Intro [Cinematic pipe organ, ominous cello, Brooding build to lyrics] [Male – Deep, gritty] A candle dies. The shadows rise. Behind this mask… A thousand lies. [Female – Haunting, distant soprano] (I hear your voice… Beyond the night.) [Male – Explosive] Then come into the light! [Verse 1 – Male Lead, dark and aggressive. Heavy palm-muted guitar riffs.] Beneath the stone, beneath the stage, I built a kingdom from my rage. A thousand songs, a thousand scars, I loved you from a world apart. They cursed my face, denied my name, But you alone could hear my pain. [Verse 2 – male Lead, emotional but powerful. Cello and driving guitars.] I heard your voice behind the wall, A broken angel doomed to fall. I saw the man beneath the skin, The love you lost, the war within. [Male – Low, anguished] You saw the monster! [Female – Rising, defiant] (I saw the man!) [Pre-Chorus – Male and Female alternating. Double-kick drums accelerate.] [Male] I gave you music, gave you pain! [Female] (You gave me beauty wrapped in chains!) [Male] I wore this mask to hide my shame! [Female] (But underneath, you burned the same!) [Both – Rising harmony] No more lies! No more games! Only ashes… Only flames! [Chorus – EXPLOSIVE male/female duet. Crushing guitars, double-kick drums, soaring strings.] [Male – Powerful, gritty] BENEATH THE MASQUERADE! I scream your name! A phantom heart consumed by shame! [Female – Soaring, emotional] (BENEATH THE MASQUERADE! I feel your pain! A love that burns but can’t remain!) [Both – Full-force harmonized vocals] We rise! We fall! We break! We fade! Forever lost… BENEATH THE MASQUERADE! [Instrumental Break – Aggressive triplet-picked guitar riff, pipe organ counterpoint, pounding double bass.] [Bridge – Dramatic dialogue. Music drops to low cello and ominous organ.] [Male – Quiet, trembling] Do you see me now? [Female – Soft, intimate] (I always did.) [Male – Voice cracking] Then why must you leave? [Female – Heartbroken] (Because love cannot live… Where fear is king.) [Male – Suddenly commanding, desperate] “Sing, my Angel of Music!” [Female – Powerful, sustained high note] (I cannot save you from yourself!) [Male – Raw scream] THEN LET THE HEAVENS FALL! [Guitar Solo – 20 seconds. Passionate neoclassical triplet-picked lead guitar, soaring bends, fast melodic runs, harmonized twin guitars. Full orchestra and pipe organ beneath.] [Final Chorus – Both voices at maximum intensity. Male gritty baritone, female soaring soprano. Explosive drums and orchestral metal.] [Male] BENEATH THE MASQUERADE! I fade away! A phantom damned to yesterday! [Female] (BENEATH THE MASQUERADE! I hear you cry! Some loves are born… But born to die!) [Male] One final song! [Female] (One last refrain!) [Both – Epic harmonized climax] TWO BROKEN SOULS! ONE ENDLESS PAIN! We rise! We fall! We break! We fade! FOREVER LOST… BENEATH THE MASQUERADE! [Outro – Abrupt stop. Solo cello and distant organ.] [Male – Barely audible, broken] Was I ever loved? [Female – Soft, haunting] (You always were…) [Male – Whispered] Beneath the mask? [Female – Fading] (Beneath it all…) [Final low cello note. Three slow triplet-picked guitar notes. Silence.]
