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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Sabaton - The Last Stand (2016)

Despite having trouble with remaining a stable line-up for more than a couple of years, Swedish power metalers Sabaton keeps their flag held high, and continues to be one of the leaders in the genre with their bombastic songs about war and... more war. Joakim Brodén leads his army with an iron fist, delivers great live performances, and makes sure to give us some good history lessons every time a new CD is released. Yet, I still am having a hard time to fully appreciate the band, mostly because they keep re-inventing the wheel, never bringing anything new to the table.

Which leads me to the new album, entitled "The Last Stand", which is yet another Sabaton album that is sing along friendly, epic, powerful, and extremely predictable. The band is not doing anything wrong per se, their performance is spot on, the production is just as big as it should be, and they stay true to their sound, but when a band has done more or less the same thing for 8 albums in a row, you cannot help to feel full, that you cant stand it for any long periods. It is just not exciting enough.

Even the lyrical department have not changed one bit since the start, yet it is that part of Sabaton that will always be the most intriguing. In this album, Sabaton takes us all over the world to famous battles that turned out to be decisive for their respective wars. We get to know about Leonidas and the 300 of Sparta, the first war of Scottish independence, Japanese samurais, and a hell of a lot more. No other band out there can make you go on to Google and do some thorough researching. This also follows the line in which the band has gone for the last couple of albums, settle with a sort of theme and go with it. We had Swedish history in "Carolus Rex", stories about heroes in "Heroes", and now this. A neat strategy that works really well.

Comparing the song material here with the predecessor "Heroes", I feel like "The Last Stand" has a lot more bite to it, more songs that stand out and catches your attention. Simply put, it is better. Well, the variation is, as usual when it comes to Sabaton, close to non existent, but there is nothing wrong with the enthusiasm the band is showing. It is the little things that makes the songs stand out, like the powerful OOH AAH in "Sparta", the more metallic approach in "Rorke's Drift", or the bagpipes + keyboard solo in "Blood of Bannockburn". While it may not be enough to revolutionize Sabaton, it does help to keep the sound fresh, even if that freshness wares off fairly quickly.

The quality is there, the power as well, and the performance is flawless, so why am I not loving this album? The reason being is that I have heard this before, Sabaton is not bringing something new to the table. "The Last Stand" is most certainly an album with lots of positive qualities, and it is one of the better albums the Swedes have made, but I need to see more from this band to raise that rating even higher. This will most likely not be Sabaton's last stand, and that is good, because they still got a lot of fire arms to fire at all of us. However, they gonna need a lot of ammo to get me down, that's for sure.

Songs worthy of recognition: Rorke's Drift, Sparta, Shiroyama

Rating: 7/10 Lost Battalions

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twitter.com/sabaton

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Sabaton - Heroes (2014)

I have always asked myself why I do not love the Swedish power metal band Sabaton. Their music has a power that few can match, they can write interesting lyrics about war and history, and their live performances are just electrifying. So why do I not love this band? I have no good answer, but the best description I can give is that the band and its music has a short life span. Sure, the music is fast and adrenaline filled, but I get bored after only 4 full-length listening sessions.

"Heroes" is album number 7 from the band and a lot of things have happened since the 2012 album "Carolus Rex". A total of 4 members left the band, leaving the singer Joakim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström alone in the band. But even though more than half the band has been replaced, the sounds is more or less the same as it was before.

"Heroes" sets its lyrical focus on World War II with songs about several war heroes like Witold Pilecki ("Inmate 4859"), Leslie "Bull" Allen ("The Ballad of Bull"), and Lauri Törni ("Soldier of 3 Armies"). Sure, you could mark on that Joakim Brodén and Pär Sundström is only writing songs about war and battles and that it is starting to get tedious, but that is what they are passionate about, and their knowledge and research in the subject is impeccable.

As for the music, it is nothing really special. All of the songs have been done at least once in a previous album. It is grand power metal that is perfect for a trip to the gym, or for a killer gaming session if you are a couch potato. The only song that breaks the pattern is "The Ballad of Bull" which is, not surprisingly, a ballad. It is also a pretty grand song, but it loses my interest fairly quickly since it seems to fit a musical better than a metal album. Listen instead to the fist pumping "To Hell And Back", the hard hitting "Resist And Bite", the strong "Inmate 4859" and the epic "No Bullets Fly". Also check out the excellent cover of Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls".

But as stated before, Sabaton records tend to be short lived, and "Heroes" is unfortunately not different from its predecessors. The 10 songs adds up to a total play time of 37 minutes, which makes the album short and compact, and allows you to get the max out of every second. But since almost all the songs have about the same tempo and structure, you tend to get tired of them quickly. And after 7 albums with almost the same formula, it just doesn't have the same effect any more.

I'm sorry Sabaton, but you didn't convince me this time either. "Heroes" is without a doubt another solid album by the lads from Falun, Sweden, but thanks to its many similarities with previous albums from the band, it just feels that it is missing that extra level. The only thing that made me raise an eyebrow over this album is the anatomies of the two guys fighting in the cover, the rest just made me shrug. It is stability in musical form.

Songs worthy of recognition: To Hell And Back, No Bullets Fly, Inmate 4859

Rating: 6/10 Smoking Snakes

www.sabaton.net/
twitter.com/sabaton

More reviews of Sabaton
The Last Stand

The Great War