Knight of the Round - Seven Album Review

April 2nd, 2020

“Words aren’t the only thing that tell people what you’re thinking.” – Tifa Lockheart

November 1997, after an exhausting weekend from 7th grade middle school, finally relaxing in pajamas, eating Pizza Hut with my younger brother at my dad’s house, and pausing the Playstation for 20 minutes in complete, and utter shock.  What could an 11-year-old be freaking about?  Spending 45 minutes fighting and eventually, defeating Ruby Weapon.  Who?  One of the two hidden, and most difficult bosses from Final Fantasy 7, the greatest video game of all time.  A humble opinion, by yours truly. 

It was the magic age of Role-Playing Games (RPGs), finally showing the captivating spirit, psychotic precision and attention to detail, that us joyful nerds were waiting for:  Now playable on the Playstation, Sega Saturn and Super NES.  Because the Playstation had low RAM within the hardware, the number of discs various games had to have were more than 1, in this case, Final Fantasy 7 had 3 discs to work with, discs mind you that could scratch so easily.  But we took what we could get, and we were so thankful for seeing the Final Fantasy franchise, on a major advanced gaming console.  It changed the previous notions of RPGs and how accessible they can be for the ones that are used to Street Fighter Alpha, Mortal Kombat 3, and other styles of games.

One criminally underrated aspect of Final Fantasy 7:  The soundtrack.  From the opening theme of Aeris walking through Midgar, the ever so catchy boss theme music, frantic Chocobo racing, and countless others, the magical tones never ceased to amaze me, and us Metalheads knowing countless video game soundtracks have either Metal influences, or could be translated into Metal performances, it was a dream someday to see this in fruition. 

Enter Knight of the Round.  Formed in 2008 by Kevin Baumann (Drums), Justin Wilbanks (Guitar) and Justin Taylor (Guitar), Knight of the Round is an Instrumental Metal band, inspired by all that is Final Fantasy.  However, their latest record, Seven, is completely dedicated to Final Fantasy 7.  My love for Metal strong forever, and my favorite video game of all time, this was a record I couldn’t miss listening to, and after several listens, I can say it truly delivers.

One of the key components for “covering” songs of any genres, or inspirations/interpretations of those songs as well, is balance.  You don’t want to venture off the cover itself and just make it about your own sound 100%.  The other tricky part, to not play note for note, of said cover either.  There must be a quality and balanced dynamic within the cover and your own sound, and that’s why many covers out there can be hit or miss.  That’s not the case here, as Seven sonically displays and visualizes the beauty of Final Fantasy 7, in a crisp sounding Instrumental Metal performance.

The uses of synth are used throughout the album, and right as the first track “Opening – Bombing Mission” opens, that everlasting memory of the keys take over your nostalgia, and right at 1:00 in, the deafening counterpoint jolts the song into high-gear.  Throughout Final Fantasy 7, most of the songs change emotions and tones, and Seven stays true to that particular observation, with the opening track slowing tempo and the guitars presenting a dissonant, menacing chord 1:43 in.  I was glad already knowing there would be plenty of Final Fantasy 7 music represented in the album, as well as hearing Knight of the Round present.

Although some of the breakdowns later in Seven don’t hit home quite enough for me, they’re superbly done at the 4:27 mark of “Mako Reactor.”  That sequence not only crushes, but the constant breakdown variations for the last 30 seconds of the song, the bass rumbles viciously with the low guitar notes chugging, and the synth in the background adding such a texture to the madness of the Mako Reactor exploding in searing flames.  Knowing the 13 tracks are in order of the events from Final Fantasy 7, it was also easier for me to get into the Metal story and interpretation from Knight of the Round, and I also felt it was not difficult at all to hold the new musical information.  And clearly speaking as a fan, as many songs as the band covered, the soundtrack to the game is beyond memorable, and the performance from Knight of the Round resonated so greatly, you wish they could have done all the songs from the game!  It’s a quality problem to have, where you wish you can hear every bit and piece in Metal form.  From the music in “Temple of the Ancients”, and one of the most tragic events in video game history (Aeris…I’m not tearing up, you are.  Stop it, please come back Aeris…), to Vincent Valentine’s theme music, and many, many others to choose from, I would have loved to hear Knight of the Round’s interpretations of these and any other ones from the game, they were that memorable.

