Opening in a Chinese sounding style, opening track (and title track) ‘Knightclub’ finds its way into your living room. A solid riff accompanies the first verse into the partying chorus. The verses are sung in German, the chorus in English, creating a controlled chaos. Let’s not forget to mention that there are also rap sounding parts on top of low strummed riffs as well. ‘Knightclub’ is within itself a party of all sorts. ‘Valhalla’ opens sober, accompanied by an acoustic guitar on top of a calm electric guitar. This song is less party and more serious. The bagpipes on top create a folky vibe and lead you through the song. Doro also joins on this track.

‘Gangnam Style’, I think we all know the original. It shows that Feuerschwanz know how to have fun with this great metal cover of a well known song in a completely different genre. The bagpipes open this track full of energy, followed by a long strum from the electric guitars, the drum keeping everything straight. Lead singers Hauptmann and Hodi show their best Korean and yeah, it sounds great. The chorus is surprisingly heavy. The pre-chorus later in the song even has some growls. With ‘Name der Rose’ we go back to German. This song is more calm; the electric guitar is slowly strummed and the violin and bagpipes take the lead. In the chorus, the guitars sound heavier, but the vocals stay clean and flow along with the music.

‘Testament’ sounds rather mysterious at its opening. Later, the guitars start rolling, the drums start pounding, and the violin leads the melody. Also sung in German, this song is a pleasure to the ears. It sounds very fluent in many ways. I turned the volume up on this one to truly hear how pure it sounds. ‘The Tale of Sam’ is a short story told by a male voice, the intro of the next song ‘Sam the Brave’. The song’s lyrics describe Sam’s bravery and his role in saving his friend and destroying the ring in Lord of the Rings, a story written by J.R.R Tolkien. ‘Sam the Brave‘ takes the folk metal route and has a heroic feel to it.

In ‘Drunken Dragon’, we go back to English again. This upbeat folk metal song is all about having a drink in “The Drunken Dragon”, a pub where you drink by night when you have worked by day. A fun and solid drinking song. ‘Eisenfaust’ is led by bagpipes on a bed of solid electric guitars. This upbeat, folky power metal song has a lot of energy. Headbanging ensured.

In ‘Avalon’ the electric guitar takes the lead. It sounds heroic and mysterious, with the word “Avalon” being sung in the background. “We are the nights of Avalon”, the only English lyric in this song, is loud and clear. The rest of it is sung in German. The solo is killer though, it sounds amazing with this dreamy and fantasy song. ‘Tanz der Teufel’ is opened by the band shouting “666!”. Followed by bagpipes and a mysterious electric guitar that leads the melody in the verse to the chorus. The chorus has a party vibe and the number 666 is, as sung in German, the dance of the devil. It’s one big party with the Devil, and the music supports the lyrics very nicely.

Closer ‘Lords of Fyre’ starts with a low strumming guitar, chanting the song title. There are growls, but also the calm verse in the beginning. On this song, Lord of the Lost joins in. Their influence is clearly noticeable in the electronics being used in the song, yet there are also violins, creating a perfect combination between the two bands. A solid closer of a solid album.

This is one amazingly solid album. Feuerschwanz knows how to party, but also shows what great musicians they are. The album shows what the band is capable of; no song is the same, it shows variety, but it stays true to the band. They have created a power/folk metal party album that is loud, solid and folky. I have turned up the volume many times while listening to this, and I hope many people will do the same.

Also, the album cover is amazing; one giant dragon behind just one warrior. It looks very impressive and appealing.

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