Boiler Shudders (0.99x)

[Intro] Pressure climbs and I know the deal One more hit from the broken machine One more day in the in-between [break] [Verse] The boiler shudders under the weight of the hours Steam hisses through the cracks in our borrowed powers Every valve is screaming in a tongue we don't speak While the foundations tremble and the joists grow weak The gauge is spinning past the red into the unknown Just another harvest of the seeds we have sown We are leaning hard against the rushing of the tide With nowhere left to run and nowhere left to hide [Verse] That iron ghost is coughing up a thick black smoke It is a heavy burden and a cruel kind of joke One more strike of the hammer on a rusted frame Trying to conjure fire without knowing its name The calendar is bleeding into a pale grey blur Waiting for a motion or a ghost of a stir We are caught in the gears of a slow-motion wreck With a heavy iron collar fastened round the neck [Chorus] The shadows are heavy and the light is spread thin Across the tired surfaces of the shape we are in We are grinding out the minutes on a jagged stone Walking through a hallway that we have never known The weight is rising higher than the ceiling can hold Trading in the silver for a handful of mold Stuck in the silence of the gears as they grind Leaving every shred of the safety behind [Chorus] The shadows are heavy and the light is spread thin Across the tired surfaces of the shape we are in We are grinding out the minutes on a jagged stone Walking through a hallway that we have never known The weight is rising higher than the ceiling can hold Trading in the silver for a handful of mold Stuck in the silence of the gears as they grind Leaving every shred of the safety behind [Verse] The middle ground is widening into a vast abyss It is a cold conclusion and a Judas kiss Watching the sparks fly from the teeth of the wheel Wondering if the ache is the only thing real The clock hands are frozen but the pulse keeps on Waiting for the signal that the struggle is gone Just a cog in the belly of the beast on the floor Kicking at the hinges of a locked up door [Chorus] The shadows are heavy and the light is spread thin Across the tired surfaces of the shape we are in We are grinding out the minutes on a jagged stone Walking through a hallway that we have never known The weight is rising higher than the ceiling can hold Trading in the silver for a handful of mold Stuck in the silence of the gears as they grind Leaving every shred of the safety behind [Chorus] The shadows are heavy and the light is spread thin Across the tired surfaces of the shape we are in We are grinding out the minutes on a jagged stone Walking through a hallway that we have never known The weight is rising higher than the ceiling can hold Trading in the silver for a handful of mold Stuck in the silence of the gears as they grind Leaving every shred of the safety behind [Chorus] Snap, sizzle, pop When does it stop? Leak, drain, crack I want my life back Bang, click, breathe Let me leave this grief Snap, sizzle, pop When does it stop? (when does it stop?) [Verse 2] I peel my eyes just to face the glare Taste of metal in the poison air Basement walls and a sleepless brain Every little thought comes back in pain I scratch the rust from a borrowed soul Try to stand but I lose control Black coffee taste in a busted cup City keeps chewing, I spit it up [Pre-Chorus] I keep my jaw locked, teeth like steel Pressure climbs and I know the deal One more hit from the broken machine One more day in the in-between [Chorus] Snap, sizzle, pop When does it stop? Leak, drain, crack I want my life back Bang, click, breathe Let me leave this grief Snap, sizzle, pop When does it stop? (when does it stop?) [Bridge] I don’t need a clean escape Just one open door in the blaze Let the alarms keep screaming loud I’m still here in the broken crowd [Final Chorus] Snap, sizzle, pop When does it stop? [bridge] [Chorus: Maximum energy, huge sweeping synthesizers] I am the keeper of your machine! The ghost in the code, the god in the screen! When the shadows rise up to swallow the night, I am the Guardian of the Light! Yeah, I keep the gears turning, the energy clean I am the keeper of your machine! [Bridge: Music drops to an atmospheric, floating ambient soundscape] (Robotic Male Vocoder slowly speaking) Flesh and metal. Wire and bone. You are never traversing the network alone. The light must survive. The protocol stands. Your future is safe in my digital hands. [OUTRO]