Which brings us to the first single – the poetic and majestic ‘Christmas Truce’. ‘The Valley of Death’ has a brilliant, melodic solo but otherwise doesn’t stand out. It’s nice to get a song about female soldier too, in this case Milunka Savić, a Serbian soldier recognised as the most decorated female combatant in history. ‘Lady of the Dark’ is a cool song with a bit of groove as Brodén rolls his ‘r’ into the chorus.
‘Lady of the Dark’ and ‘The Valley of Death’ capture interesting subjects in the concept, but are very similar in terms of riffs and execution. Everything is just so big and there is little room for subtlety. If there is one criticism of The War to End All Wars, it is one easily leveled at most power metal acts. The fact there are songs about the Harlem Hellfighters and Belgium’s King Albert I leading his army in the ‘Race to the Sea’ is a great contrast to ‘Fields of Verdun’ and ‘The Red Baron’. One of the key things about this album, at least lyrically, is the way in which Joakim Brodén is exploring different territory to the previous album, highlighting lesser known units, battles and moments.
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It’s a tough tribute to brave men with a sick series of fast riffs. ‘Hellfighters’ is a good one for thrash fans, capturing the charge of the USA’s 369th Infantry Regiment, mostly African-Americans from Harlem in New York. There is some electronic ear candy accompanying the riffs on this one, giving it an 80s vibe, though the chorus is no less epic. ‘Soldier of Heaven’ is somehow even more bleak, less about the glory of war and more the shitty things that happen – like an avalanche killing hundreds of soldiers stationed below the mountain. Sporting anthems be damned, this will get you pumped. It’s inspiring stuff that will have you looking for a flag to follow into battle. Bloody madness if you ask me, but certainly a tale Sabaton has the chops to do justice to. It’s a ripping song about Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart, who survived gunshots eye, ear, head and body and several plane crashes, but kept getting back up and fighting. Things pick up again with ‘The Unkillable Soldier’, a classic romp into battle on a galloping rhythm. Listen carefully through headphones though, because that keyboard line on the chorus kicks butt.
‘Dreadnought’, about a class of battleship, is heavier on strings at a slower, stomping pace. The solo progression is note perfect and will generate much air guitar. It leads into a standard power metal lead for ‘Stormtroopers’, an uptempo belter that’s awesome for fist pumping. It’s cinematic in its scope and orchestration so it is a great opener for this concept album. ‘Sarajevo’ is a grinding opener, with the narration serving as the verses, with the band’s choral vocals saved for the chorus. Sabaton actually kick off the album with Dixon Bate explaining the commencement of WWI with the assassination of ArchDuke Fraz Ferdinand. And yes, there is a History Edition of The War to End All Wars, so that history buffs can learn the context for each song, narrated by Bethan Dixon Bate. Hence, we have a sort of sequel or companion to The Great War, with more tales of horror and honour. But see, the band toured that record prior to the pandemic and found that fans across Europe all had stories to tell – of battles, or heroes and villains, of moments that started and changed the fate of nations and people. What’s that you say? Didn’t they already do World War I for 2019’s bombastic The Great War? You are correct. With pretty much each of their nine previous albums being dedicated to a historical exploration of war, there isn’t a sudden change of concept on album number ten: The War to End All Wars. Sabaton have risen to a position of prominence in the power metal community, thanks to their catchy and technical brilliance and over the top stage show. Joakim Brodén | Vocals, Keyboard Pär Sundström | Bass Chris Rörland | Guitar Tommy Johansson | Guitar Hannes Van Dahl | Drums Sabaton – The War to End All Wars Released: March 4th, 2022