Sabaton – The Great War

I remember taking history classes at school. Through the years I had different teachers and my interest of the subject was determined by how my teachers told the stories. Most of the time, I thought it was quite boring.
Maybe its partially my age, yet my interest for different battles through the ages has clearly increased. But mainly it’s because of Sabaton. Their rendition of great battles and stories of important key figures in history, makes me want to dive deeper into the background of said battles and people.

The same can be told about their late record: “The Great War”. In my opinion, the latter Sabaton records got a bit stale, apart from a few songs that stood out. “The Great War” on the other hand is the complete opposite. It feels fresh, yet has that good old Sabaton feel. I can already imagine how fun some songs must be to see live.

The biggest downside to the record must be the length. One or two more songs would have been nice. But maybe that’s because all of the songs are that nice to listen to. You’ve reached the last song, “In Flanders Fields”, before you know it. Even though it’s a nice touch to have added a poem by John McCrae, yet it feels a bit stale.
Especially after one of the most epic tracks on the record, “The End of the War to End All Wars”. This song just blew me away, with a slow piano opening supported by the cello, which transcends into a bombastic song.

“82nd All the Way” is about Alvin Callum York, also known as Sergeant York. This song is one of the examples where I wanted to more of the background of this Sergeant, thus learning more about history by the music of Sabaton.
There are more tracks which have that effect and I think that deserves an honorable mention to say the least. It’s great what kind of effect this album can have on people, as I am sure that I am not the only one who does this.

Sabaton’s ninth studio album is a great one and feels like good old Sabaton, yet still fresh. The only downside is it relatively short length. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some reading to do about The Great War.

Review by: Michael

Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 19th of July 2019

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:
1. The Future of Warfare
2. Seven Pillars of Wisdom
3. 82nd All the Way
4. The Attack of the Dead Men
5. Devil Dogs
6. The Red Baron
7. Great War
8. A Ghost in the Trenches
9. Fields of Verdun
10. The End of the War to End All War
11. In Flanders Fields

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