Review by Maciek on March 3, 2021.

This band caught my attention as soon as Listenable Records uploaded a teaser for the album with just a few sounds of the title track. So before I even got to listen to the full track I decided to check what else is available from this band and gave Abysmal a few rounds on my speakers, and found out that they're joining the list of my favorite black metal bands. When I finally got to listen to the full 'The Prophet' track I had a similar feeling to when I heard the first sounds of "Mark of the Necrogram" by Necrophobic (which, by the way, is quite close stylistically to Thron) - it was time to start waiting for their newest release a bit more impatiently.

To describe their style I'd say that the band is playing black metal more similar to Swedish bands than Norwegian, with more catchy melodies and, yes, since I like it so much, SOLOS!!! But apart from recognisable elements helping to map this band on the metal spectrum this style definitely has some similarities to Dark Fortress. That kind of black metal, which makes you think at the beginning of the song "ah, yeah, melodic black metal, cool!", but, like for example around 1:48 of the first track, you think "oh, this is really good, black metal with these riffs sounds amazing!". Or when you listen to 'To Dust' and reach the 3:12 mark. It must be some German spicing that when added to black metal gives it more variety, makes it richer, but at the same time very catchy.

The rhythm section has everything that metal needs - plenty of blast beats, some mid-tempo parts and some slower parts, but most of the time brilliant double bass drums keeping each track dynamic and interesting. 'Into Disarray' is a good example of how many different rhythms can keep the tempo of the song. No song is keeping the same pattern from the beginning to the end and quite often ends at a completely different pace than it started. ZIV and SXIII are a solid base for all of these tracks, no matter if they play fast or slow. They are accompanied by a big variety of riffs, tremolos, chords and interesting ways of using whammy. Each track has a different approach to extreme music, TVII and PVIII use different techniques so easily that it's amazing how well all of their ideas sound on one album. And SAMCA's vocals also change depending on what the rest of the band is doing, sounding sometimes similar to Anders from Necrophobic, sometimes like angry Satyr or at some point even reminding the evil shrieks of Mortuus from Marduk. The track that deserves special attention is definitely 'The Reverence'. It's truly epic with its catchy melodies, some of them played on clean guitars, some choir passages and, as all other tracks, ending on a completely different note than at the beginning of the track. And obviously it's got solos, so it went to the list of my favourite tracks of all times immediately.

I would recommend this album to fans of Necrophobic, Dissection and Dark Fortress. This album is going on the list of my top albums of the year. And I strongly recommend checking out their previous full-length Abysmal, too.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 4, 2024.

Usually I believe that tradition beats any trend, but sometimes it is necessary to break the tradition. After two albums with alarmingly weak openers (“Up the Hammer” and “Rock Your Bottom”), “Ruling the World” starts with one of the best songs in the history of Tyrant. “Burn You” is kicked off by a few atmospheric guitar tones before the song gains tempo and power. The up-tempo number cruises somewhere between heavy and speed metal and its liveliness whets the appetite for more. Good start, to say the least, and it’s just a side aspect that the guitar solo reminds me of the one of Steeler’s title track for “Rulin’ the Earth”. More remarkable is that it looks like every German wants to rule the world or the earth, but that was already the case before Steeler or Tyrant appeared on the metallic radar.

Tyrant had lost 50% of the line-up of “Running Hot”, but the song formula had not been significantly affected by this change. Lead vocalist Kerrmit and his loyal guitarist, who now combined his former names to “King Carl Tomaschko” had hired a new rhythm section and additionally a new second guitar player had entered the stage (not the pig that had sent greetings from the artwork of “Running Hot”). But the only difference to “Running Hot” was a more serious approach, a more metallic one, a higher degree of the well appreciated “we don’t care what you think about us” attitude. At least the first four pieces mirror this newly gained seriousness, while the relatively senseless “Wild Cats” marks a relapse into the old system of (not very funny) excursions. It’s true, old habits die hard – but all the more I like the slightly dark undertone of the first songs…

...and I fall into desperation when I hear the useless, inadequate electronic gimmicks in “She Makes Me Hot (Hot)”. You guessed it, the song is as embarrassing as its title. If you want to murder your integrity in a matter of secords, integrate such a song on an album that actually follows the tried and tested dogma of solid metal. It has nothing in common with the dragging title track which spreads more or less meaningful vibes or with “Beat It” and its earthy riffing. But okay, I don’t want to be too picky. After all, “Ruling the World” is the best album of Tyrant, at least in my humble opinion. The songs leave a comparatively high impact, the production is adequate as always and the artwork is a bit kitschy, but by far not as infantile as the one of “Running Hot”. Anyway, four albums were enough or even more than enough from this band and I wonder that Kerrmit is still active with a new line-up. Maybe I should praise his stamina, but honestly speaking, I don’t think that many people hope to get new Tyrant songs. Not because this would be a bad thing per se, but the scene has already more (second tier) bands than it can swallow.

Rating: 7 out of 10