Sabaton

The War To End All Wars

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Genre: Power Metal.
Released: 04/03/2022
Via Nuclear Blast

Album Review: Sabaton – The War To End All Wars

Sabaton has garnered quite the fanbase with their Historic tales told in the way of power metal and their latest album ‘The War To End All Wars’ promises to take a deep dive into the stories of World War I. Fans have already shown just how excited they are by getting each single that has dropped to over 2.5 Million streams on Spotify alone. Here are my thoughts on the new album.

Starting the battle off is ‘Stormtroopers’, an intense power metal track that delves deep into the battlefields of World War I. The song’s repetitive nature makes it one of the catchier songs on the album and the guitar solo is simply magnificent. Following that is ‘Dreadnought’ which slows the pace down to more of a marching speed. The dominant bass and snare give the song a beefy beat that carries the song nicely. Once again, the lyrics are full of historic references to the war and this song really nails the blend of metal and history.

Opting for a more full-on approach, ‘The Unkillable Soldier’ shares the story of British soldier Adrian Carton de Wiart. The story is one that should interest anyone who is into war stories, and the song’s delivery of the tale makes it one of the more memorable stories from WWI. ‘Soldier Of Heaven’ takes a polar opposite view to the previous song and explores the soldiers’ mortality during the conflict. Musically, the song has a great rhythm to it and the harmonized vocals are pleasant to hear.

Co filled metal, ‘Hellfighters’ shares the legend of the 369th Infantry Regiment (US) who were more commonly known as the Hellfighters. This tale is full of tremilos and chugging riffs to really drive home their journey in one of the deadliest wars in history. ‘Race To The Sea’ details the significant period of the war after Germany failed to capture Paris and after the German Schlieffen Plan failed. This song really stuck with me as it mixes the story and the music perfectly.

Unsurprisingly, ‘Lady Of The Dark’ shares the heroism of Milunka Savić in a melodic filled manner. Boasting a powerful chorus matched with compelling chord progressions, this track is a shining example of what Sabaton are capable of. Another interesting track is ‘The Valley Of Death’ which details the Battle of Doiran where Bulgerain troops successfully fended off the British army’s advance. The lyrics tell a compelling story that is well worth a listen.

As the album draws to a close, ‘Christmas Truce’ tells the story of one of the more remarkable events of the war. Around Christmas 1914, both sides seemed to form a small truce with tales of soldiers playing football matches against each other when just a few days before, they were shooting at each other. Ending off the record is the track ‘Versailles’ which fittingly details the Treaty of Versailles that Germany was forced to sign which saw them take full responsibility for damages and costs of the war. The song highlights the fact that something was brewing in the underground before the song ends with the question ‘Will this war really end all wars?’.

If you’re a history buff or a fan of power metal, this album is going to be of interest to you. I don’t think this album is going to appeal to the masses however, the Sabaton fanbase is in for a treat with this one. It’s just more of what fans have come to love from the band and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.