14 THE STATE OF THE PROBLEM

[Intro] [Low, feedback-heavy drone] [Single, distant drum hit like a cannon] [Static-filled radio transmission] [Verse 1] [Spoken-word: Monotone and weary] Oh, say can you see... by the screen’s flickering light? What so proudly we scanned at the twilight's last gleaming. [Bass drops in—heavy and distorted] Whose broad stripes and bright scars, through the industrial fight, O'er the ramparts we watched... were so gallantly screaming? [Pre-Chorus] [Rising electronic screech] And the rockets' red glare... the Nuclear air! Gave proof through the night that the Problem was there! [Chorus] [Explosive wall of sound] [Slo-mo headbanger rhythm] Oh, say does that Gold-branded banner yet wave?! O'er the land of the Hollow! And the home of the slave! [Bridge] [Melodic but eerie synth melody—minor key] [Vocal: Ethereal and distant] On the shore, dimly seen... through the mists of the deep. Where the Architecture of Absence in dread silence reposes. [Music swells with grinding mechanical noise] ’Tis the Suture Protocol! The stitches are holding... the walls are down! [Chorus] [Maximum Volume] [Aggressive, shouted vocals] Oh, say does that Gold-branded banner yet wave?! O'er the land of the Hollow! And the home of the slave! [Outro] [Tempo slows down to a crawl] [Guitars fade into pure static] The cycle is finished. [Whisper] Eviloe Deliverance. [Final feedback spike] [End]