"Ladders of Supremacy"

"Ladders of Supremacy" is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the eleventh song on their 2022 album Vaxis - Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind.

Lyrics
[Verse 1] Oh, we've only got one chance at this The severity unmerciful as the tension sits As the world comes into view Our biggest fears they seem to all come true

[Pre-Chorus] So, how we gonna handle this? When the punch lands, boy, it's all about how you fall Go on, swallow your defeat Stay!

[Chorus] Down, boy! See ya got clowned boy You got heart, but sorry, just ain't meant to be Another one down the Ladders of Supremacy

[Verse 2] The time has come for us, accept all you've become All your chances burn to ash, thе end's begun Herе we watch as time moves on, away from all the things we could've done

[Pre-Chorus] So, how we gonna handle this? When the punch lands, boy, it's all about how you fall Go on, swallow your defeat Stay!

[Chorus] Down, boy! See ya got clowned boy You got heart, but sorry, just ain't meant to be Another one down the Ladders of Supremacy

[Bridge] Evil is as evil do All you want, they took... from you So, that's how it goes Cause who you are Take a look You knew, you never had a chance You need a chance to be loved

[Verse 3] No matter how hard you want to play You'll always have one foot in the grave You just wanna live, but you were born to lose (to lose) Now get up from the gravel And dust off your shoulders Because, now it's your chance to prove

[Outro] Climbing up the Ladders of their Supremacy Was it everything you had dreamed? Did you make your mark, or did you let them stand between? Between you and everything

Story Context
To be added...

Background
This was originally going to be the opener for Vaxis 1, but Sanchez didn't think the lyrics were up to par yet. After George Floyd's death sparked national outrage, Sanchez was moved to consider a perspective he hadn't explored before. Being that the characters are in the "lion's den" and everything is chaos and fear, the song made sense here.

Trivia

 * The line "Evil is as evil do" is a from the song "Bad Man".
 * This track was one of the few tracks that were written during Vaxis I ' s release.
 * It was also originally considered for Vaxis I, but Sanchez ultimately felt didn't make sense for it, pushing it to Vaxis II.