March of the War Machine (Annihilators Reach Theme)
When Riot Games asked me to define the sound of Noxus for 2XKO, I knew restraint was not an option. Noxus is ideology through force, confidence sharpened into doctrine. The music needed to feel like authority entering the room before the character does. I built it from argent metal, orchestral mass, and electronic pressure, drawing on the density and resolve you hear in Devin Townsend, but structured like a war march. This is not background music. It is a declaration. The sound of a Roman general advancing, armor locked, engines hot, no retreat coded into the DNA.
The Ingredients: Authority, Weight, and Total Forward Momentum
I built the Noxus track as a declaration, not a joke and not background. March of the War Machine (Annihilators Reach Theme) needed to feel like power made audible. No flourish without purpose, no softness without tension. The sound had to enter the room before the character does.
The palette pulls from:
Argent metal with real physical weight, tight, disciplined, and unforgiving
Devin Townsend level density and harmonic pressure, where size and clarity coexist
Orchestral writing built like a war engine, low brass, massed strings, and marching inevitability
Electronic aggression used as propulsion, not decoration
Roman war march energy, structured, commanding, and absolute
Everything is designed to move forward. No retreat. No hesitation. Just pressure.
Forging the Sound of Noxus
Writing music for Riot Games’ 2XKO has been an incredible experience, but Noxus demanded a very specific mindset. This faction is confidence weaponized. The music had to sound like doctrine. I approached it the same way I would score a cinematic entrance for an unstoppable force, but grounded it in metal and modern sound design so it still hits like a playable, contemporary fighting game track.
This is hybrid music that lives between metal, electronics, and orchestra, but it is not trying to show off. It is trying to dominate. Every element serves the idea of authority and inevitability.
Power Without Irony
Unlike some characters where humor or chaos is part of the brief, Noxus leaves no room for irony. This track is serious by design. It is meant to lock players in, raise their posture, and flip the mental switch from play to command. The confidence is intentional. The masculinity is intentional. The restraint is intentional.
If Teemo is a musical prank, Noxus is a decree.
So when you hear March of the War Machine in 2XKO, think less about melody and more about intent. This is the sound of banners rising, armor locking into place, and an army moving as one. Noxus does not ask. It advances.
More behind the scenes stories from the 2XKO soundtrack coming soon.