Seven has a wide variety of highlights, including “Shinra, Inc.”, and “The Chase.”  The former is a haunting track in the game already, and the hollowness of Shinra, Inc can be felt growling and lurking within the song.  Justin Taylor and Justin Wilbanks perform many variations in this song, from tremolo picking melodies, to accentuated, delicate guitar picking.  The attention to detail is remarkable to helping the listener envision as many Metal interpretations presented.  And the most “Thrashy” track, the ever rememberable motorcycle sequence in the game, “The Chase” presents one of the more up-tempo and catchiest songs of the album.  From Thrash riffs, a gorgeous synth sequence at the 1:34 mark that’s immediately graced with a booming counterpoint that drummer Kevin Baumann resonates with some pummeling fills and the double bass matching the riffs in epic form, probably the best breakdown of the whole record.  While “The Chase” I felt was captured effortlessly, “JENOVA” didn’t quite for example, do the same.  The image in my head of Sephiroth ripping out the head, carried a monstrous and sinister tone, and the song represented on Seven, was a bit lighthearted for the scene and occasion, at least for me.   

Where Seven falls a little short from my observations, the lack of volume in the Bass guitar.  There’s only one song that I felt I heard it clearly, and I’ll discuss that a little later, but only in some of the breakdowns and soft moments rarely, I’m able to hear the bass.  For as crisp and powerful as the production was for this record, the lack of Bass volume overall was a surprising one. Some of the breakdowns around the end of the record didn’t feel as strong to me as the first several songs from earlier.  Perhaps the dynamics of the game’s initial tracks, had a faster and energetic feel due to Cloud Strife and his party escaping Midgar and temporarily taking down Shinra, Inc., I felt the later tracks had a slower pace, and the breakdowns used, just didn’t stay with me nearly as much as the early parts of the record.

Saving the best for last literally, “One-Winged Angel” is something the majority of all Final Fantasy fans can remember, the final boss fight with Safer Sephiroth.  From the intertwining colours in the background, the haunting atmosphere, desolate choir chants invoking Sephiroth’s  carnage and rage, to wanting his strongest attack Super Nova to be done as many times as possible for the fantastic visuals and sequences displayed (even though it was strong enough to kill at least 1, or possibly your whole party), it’s arguably one of the most powerful boss fights in video game history.  As mentioned earlier, this was sadly the only track I heard fully on the record, where can I hear the Bass shine, at the 1:17 and 4:11 marks.  Needless to say, Knight of the Round performed this track in the brightest casting of Ultima, and my anticipation to hear their interpretation of it, was on point and left me breathless.  Easily the strongest and most enjoyable song off Seven.

Metal truly has a captivating way of expression, interpretation and variety, in all facets of life.  And Metal was shown beautifully here in the form of Seven, a superbly well-done rendition and inspiration from Final Fantasy 7.  Whether you love and adore Metal as me and millions more out there; or someone who dedicates their lives to video games, will truly appreciate, and hold their head high, to this record.  I look forward to hearing Knight of the Round’s Metal journey through Final Fantasy.  Metalheads and video game enthusiasts should be proud.     8.5/10

Album Highlights

“One-Winged Angel”

“Opening – Bombing Mission”

“Mako Reactor”

“Anxiety”

“Shinra, Inc.”

“The Chase”

“Those Chosen by the Planet / Main Theme from Final Fantasy 7”

“Listen to the Cries of the Planet”

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Knight of the Round – Seven

Released February 21st, 2020

(All tracks Instrumental)

 Justin Taylor – Guitar, Synths/Keyboards

Justin Wilbanks – Guitar

Kevin Baumann – Drums

Adam Payne - Bass

1.     “Opening – Bombing Mission” 4:05

2.     “Mako Reactor” 4:57

3.     “Anxiety” 4:26

4.     “Shinra, Inc.” 4:43

5.     “The Chase” 3:02

6.     “On Our Way” 3:50

7.     “Those Chosen by the Planet / Main Theme from Final Fantasy 7” 3:33

8.     “Let the Battles Begin!” 2:27

9.     “In Search of the Man in Black” 4:02

10.  “JENOVA” 3:42

11.  “Listen to the Cries of the Planet” 2:13

12.  “The North Cave” 1:51

13.  “One-Winged Angel” 4:58                       

Total Run time:  48 minutes