Review: “The War To End All Wars – History Edition” by Sabaton

Written and recorded over the course of 12 months between spring 2020 and spring 2021 Sabaton crafted 11 songs for their tenth studio album “The War To End All Wars” as a follow up to 2019’s “The Great War“, once again finding inspiration in the tales, atrocities, miracles and events tied to the early 20th century World War I and seeking to bring them to life. Curiously in the build up to the release the band claimed not to have had the right music to tell some of these tales the last time around, while some of this collection are those told to them by fans during their 2019 touring schedule, so after critical acclaim and awards including “Best Live Band” from Metal Hammer, can the quintet arise once more?

Having previously worked with renowned historian Indy Neidell the tales authenticity can not be doubted as the album begins with the tale of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria that prompted the start of WW1, told in the bands signature style with a female narration and a powerful sing-a-long chorus in vocalist Joakim Brodén’s baritone as the wings of the story unfurl and the music takes to flight. The bands style is based on Power Metal but has evolved over the past two decades to incorporate other elements and naturally this is no different; after the epic grandeur and storytelling the order of the day in a distinctly Swedish way, a history lesson of the finest order that includes tales of individual acts of heroism with huge anthemic choruses and slick musicianship. From of tales of the Imperial elite and battle ships of the 20th Century rises that of “The Unkillable Solidier“, the story of the seemingly indestructible Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart who gallops his way onto the horizon with fretboard smoking leads and pounding drums, having survived at least seven bullet wounds and numerous plane crashes and yet gallantly fought on. The backdrop of each tale is a soundscape to fill arenas with depth, warmth and texture but most importantly befitting of the personal courage and bravery, triumphs and tragedies that they regale as the band create in the space between Europe and Children Of Bodom being largely guitar driven with only the synth heavy melody of “Soldier of Heaven” stepping away from that somewhat. One of the finest cuts here has to be “Lady Of The Dark“, the tale of Milunka Savić, a female Serbian Soldier from 1912-1919 who is given the most anthemic of this collection of anthems, catchy and vibrant while also being a little bit cheesy and fun. Distinctive 80’s leanings modernised to within an inch of their life make “The Valley of Death” a higher velocity affair, the smaller tempo shifts making sure that everything is kept flowing nicely without the need to break a sweat and while some may have felt a little short changed by the albums predecessor when it clocked in at just 40 minutes, they can rest assured that the predecessor sounds far more complete and well rounded. They cover a lot of ground with this one, filling in the gaps to create a conjoined twin that works incredibly well; Sabaton have reached critical mass [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Sarajevo
2. Stormtroopers
3. Dreadnought
4. The Unkillable Soldier
5. Soldier of Heaven
6. Hellfighters
7. Race To The Sea
8. Lady of the Dark
9. The Valley of Death
10. Christmas Truce
11. Versailles

“The War To End All Wars” by Sabaton is out 4th March 2022 via Nuclear Blast