Sabaton - The Great War (2019)

Thanks to the second World War and all of its horrors, the first edition (also known as The Great War) is kind of forgotten in today's age. It may seem like primitive warfare with very little happening, but at the time, this war saw humanity invent all kinds of new ways of killing each other, whether it be on the ground, in the skies, or through biochemical means. It is an event that now, just over 100 years later, is depicted once again, this time through the sound of metal war veterans Sabaton, an opportunity to further immortalize this important event in human history.

The Swedes have gone more in the concept direction in later records, telling war stories in a certain category, but this is the first time the band takes a specific war and fills a record with stories from it, and it is a strategy that I like a lot. The band's strength has always been in the lyrical department, having a knack to telling these tales in a colorful way that peaks your interest, so focusing it all to one specific point in time instead of several different periods gives it more of a story book feeling, having a smoother flow to what is happening.

And as always, the band has this massive energy to them that is really infectious. Everything from the pummeling drums of Hannes Van Dahl to the grand vocals of Joakim Brodén is larger than life, which helps them immensely when they step on the live stage. Tracks like "Great War", "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", "The Attack of The Dead Men", and a couple of others were made for playing live, being catchy and epic as all hell. There is no question that this album will suck you in thanks to the lyrics, the energy, and the passionate performances, just like most other Sabaton records.

The problems are still the same though, mostly that "The Great War" is not very versatile in its execution. The band does try to spice up some things, like the insanely groovy "The Red Baron" features the keyboards (also performed by Brodén) a lot, "Fields of Verdun" is more classic power metal than what we are used to see from Sabaton (more like Stratovariaton there), and "The End of The War To End All War" is as epic as an ending can be, but it is still not enough to make "The Great War" significally stand out from its brethren. This also makes the album pretty tiring, even if it only clocks in at 38 minutes. Sabaton is still best in small doses, and this record further exemplifies that.

Ultimately, "The Great War" is just another Sabaton record, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I believe Sabaton only makes new records because of 2 reasons. 1. they want new songs to play live, and 2. they want to tell new stories. We listen to these records for the tales the band tells, so we can learn more about the violent historic nature of humanity, and it also helps that the music is still pretty good, even if it is very much predictable. So yes, there is not much new on the Western Sabaton front, but it is still entertaining enough to get you hooked.

Songs worthy of recognition: The Attack of The Dead Men, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, The Red Baron, Great War

Rating: 7,5/10 Devil Dogs

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