“The Last Stand” album made me a Sabaton fan – I don’t say that I didn’t like the previous albums of the band, but that specific album was their most mature until then. Three years later, Sabaton released their latest effort, entitled “The Great War”. Well, with this record the Swedes confirm everything I felt, while listening to “The Last Stand”. Sabaton is now a band, which knows its skills, where to focus on, which its boundaries are. The main weapon of Sabaton is its melodies – and “The Great War” has a lot of them. All songs, all refrains and all guitar phrases are based on these melodies and every composition is arranged with excellent, fantastic musicianship. Frankly, I can’t find a filler song in here; everything is well planned and well executed. Everyone can understand the Sabaton sound – and again, that sound is delivered in a fabulous way. Joakim Brodėn doesn’t have a high-pitched voice, however, he knows when to start and when to stop, singing with all his might. The guitar work is shockingly good and the rhythm section is the basis where Sabaton builds its tracks. Finally, you may notice that the symphonic element is more apparent on the tracks (for example many choirs are added to the refrains). So, what we have here is an inspired band with its own personal heavy metal style, which has the “know-how” to compose catchy songs and to perform with passion and perfection. Trust Sabaton and you won’t get disappointed.
♦ 8/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
