By Jonny Bakes
Back in 2019, Sabaton took the bold decision to release a concept album focused on the First World War, ‘The Great War’, as it was felt to be a conflict that is often overlooked and overshadowed by its successive global conflict. It resulted in an album that was an explosive success with fans and critics alike which propelled Sabaton further along their trajectory to be the biggest power metal band in existence. A few years have passed since ‘The Great War’ was released, and while Sabaton are back with a new and exciting album, the focus remains the same. This band of Swedes are going to make damn sure that WWI is never overlooked again as they come crashing over the trenches with ‘The War to End all Wars’ like a Mk1 tank!
Considering that things are going completely mental in Europe, it’s perhaps more important than ever that people remember just how horrific war can be, although it does feel a little strange to listen to this album at the moment. While this could have dampened my personal hype about the album, instead I found it made the whole thing hit me like a ten-ton wrecking ball! Joakim, Pâr, and the gang have delved deeper into the tales of the Great War through research and fan suggestions to present musical homages to events that fans have long been campaigning for! One of the strongest examples is the popular story of the 1914 Christmas truce that was released as a Christmas single last year which shed light on one of the more positive stories to come out of the conflict – a tale of camaraderie between conflicting nations that was unfortunately short-lived.
The album opens with a tense narration depicting the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, after all what better way to open this album than with the key event that sparked the entire conflict. The narration (from the same narrator as ‘The Great War’) is accompanied by equally tense music in the form of a snappy guitar riff that launches into the classically Sabaton bombastic chorus that makes it clear that we’re talking about ‘The War to End all Wars’. This only briefly interrupts the narration which continues to delve into the story of the downward spiral that followed that assassination in ‘Sarajevo’. This is perfectly paired with the closing track of the album which covers the Treaty of Versailles meaning that we’re presented with two great bookends that encompass the entire conflict and the stories within. ‘Versailles’ marks the return of the narration to add additional context to this part of the story and comes across as a joyful track celebrating the end of the war. While the music remains joyful celebrating this treaty that would “change the world”, the narration takes a darker turn hinting that while the war may be over, it would return sooner than they thought… We also see the return of the chorus from the introduction track which really wraps up this album into a neat package. But there’s plenty to get stuck into between these songs…
As we’ve come to expect from Sabaton, the album is absolutely packed to the rafters with stadium anthems and tracks that are guaranteed to get a room bouncing. A great example of this is ‘The Unkillable Soldier’ which relentlessly gallops its way through the song and into your memory. The chorus bombards you with short snappy phrases that embed themselves into your memory to the point where I still find myself muttering “at the edge of madness, in a time of sadness” that leads the chorus. The rhythm of this is incredibly infectious, it is pretty reminiscent of ‘To Hell and Back’ which has never failed to get the crowd bouncing in unison and I expect that this will become a crowd favourite in the very same way! And of course, it is blessed with my favourite musical device, a key change. This isn’t alone in the list of standout tracks, in fact it’s very difficult to pick out a track that is weaker than any of the others! ‘Hellfighters’, however, takes a slightly heavier turn with a riff that is clearly influenced by Judas Priest. But like all other songs, it is perfectly structured in a way that will ensure that it not only gets your blood pumping but makes damned sure that you don’t forget it. Hell, there’s a good reason why Sabaton have worked their way up to become possibly the biggest power metal band in existence right now.
To be honest, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of this album since it was announced, although at one point I thought we might be seeing something like a “Carolus Rex Pt. 2” after the release of ‘The Royal Guard’ but I’m pretty glad that Sabaton chose to take another dive into the Great War to ensure that all of the stories were told. From beginning to end it rattles through number after number of catchy, bouncy and downright brilliant biographical songs that cover key events, characters and equipment from the war (with even the Dreadnought style of battleship getting its own song! I wonder if there’s a future market for a song about the Dreadnought submarine(s) too?). For me, I completely fell in love with the album from the start and made sure to double down on my sexy vinyl pre-order and this will definitely appeal to all current Sabaton lovers and will likely bring in more fans to boot!
But if I was going to sum all of this up in just one line that you should take away from this review, it would be this – ‘The War To End All Wars’ is guaranteed to give you a manly tank boner that will last long enough to require medical attention!
- ‘The War To End All Wars’ is released today (Friday 4 March). You can get your copy HERE.
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