before the fracture Before the curse And all the pieces They tried to bury Are clawing upward Through the dirt (low growl) WE'RE NOT DONE. [Chorus – massive, wide, layered] We rise again! (THE TARNISHED RISE!) From the ashes of the damned We rise again! (WE'RE STILL ALIVE!) With the scars upon our hands They broke our bodies They couldn't break our will They buried everything we were BUT WE ARE BREATHING STILL We rise again! (TARNISHED!) From the grave they made We rise again! And this time— WE DON'T FADE! [Verse 2 – darker, more aggressive] Every scar became a map Every failure left a mark Every chain that held us back Only taught us where to strike We know the language of despair We know the taste of losing hope We know the faces waiting there When you're hanging from the rope But fear don't own us anymore And shame don't speak for us The ghosts that lived behind the door Are the ghosts we're leaving in the dust (rough whisper) You wanted broken… You made survivors. [Pre-Chorus – escalating aggression] We remember every name Every hand that let us fall Every voice that fed the flame Every god that never called We carried all of it Until our backs gave way Now we're dragging all that darkness Into fucking light today! [Chorus – heavier, layered vocals] We rise again! (THE TARNISHED RISE!) From the ashes of the damned We rise again! (WE'RE STILL ALIVE!) With the scars upon our hands You can strip the flesh You can grind the bone You can leave us in the dark BUT YOU'LL NEVER OWN OUR SOULS We rise again! (TARNISHED!) Hear the broken heartbeat pound We rise again! And we're tearing THE FUCKING DARKNESS DOWN! [Bridge – tribal, ritualistic, escalating] Breathe it in… (deep inhale) Breathe it out… (forceful exhale) Feel the blood Feel the ground Feel the heartbeat UNDERGROUND We were nothing We were nowhere We were ghosts without a name Now the ashes Start to tremble Now the dead begin to wake (chant building) RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! We carried the weight! We swallowed the pain! We lived through the fire! AND WALKED THROUGH THE FLAMES! [Break – drums drop, heartbeat alone] (whispered) They told us… Stay down. (pause) They told us… Stay broken. (pause) They were wrong. [Massive scream] GET UP! [Final Chorus – crushing, triumphant] WE RISE AGAIN! (THE TARNISHED RISE!) From the ruins of our past WE RISE AGAIN! (WE'RE STILL ALIVE!) And we're built from broken glass No more kneeling No more begging to be saved We became the fucking fire When they tried to feed the flame WE RISE AGAIN! (TARNISHED!) Let the whole damn world hear sound WE RISE AGAIN! From the ashes FROM THE FUCKING GROUND! [Final Chorus – half-time, enormous layered vocals] We were tarnished… Now we're tempered in the flame We were broken… Now we carry every name Every scar Every loss Every piece they threw away Wasn't proof that we were finished— IT WAS PROOF WE FOUND A WAY (choir chant) Rise again… Rise again… Rise again… [Outro – exhausted breathing, fading drone] (quiet inhale) We stayed… (quiet exhale) We survived… (low whisper) We rose… (pause) And this time… (deep growl) We stay alive. [Final bass hit – silence]
