The Living Nightmare

[Intro]
Shadows in the stairwell
Teeth in every doorframe
Clock hands spin in circles
But the night will not move on
[Verse 1]
Wake up in the coffin of my blankets
Nails in my heartbeat
Scratching out a chant
Wallpaper bleeding all the faces
I prayed I’d never see again
Ceiling starts to crawl in crooked laughter
Floorboards hum a hymn I used to sing
Every photograph is turning backward
Every mirror steals another piece of skin
[Chorus]
I’m trapped inside the living nightmare
Eyes wide open
Still I drown
These walls remember every failure
Every promise pulling down
If this is just a dream
Then why
Do the scars stay when I rise?
I’m trapped inside the living nightmare
And it follows when I open my eyes
[Verse 2]
Hallway runs forever
Folding sideways
Doors slam shut before I touch the brass
Mother’s voice is dripping from the keyhole
Calling like a siren through the glass
Hands around my throat
They leave no fingers
Just a freezing halo in the air
Hear my future chewing on my footsteps
Tearing up the path that isn’t there (yeah)
[Chorus]
I’m trapped inside the living nightmare
Eyes wide open
Still I drown
These walls remember every failure
Every promise pulling down
If this is just a dream
Then why
Do the scars stay when I rise?
I’m trapped inside the living nightmare
And it follows when I open my eyes
[Bridge]
Run
But the floor runs with me
Scream
But the sound crawls back
Name every fear ’til my tongue turns black
(Still it circles, circles back)
Pray for the dawn but the sun looks away
And the moon just laughs in my face (hey!)
[Chorus]
I’m trapped inside the living nightmare
Eyes wide open
Still I drown
These walls remember every failure
Every promise pulling down
If this is just a dream
Then why
Do the scars stay when I rise?
I’m trapped inside the living nightmare
And it follows when I open my eyes
[Outro]
Heartbeat like a war drum
Fading slower
Footsteps in the hallway fall in line
If I fall asleep again
It’s over
’Cause the nightmare’s learning how to stay alive

metal, Speed metal foundation with double-time kick and tremolo-picked guitars, shifting into a half-time, minor-key ballad feel for verses. Haunted male vocals: snarled in the fast parts, then ghostly and melodic in the slow breaks. Distant choirs and a reverb-drenched clean guitar line haunt the background; choruses explode with layered screams and harmonies, cymbals blazing., speed metal, ballad