Tarnished Gluttony

Song Meaning

“Tarnished Gluttony” paints a grim picture of a world in economic freefall. A “monetary plague” is actively digging society into a “culmination tomb.” The lyrics immediately establish a landscape of systemic decay. Power structures are built on “falsity,” setting a tone of deep distrust. The lyrics detail a chilling process of exploitation. An “elastic currency” is “extracted from the benumbed fingers” of millions, a visceral image of wealth siphoned from a helpless populace. This currency itself is described as “tarnish[ing] with gluttony,” suggesting money becomes corrupted by avarice. The nation, rendered “mute” and “blindfolded,” is caught in a cycle of nascent rebellion met by an “iron fist.” A particularly sharp observation emerges with “Fixed media arousal / For hypocrisy has its own elegant symmetry.” This line implies a media complicity, creating a spectacle around the very deceit it should expose. The “elegant symmetry” of hypocrisy suggests a self-sustaining, almost beautiful, system of lies that perpetuates the power of the “gods” mentioned earlier. It’s a cynical nod to how well-constructed falsehoods can appear. The repeated chorus, “Let an empire cease to exist / Entomb the masses as they persist to resist,” delivers a stark, almost nihilistic conclusion. It’s not just a call for revolution, but a fatalistic acceptance of widespread destruction, even for those who fight back.