Concrete Heart

Composed by Melanie Bradley

The Reason for Composing “Concrete Heart”

This song, “Concrete Heart,” was written as a powerful act of self-reclamation and defiant celebration.

It is a sonic testimony to the fact that the hardest battles in life—the unseen ones with debilitating anxiety and depression (“summer ’09, days were thick with dread”) and the terrifying, real-world struggles with a sudden, serious health crisis (“a stroke at a young age”)—don’t have to be the end of your story. In fact, they can be the very foundation upon which you build your strongest self.

The composition of “Concrete Heart” is born from a dual purpose:

1. To Transmute Pain into Power: The song serves as a crucible to take the raw, heavy metal of suffering—the fear, the weakness, the feeling of being “fragile”—and forge it into something unbreakable: a “Concrete Heart.” It’s a statement that the singer is no longer a victim of their circumstances but a warrior who used every scar as fuel. The music is deliberately aggressive and rhythmically driving (“survival song!”) to match the fierce, victorious energy of overcoming.
2. To Illuminate the Path for Others: Beyond personal catharsis, the song is a direct message to anyone battling in the darkness. It’s an anthem that dismantles the notion of a “comeback” and replaces it with the truth that “I’ve been here all along.” The track is meant to be a reminder that your hardship is your highway—that the love and strength you need to rise is already inside you, ready to be activated. It’s a call to turn your “deepest darkness into your brightest light.”

Ultimately, “Concrete Heart” is an emotional blueprint for survival—a roadmap made of rhythm and rhyme that proves you can build your own “umbrella through the fire” and be your own Cinderella, taking charge of your own rescue and destiny.