The songs on Kingdom Of Might are played at maximum speed and volume. Each track is a pummeling frenzy of blast beats and intensity. Each track is also a shredfest. Guitarists Nick Dozer and Matt Kincaid riff, fill and solo with skill and precision.
Woe Of Tyrants' style combines the guitar hero power metal chops of groups like Dragonforce with the extremity of death metal. It's a lethal combination that's brutal, but somewhat accessible. They explore other genres as well. Even though the band is from Ohio, the instrumental "Sons Of Thunder" has a taste of southern metal.
The vocals of Chris Catanzaro are throat shredding and aggressive yells and screams. It's an angry mix of lower pitched death metal growls and higher pitched metalcore screams. There's not much variety in intensity, but by varying the pitch he adds some diversity.
Kingdom Of Might has many impressive moments, but Woe Of Tyrants still has room to improve in the songwriting department. Their musicianship is unquestioned, but adding a few more memorable melodies and hooks to the shredding will make them an even more powerful force.
(released January 6, 2009 on Metal Blade Records)
