Carolus Rex

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik

Artist: Sabaton
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2012
Runtime: 45:09
Rating: 3.8/5

The recipe of cooking up songs from the history of war works, so why on earth would Sabaton ditch it? Even the “Latinizing” of the album titles is tempting, right, guys? But since the arsenal of historical tales is slowly running dry, Sabaton cunningly turned to their own backyard and decided to set the rise and fall of the Swedish kingdom to music. That’s the story behind the new album “Carolus Rex”.

It starts with the founding of the kingdom and the arrival of Gustavus Adolphus, the »Lion of the North« (the song »Lion from the North«), and the guys made sure to include his famous battle at Breitenfeld (the song »Gott Mit Uns«). Gustavus Adolphus was a master of military tactics and one of the most prominent figures of the Thirty Years’ War (the song »A Lifetime of War«), with the final stage – the battle for Prague (the song »1648«). Finally, Charles XII (the song »Carolus Rex«) steps onto the historical stage, defends the kingdom against the triple alliance of the Russians, the Danes and the Saxon-Polish union, and manages to subdue Denmark and then Poland (the song »Killing Ground«), but all good things come to an end. For Charles XII that was the head-on, doomed march against the Russians and Moscow, which ended in defeat at the battle of Poltava (the song »Poltava«).  After the failure the man managed to flee to the Ottoman Empire, and from there make his way back to the Scandinavian end of Europe, where he fell during the renewed invasion of Norway, killed by a precisely aimed bullet to the head (Long Live The King). The end of the Swedish kingdom is sealed by the collapse of Charles’s army – the Carolines, who broke all their teeth at the battle of Trondheim (the song Ruina Imperii). Besides an introductory history piece, the whole booklet comes with short interviews with all five band members, which surely deepens the bond between the listener and the album »Carolus Rex«, since it fires up the listener’s imagination even more.  

So the guys clearly had a heaping helping of fun in the studio again. The songs do vary in quality, though. The standout is the fantastic title track, which will without a doubt become a fixture of the band’s live set in the years to come. It’s one of the best songs Sabaton have ever written in their career so far, with an exceptional dramatic build-up that turns into a bombastic, infectious chorus of top-notch atmospheric hunger. Right next to it, almost shoulder to shoulder, comes Killing Ground, especially thanks to its outstanding chorus melody. These two are the cream of the crop on »Carolus Rex«. Another very interesting and one of the better tracks is the punchy mini-epic ballad The Caroleans Prayer, where Broden, with his throaty delivery and choice of lead melodies, evokes the feel of Grave Digger from the second half of the nineties.

The guys are experienced and know their way around a studio. They dressed all the songs in an exceptionally rich coat of effective bombast, since the symphonic element is integrated just as prominently as the classic metal punch. In terms of production, »Carolus Rex« proves that Sabaton have taken their perfectionism to its zenith. The album has optimally emphasized contrast between all the elements of the sound. Next to the classic riff march, the keyboards, especially the synth curtains, sound as if a real orchestra were sitting in the studio with the band and playing a gig alongside them, while the vocal lines are accompanied by choral, multi-harmonized inserts that deepen the dynamic turns of the captured moods and at the same time use up and fill the available arrangement space to squeeze in even more melody, sonic spice, variety and infectious accessibility (listenability)

It all sounds more than thrilling so far. Still, from the basic motifs and the execution of the songs laid down on tape, you can pick out quite a few clichés that make the record less interesting. This is definitely an album that’s production-wise polished to perfection, and it offers some really good arrangement solutions too. But the lead motifs of songs like 1648, Gott Mit Uns, A Lifetime Of War, Long Live The King or Ruina Imperii suggest that Sabaton are no longer developing creatively and that at times they’re clearly chewing over what’s already been chewed. Even if it’s all nicely garnished with the bombast of a wonderfully juicy, fully realized production.

All in all, the album is a very high-quality product and a must for the collection of every devout defender of the Sabaton discography. This record is also recommended for all freshly fired-up power metalheads, since alongside »The Art Of War« it ranks among the better achievements of Sabaton’s career. Sabaton no longer surprise with it. They’ve obviously reached the creative zenith of their version of heavy metal, which we can comfortably label »battle metal«. It does raise the rhetorical question of what kind of challenge Sabaton even need these days. The base of supporters is incredible, they’re in the safe bosom of a well-established label, and they tour constantly on their own headline tours, which are very well attended. Let’s just hope that flying this high doesn’t tip them into complacency, the well-known modern-day disease that their somewhat older colleagues Helloween, thoroughly stuck in that very complacency, have suffered from for ten years now.. The album has no standout moments, but it hits a lot harder and hungrier than its predecessor »Coat Of Arms«, so it’ll end up far better received in the medium run!

One more thing. Sabaton have thoroughly shaken up their lineup this year. Four members left the lineup that recorded the album »Carolus Rex«. So »Carolus Rex« is effectively the final act of the core creative nucleus of the band’s original lineup, which stuck together practically since 1999. So we can say that this album closes the era of classic Sabaton. It’ll be interesting to see how the revamped Sabaton get through that kind of challenge when it comes to the creative solutions of future albums.

Lineup

Joakim Brodén – vocals
Oskar Montelius – guitar
Rikard Sundén – guitar
Daniel Mÿhr – keyboards
Pär Sundström – bass guitar
Daniel Mullbac – drums

Production

Peter Taegtgren & Jens Kjellgren

Tracklist

1. Dominum Maris Baltici
2. The Lion From The North
3. Gott Mit Uns
4. A Lifetime Of War
5. 1 6 4 8
6. The Caroleans Prayer
7. Carolus Rex
8. Killing Ground
9. Poltava
10. Long Live The King
11. Ruina Imperii