I think that this song is about urbanization. "Roots spread under the mud, drags the steel sprawl out towards the sea" - City's are getting bigger and covering larger areas. "Pack ourselves so tight we can't breathe" - Human population are growing larger and we are forced to live dense. "The grid extends its reach" - Sooner or later our city's will cover all the dry land. "Flames will walk the earth", "Things don't look good" - Living in such density could cause large disasters - conflagrations, diseases, ecological catastrophe. Even global disasters. "And nothing will change" - Urbanization is part of human progression and this habit won't change.
I think that this song is about urbanization. "Roots spread under the mud, drags the steel sprawl out towards the sea" - City's are getting bigger and covering larger areas. "Pack ourselves so tight we can't breathe" - Human population are growing larger and we are forced to live dense. "The grid extends its reach" - Sooner or later our city's will cover all the dry land. "Flames will walk the earth", "Things don't look good" - Living in such density could cause large disasters - conflagrations, diseases, ecological catastrophe. Even global disasters. "And nothing will change" - Urbanization is part of human progression and this habit won't change.