Song Commentary

Throughout the song of Radioactive- Imagine Dragons; the singer continuously hints about his extreme battle with anxiety and depression that he faces in his life. He then goes on to speak about how this world has transformed in to such a different place, where nobody can be trusted these days, and that we are about to face some big events that are coming up
In verse one, line 1 "I'm waking up to ash and dust."In this line the narrator is describing the end of the world, since this song was released in 2012, which was the year many people feared would be the end. And shortly after those fear were put to bed, came the North Korean nuclear threats, which many people feared as well. Both of these main events give credibility to the idea that it was the end of the civilized world we lived in. But since the line sounds more depressing rather than predicting, as well as the fact that he uses 'waking' rather than 'will wake up to', this refers to the world we are living in right now also and not only the future. As we know of course there are loads of political and economic issues our world faces today, that could be dangerous to the planet.
Verse one, line 2: "I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust." As we can tell, the singer is using some sort of metaphor here since he says that humans sweat rust. As we know humans do not sweat rust, and by using this metaphor in the song, he is implying that humans are brainwashed and controlled these days like they are just like robots.
Verse one, line 3: "I'm breathing in the chemicals." This line in the song could have two meanings; firstly, the singer could be referring to an aftermath of any nuclear disaster that has happened or more likely that is about to happen. However, this line could also refer to smoking, since cigarettes and any other smoking material includes the process of breathing in chemicals. Additionally, in the music video of this song, right immediately after this line, we can see a man smoking. So again, this line could have a double meaning.
Verse one, line 6: "This is it, the apocalypse, whoa." In this line, the singer does not mean literally the apocalypse itself. He uses the powerful word 'apocalypse' to describe a dramatic change in either an individual or a government that he is currently witnessing, or about to witness.
Verse one, lines 7,8: "I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones. Enough to make my systems blow." Again, similar to the lines we witnessed before, the singer is using some extremely powerful words to indirectly get his point across, just like he used 'apocalypse' previously to describe drastic change. However here he says "I'm waking up." He's trying to say basically that he has finally come to realization of what is happening around him, and that he's ready to change. Similarly, like when he compared humans to robots previously; here he says he has a system. What the singer is trying to get across in those lines is that he has finally come to realization to kind of find the solution, and he believes that this solution is enough to make his system blow.
Verse one, lines 9,10: "Welcome to the new age, to the new age." Here we can tell that things have changed in the song for the singer, in a positive way. Those lines also may have many meanings, and the 'new age' can be referred to as different things. It could just be a new start for the writer himself and his personal life; or the writer could be referring to the new nuclear age we live in.
Verse one, lines 11,12: "Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive. Here the writer is trying to explain that he is unstoppable by using a metaphor by saying that he is radioactive.
Verse two, line 6: "This is it, the apocalypse." The singer ends this song with some strong words by saying that it is the apocalypse. This can't be a good sign, and that we are heading to the inevitable truth.
In conclusion, This song is an extremely meaningful song, that can be taken in many different views, and can be taken quite literally or metaphorically. The Singer uses metaphor for almost every line, and not only metaphor but some powerful ones too.