Sabaton - The Great War

Sabaton have been giving the metal world little power-metal-flavored war history lessons from the heart of Sweden since the early 2000’s, and since refining and optimizing their style around the turn of the decade, they really haven’t really altered their macho, fighting-spirit formula at all except to expand their history teaching to a YouTube history channel. Their approach to the genre has been predictable yet effective enough as long as the band enter the studio with a strong supply of musical ideas (as they never seem to be at a loss for lyrical subject matter (humankind wages a lot of war after all)). Anyway, the band’s follow-up to 2016’s The Last Stand focuses on World War I (called “The Great War” at the time before the sequel came out), and it’s an interesting topic for them the focus on exclusively. The impact of World War I was significant not just for its span and wide involvement, but for the intense, lasting psychological damage inflicted through the militaristic innovations that made trench warfare so nightmarish. Being that Sabaton usually try to find the moments of glory and valor in mankind’s most overt expression of violence, something as grim and horrifying as the western front trenches and the fields of Paschendale are certainly tough to highlight the admirable parts of. But Sabaton are masters of this now, and the combination of inspiring guitar riffs, dramatic orchestral elements, and Joakim Brodén’s powerful operatic low-end singing do as effective of a job as ever of spotlighting the sliver lining of the first world war. I really like the guitar leads and the invigorating gang vocals that set the stage on the opening track, “The Future of Warfare” and the choir supplementation on the inspirational “Devil Dogs” and the title track. The song" 82nd All the Way" narrates the charge of Alvin York’s battalion through more inspirational vocal and guitar melodies, and “The Red Baron” makes great use of synth backing to its narration of WWI aerial dogfights. The couple of drier songs like “The Attack of the Dead Men” and “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” fall a little flat mainly due to the simple, avoidable deficiencies like less energetic performances and dull writing. I mean Sabaton and power metal in general get shit for being cheesily over-the-top and theatrical, but when we see what happens when the band turn down the gratuitous glory, it’s no wonder they and their compatriots usually strive to keep it high and dramatic rather than forcing variety. Fortunately this album’s main drawback is the homogeneity that fans already welcome or are used to or that has already pushed away the band’s detractors. Most of the songs are up to code to be worthy of their presence on this album, and the band’s performances do well to draw out and highlight the courage and heroism of one of the most psychologically damaging wars in history. Given what expectations Sabaton have set up for themselves, I’d say this album certainly lived up to them, riding on par with the past several Sabaton albums. Stylistically, sure, it’s rather played out, but the band do come through with enough compositional ideas and plenty of gusto to stick yet another landing.

Charge!/10