Pressure Makes a Monster

PRESSURE MAKES A MONSTER [Intro: immediate heavy syncopated guitar riff, punchy dry drums, very short opening] [Low hoarse spoken snarl, no melody] Something had to give. You thought it would be me. [Verse 1: dry raspy barking, tight percussive phrasing, clipped endings, no sung melody] Fluorescent morning. Coffee cold. Punch my number. Do what I'm told. Stack another hour On a back that never healed. Call this place a family. Count what I can yield. Left eye twitching. Teeth worn flat. Need a little more? Here— CHEW ON THAT. [Pre-Chorus: increasingly harsh barking, hard instrumental stops] Bite down. Keep still. One more inch Against my will. Hands shake. Jaw locks. Something in the basement— KNOCKS. [Chorus: harsh percussive shouting, unmelodic rhythmic chant, short phrases, no harmonies or sustained notes] PRESSURE! MAKES A MONSTER! Keep leaning— CRACK THE WALL! PRESSURE! MAKES A MONSTER! Can't breathe— STILL I CRAWL! Hands that never stop. A mouth that never speaks. YOU BUILT THIS THING. IT SOUNDS LIKE ME. [Verse 2: abrasive near-spoken barking, syncopated delivery, brief gaps between phrases] Call the damage discipline. Call the silence trust. Hang your smiling portrait Over pipes that spit out rust. Left my anger With my boots beside the door. Now it sits at dinner. Now it wants some more. My face. Black glass. Someone staring back. Held the elevator. Watched the doors. Let them close. Never did that before. [Pre-Chorus: strained rhythmic shouts, rising intensity, sudden silence at the end] Bite down. Keep still. Swallow what The others spill. No room. No air. Something dragging— UP THE STAIRS. [Chorus: raw barked chant, emphatic consonants, narrow pitch range, no melodic hook] PRESSURE! MAKES A MONSTER! Keep leaning— CRACK THE WALL! PRESSURE! MAKES A MONSTER! Can't breathe— STILL I CRAWL! Hands that never stop. A mouth that never speaks. YOU BUILT THIS THING. IT SOUNDS LIKE ME. [Bridge: stripped bass and drums, low hoarse spoken accusations, no melody] Your voice. My mouth. Same cold words Coming out. Someone smaller Flinched at me. [Brief instrumental pause] I knew that look. I knew those eyes. I'd worn that face My whole damn life. [Escalating ragged shouting] Is this how it travels? Is this how it breeds? Your boot on my back— Mine on someone beneath? [Breakdown: crushing halftime riff, hard rests, raw percussive screams] GET— OFF— MY— BACK! I won't pass the weight. I won't teach the pain. LET THE ENGINE STOP. LET IT STAY THAT WAY. Take my number. Keep your key. THIS THING ENDS— WITH ME. [Short guitar solo: abrasive blues-rooted bends and squealing harmonics over a heavy groove, no vocals] [Final Chorus: furious unmelodic barking, heaviest guitar groove, no melodic lift or sustained vowels] PRESSURE! MAKES A MONSTER! Keep leaning— CRACK THE WALL! PRESSURE! MAKES A MONSTER! Hear the engine— CHOKE AND STALL! Hands are off the lever. Feet are on the street. YOU BUILT THIS THING— IT WON'T SPEAK FOR ME! [Outro: main riff with heavy stops, low dry spoken snarl] Something had to give. [Brief silence] I let the handle go. [Final unison hit, abrupt ending]