01. WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE — VÆR | FROM THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR | Paradoxa Records

VÆR — WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE FROM THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR | 2009 Coming home doesn't always mean coming back. What happens when you survive a war, return to everything you once knew, and discover that nothing feels familiar anymore? WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE explores the psychological aftermath of war, the unbearable weight of silence, and the alienation of a man who survived the battlefield but struggles to survive ordinary life. The people are familiar. The streets haven't changed. The door still opens with the same key. But the person who left never truly returned. Driven by crushing low-tuned guitars, relentless rhythmic aggression, savage screams, devastating breakdowns and uncompromising modern metal arrangements, the song rejects the comforting illusion that survival and recovery are the same thing. "THE BODY CROSSED THE BORDER. THE MIND REFUSED TO LEAVE." From VÆR's 2009 album FROM THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR. WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE — LYRICS WELCOME BACK MOTHERFUCKERS....! I know the shape of every shadow on the wall The names, the faces, every crack along the hall The lock remembers me, the floorboards know my weight But something in the mirror doesn't recognise my face I count the seconds, count the exits, count the cost Of being found by everyone when something else is lost A thousand little rituals to prove I'm still alive I learned to leave a battlefield BUT NEVER LEARNED TO ARRIVE! They built a future from the parts I left behind Put all the broken pieces in a straight and perfect line And when I couldn't make them fit THEY CALLED THE DAMAGE MINE! WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE! SAME ADDRESS, FOREIGN GRAVITY A ROOF ABOVE MY HEAD BUT NOTHING HERE CAN SHELTER ME WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE! THE QUIET HAS ITS TEETH I LEARNED TO LIVE THROUGH HELL NOW I CAN'T LIVE THROUGH PEACE! NO REST! NO RELEASE! THE QUIET HAS ITS TEETH! They put a price on every scar and call it sacrifice Sell the ugly parts of living as a beautiful advice Every handshake feels like paperwork, every smile a debt They want a version of the truth THAT DOESN'T MAKE THEM SWEAT! I wear my patience like a muzzle, bite the words beneath My tongue's a loaded weapon and my jaw won't let it breathe I've got a thousand fucking reasons not to make a sound But silence isn't safety WHEN THE WALLS ARE COMING DOWN! Count the lies, count the days Count the ways I learned to play The grateful son, the honoured man The perfect picture, perfect plan A polished frame, a hollow grin A stranger underneath my skin! You want the ending without the aftermath A clean confession, a photograph YOU WANT THE MAN YOU REMEMBER? THEN DIG HIM FROM THE PAST! WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE! SET THE TABLE FOR THE GHOST PUT A GLASS BESIDE THE EMPTY CHAIR AND DRINK TO WHAT YOU LOST WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE! BURY FEAR BENEATH THE FLOOR I LEARNED TO LIVE THROUGH HELL NOW THE SILENCE SOUNDS LIKE WAR! I wasn't buried. I wasn't saved. I learned to carry what the living couldn't name. And every road that leads me home Runs through the places I can't leave. There's no such thing as coming back When what you lost still lives beneath. I crossed the distance! I crossed the line! BUT I CAN'T LEAVE WHAT'S LEFT OF ME BEHIND! WELCOME BACK FROM THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR! YOU MADE IT OUT! UNDER MY SKIN! BEHIND MY EYES! A LIVING WOUND IN A PERFECT DISGUISE! They gave me back the keys! They gave me back the name! They gave me back a life! BUT NOT THE MAN WHO CAME! THE BODY CROSSED THE BORDER! THE MIND REFUSED TO LEAVE! WELCOME BACK TO NOWHERE! NOWHERE! VÆR Elias Mercer — Lead Vocals & Guitar Damien Crowe — Drums Jackson "Jax" Riven Crowe — Bass Kai Voss — Rhythm Guitar PARADOXA RECORDS A human-directed, AI-assisted music project. #VAER #WelcomeBackToNowhere #FromTheDepthsOfDespair #ModernMetal #HeavyMetal #ParadoxaRecords