Sabaton - The War to End All Wars (Album Review In English)

“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”

~ Ernest Hemingway, 1946 ~

The tenth full length album of the Swedish power metalers ‘Sabaton’ was released on March 4 of the current year from Nuclear Blast and consists of 11 tracks with running time 45:21. The First World War is the theme of the album. A journey from the trenches, to the sea and from there to the top of the Alps, emphasizing on events and personalities that played a decisive role in the outcome of the war. The title of the album refers to the idealistic slogan "The War to End All Wars" that became famous by the US President Woodrow Wilson,but he was not the first one who used it. The British futurist writer and social commentator H.G. Wells invented the phrase. He predicted that WWI would be the last war in his article titled “The War That Will End War,” published in The Daily News on Aug. 14, 1914.

Sarajevo, On June 28th, 1914, a Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Principe assassinated in Sarajevo the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Francisco Ferdinand, and his wife, Sophia, event that marked  the beginning of the First World War. The narration of the events along with guitars, keyboards, flute and the epic chorus create an atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty  of that period. The troops are marching, the war begins.

At the front lines, the “Stormtroopers” or "shock troopers" are operating. A special corps of the German army, trained to use infiltration tactics. A fast and violent escalation caused  cracks in the enemy lines causing chaos. A typical “Sabaton” song , fast guitar riffs with neoclassic elements , followed by a quick syllables chorus and a solo that describes accurately  the speed with which they acted.

From the trenches to the sea with the “Dreadnought”. The HMS Dreadnought of the British Royal Navy was launched in 1906, from which an entire class of ships was named. An "all-big-gun” warship, it was used by the great powers in the race to dominate the seas. Heavy and slow riffs combined with the trembling voice of ‘Joakim Brodén’ are indicative of the apocalyptic atmosphere of the song. A melodic solo places the audience on the deck of the ship in the wild seas.

The Unkillable Soldier, the second single of the album. Narrates the story of “Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart”, who served in the Boer War, WW I and WWII, surviving air crashes and prisoner-of-war camps. He lost his left eye and hand, was shot in the skull, hip, leg, ankle and ear. An encouraging  song with a galloping rhythm representative  of his stubbornness and the will to live.

Soldier of Heaven, first single of the album, a song adequate for live reciting, melodic with electro-pop elements of the eighties. Α tribute to the soldiers who died in the battles of the Alps. Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops clashed at altitudes up to 3,600 meters with temperatures below -22 ° F (-30 ° C) in the so-called “White War”. Many men were buried alive  due to avalanches, at the "White Friday" one hit the Austro-Hungarian barracks on Mount Marmolada, killing 270 soldiers.

Hell fighters, It’s a song about the 369th Infantry Regiment of the American army, also known as the "Harlem's Hell fighters", one of the first African-American regiments to be  deployed in Europe during the WWI . They spent 191 days in front line trenches and suffered the most losses of any American regiment. They were unbeatable and were the first of the Allied forces to cross the Rhine into Germany . One of the best songs of the album with a stormy rhythm by the standards of "Iced Earth" and with a hellish  solo  characteristic of the ferocity  and bravery with which they fought.

Race to the Sea, the "race" ended on the North Sea coast of Belgium around 19 October, when the last open area from Diksmuide was occupied by Belgian troops who had retreated after the Siege of Antwerp (28 September – 10 October).A rhythmic marching song, with a soft melodic solo. The choir part that follows builds up slowly and leads back again to the main chorus.

Lady Of The Dark, the second heroic figure that is being eulogized on this album is the highly decorated Serb female combatant  “Milunka Savić” who went to fight at the place of her brother in the Balkan Wars and WWI. A harsh and dark song with sharp neat riffs  that glorifies  her iron will.

The Valley of Death, We remain in the Balkans and we are allocated in Bulgaria. At the Battle of Doiran in 1917 between the United Kingdom and Bulgaria. The 9th Pleven Infantry Division, under the command of Colonel Vladimir Vazov, repulsed a series of British attacks. A song with fast and melodic riffs that evokes elements of the guitar virtuoso ‘Joe Santriani’  combined with the choir like refrain render accurately the intensity of the battle.

Christmas Truce, was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the WWI around Christmas of 1914. The two armies celebrate together as brothers, exchange gifts, drink, have fun and sing carols. Sadly they  known that the next day the hostilities will  resume. A magical, melancholic and extremely moving ballad having the piano play the Ukrainian Christmas song "Carol of the bells"   and the choir to enhance the above mentioned emotions and causing Goos Bubs.

Versailles, The Treaty of Versailles. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. Once again the narration of the events has the leading role. The festive atmosphere,  joy and hope for the future emerge from the festive parts of the chorus.

In my opinion "The War to End All Wars" is their best album so far. Pleasant to the ear from beginning to the end. By blending skillfully  various musical elements with the well thought lyrics, they form images and describe emotions that the audience easily recognize. The penalizing elements for this  great album are the narrative parts. Some times less is better.

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For Rock DaVinci,

Galletti Alessandro