Three years went by, since Sabaton delivered an album. The last one was the “Great War” … and this year Sabaton comes back with “The War To End Wall Wars”! Let’s talk about it, shall we? The record has eleven tracks and brings power metal at its finest. It starts with “Sarajevo”, a song that talks about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. If you remember history class, this is how WWI started. It has the best choruses of the album, the guitar solos and instrumental section in this song are amazing and can give goose-bumps! “Stormtroopers” is a typical Sabaton song. It has guitar driven attacks, Joakim Brodén sings with a powerful voice, Chris Rörland and Tommy Johannson play the up-tempo guitars, and we will never forget the pumping chorus and the high speed drumming of Hannes Van Dahl. If you buy the History Edition, this is the only track, that doesn’t come with any narration. Maybe the band thought it was too much. Who knows… We can hear the sound of the ocean on “Dreadnought”. Joakim sings about it and it’s something we hear before the vocals kick in. The guitars flow smoothly with the waves and their sound’s very rythmic, going back and forth, like they were in the army. Very precise. It has an 80’s vibe, thanks to the keyboard that we hear in the background. Perfect!!! “The Unkillable Soldier” tells the story about the incredible Adrian Carton de Wiart. One thing that is interesting is that Joakim sings with different accents in this track! The next one, “Soldier of Heaven”, has an 80s vibe, which starts with electronic elements from that era. The guitar work is excellent and has one of the heaviest bass lines we have ever listened in Sabaton albums, executed by Pär Sundström. “Hellfighters” is the heaviest song of the album. It has a thrash/speed metal vibe and the guitars kick in full speed, in high tempo, with the chorus staying raw and heavy, yet very melodic. “Race to the Sea” is more focused on the story than the music. The bass and drums give the strong march in a song, which is a highlight! “Lady Of The Dark” is the story of a heroine and has very melodic guitar lines … A very melodic and hooky intro, … here’s “Valley of Death”, it has the best guitar lines and reminds us of “82nd All the Way” from” The Great War”! This track is more melodic than the rest of the songs and has a catchy, fantastic chorus! “Christmas Truce” is the most beautiful song of the album, the highlight of it, Sabaton’s best song! Joakim singing along with a piano is a must! It talks about a Christmas truce, where both enemies put down their weapons and enjoy Christmas together. A power ballad, where the piano and vocals are magical and make all the difference! This could be the song for peace. The record finishes with “Versailles” that talks about The Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace document, signed by Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which led to the war. It has a narration, like “Sarajevo”, and an instrumental section. An epic song, very melancholic like the opening track! Once again, Sabaton deliver an historic album! They always bring the best of both worlds: history and power metal! This is, without any doubt, the best album of this year, if not the century!
♦ 10/10
Raquel Miranda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo8H5vUKMlk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAy2eVlvaZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UueFKWt6a1s
