Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Sabaton
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2016
Runtime: 44:56
Rating: 4/5
Scorching-hot power metal »tanks« from Sweden, and we’re talking, of course, about the unbridled »war metallers« Sabaton, are storming back onto the scene with their eighth studio album, titled »The Last Stand«
As always, this time too we get eleven brand-new songs, with not only the superb production of the famous Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain), but also, as ever (and this is a must when we’re talking Sabaton), lyrics that lean on every conceivable act of war in the history of mankind. Since time immemorial.
This time around, Sabaton picked military battles that were decisive and favored the defenders, whether the ending was happy or tragic for the main heroes. Either these battles marked a turning point in the course of the war itself, or they were the final showdowns and so on… The stories behind every single one of them are out there everywhere, so you’ll surely enjoy reading up on them online or in some history encyclopedia. One that’s probably worth singling out is the story behind the album’s closing track, The Last Battle. It’s actually about the last battle of World War II in which German Wehrmacht soldiers and the Allies took part. What’s more, they fought on the same side, to protect French hostages from an attack by the last SS diehards. The battle (for Itter Castle in Austria) raged on for a few more days after Hitler killed himself, with the Third Reich in its final minutes. It ended on the very day Dönitz officially announced the Third Reich’s capitulation.
»The Last Stand« got some serious promo support ahead of its official release, as Sabaton dropped as many as three promo singles before the album came out, for the songs: The Lost Battalion, Blood of Bannockburn and Shiroyama.
Well, Sabaton remain a constant in what they do. Bombast, high musicality, an almost hypnotic catchiness the moment you hit play. Riffs dressed up with orchestrations, Broden’s throaty, rumbling vocals neatly »dunked« into choir arrangements. Nothing new, then. Just an album that will satisfy the tastes of Sabaton’s tireless fans. And that base is huge. And it just keeps growing and growing. »The Last Sand« is an album made for precisely that purpose. Mighty choir chants that even us regular folks can easily join in singing on the choruses. So things are going to get plenty merry at the new Sabaton shows. The album »The Last Stand« stands tall. Compositionally, and of course in terms of sound and production. It lacks absolutely nothing. In that respect, anyway. And it’s not short on predictability and cliché either. But that’s a constant you’ve gotten used to with Sabaton, right?
»The Last Stand« will, instead of Sonata Arctica’s records, be listened to once again by teenagers, since more mature music lovers know (or rather, we know) how to treat ourselves to musical delicacies that reach incomparably higher in artistic expression. Life is just too short, and why waste it on fanatical fandom for bands that bring absolutely nothing (new) to the scene in terms of artistic development? And yet. Sabaton are worth appreciating. They made it! So there’s no hiding the fact that they’re an excellent band, even if they clone themselves. In their Swedish genes they carry, of course, musicality inherited from ABBA perfectionism. And they approach everything they do with professionalism and perfectionism. There’s a spark smoldering in them that not every band has. That’s why they’re also one of the most popular bands on the current heavy metal scene. So popular that on the upcoming February-March tour, true pioneers of European metal will join them (as the opening act). Take a deep breath, because at first it just won’t sink in. The famous godfathers of Teutonic metal, Accept.
»The Last Stand« is, in short, the album fans of the band simply wished for. Lavishly decorated. Compositionally and production-wise. Punchy and wildly musical. Generally predictable in its musicality, and in its compositional solutions honestly almost childishly predictable. You’ll have to find your own favorites. By the way, Winged Hussars is reminiscent of Cliffs of Gallipoli in the chorus. Despite the cloning, it comes across as recognizable in a cloning kind of way. Sabatonesque! And the new songs will slot in perfectly alongside the older songs of the iron-clad concert repertoire on stages everywhere. There’s no doubt about it. Mission accomplished for Sabaton once again, with a full payoff!
Sabaton – The Lost Battalion (official video):
Line-up
Joakim Brodén – vocals
Pär Sundström – bass guitar
Chris Rörland – guitar, backing vocals
Thobbe Englund – guitar, backing vocals
Hannes van Dahl – drums
Production
Peter Tägtgren
Track list
1. Sparta
2. Last Dying Breath
3. Blood of Bannockburn
4. Diary of an Unknown Soldier
5. The Lost Battalion
6. Rorke’s Drift
7. The Last Stand
8. Hill 3234
9. Shiroyama
10. Winged Hussars
11. The Last Battle
12. Camouflage*
13. All Guns Blazing*
*…bonus tracks
