Chior has created something quite wonderful with this album. The music borders on the razor thin line between noise, chaos, and convention. First and foremost, above all else, is the atmosphere. It is paramount over all things, and is the driving force of the entire album.
While all of the songs contain some level of musicality, the album flourishes when it is just barely controlled. More often than not there is great restraint shown on the composers part. The noise and the chaos are ever-present, but never do they go completely out of control and dominate all of the sounds on the album. There is always some sort of structure or containment keeping things in check... just barely.
The music itself is based in blackened/death metal played at doom speeds. That's not a true representation of what is going on within Songs for a Tarnished World though. The guitars will often play notes that can only be called dissonant... and there are layers upon layers of them. They build on each other and create that all suffocating atmosphere that never lets up.
Despite all the chaos, all the oppression, all the insanity... there are a few points where the album shows real melodies. They are few and far between but they stick out like a ray of light coming through the fiercest of storms. They act as small moments to ground the listener, which acts as a real strength for music like this.
The title is a bit disingenuous. These are not truly songs... more like experiences that the listener is to survive rather than sit back and take in. Whatever it is, the end result is fantastic.
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