ANCIENT WOUND

[Intro — low didgeridoo drone fades in, no drums] [whispered] The earth remembers what I've tried to bury... [Verse 1 — trap hi-hats, 808s rumbling under the drone] Red soil underneath my skin Every scar a cartography of sin I tried to silence what was always calling Tried to drown the drone before the falling Ancestors watching through the smoke and haze I've been burning through my numbered days The bass in my chest ain't man-made thunder It's the ground itself splitting me asunder [Pre-Chorus — building, distorted guitars creeping in] I feel it pulling from below A frequency I cannot slow The wound is older than my name The wound was always here— [Chorus — full metalcore explosion, screamed vocals over trap 808s] ANCIENT WOUND NEVER CLOSED ANCIENT WOUND NEVER CLOSED [screamed] EVERYTHING I TOUCH TURNS HOLLOW EVERYTHING I FOLLOW SWALLOWS DRAGGED INTO THE DARK BELOW [sung/strained] I cannot outrun what I already know [Verse 2 — didgeridoo re-enters under heavy riff, half-sung half-rapped] Ochre on my hands but the guilt won't fade Running from the ritual I was made The drum is the heartbeat I betrayed Trap hi-hats on sacred ground I've laid I told myself the noise would numb the call But every 808 shakes the ancient wall The drone don't stop for anyone's grief It hums beneath the war — it hums beneath [Pre-Chorus] I feel it pulling from below A frequency I cannot slow The wound is older than my name The wound was always— [Chorus] ANCIENT WOUND NEVER CLOSED ANCIENT WOUND NEVER CLOSED [screamed] EVERYTHING I TOUCH TURNS HOLLOW EVERYTHING I FOLLOW SWALLOWS DRAGGED INTO THE DARK BELOW [sung/strained] I cannot outrun what I already know [Bridge — stripped to just didgeridoo drone + distorted whispers, then erupts] [whispered, layered] It was here before the fall It will be here after all It was here before the fall It will be here after all [screamed, snapping into full band + 808 chaos] YOU CANNOT KILL WHAT NEVER DIED YOU CANNOT FLEE WHAT LIVES INSIDE THE WOUND IS ANCIENT — THE WOUND IS MINE THE WOUND IS ANCIENT — THE WOUND IS MINE [Outro — didgeridoo drone returns alone, fading into silence] [whispered] ...it was always mine.