SABATON
The War To End All Wars (Nuclear Blast)
Swedish multi-award-winning metal gods Sabaton’s 10th album picks up where its predecessor The Great War ended and delivers further World War I history in a palatable way. Well-crafted songs, epic guitar solos and Joakim Brodén’s gritty vocals convey the atrocities of conflict with power and emotion.
The album opens with Sarajevo – the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand – and ends with the Treaty Of Versailles; we also learn about the White Friday avalanches, the Battle of Doiran, and Serbian war heroine Milunka Savić.
Each track is a battlecry of pumping rhythm, balanced with calmer moments of piano or narration. There are elements of sea shanty and speedmetal throughout, and though the comparison to bands such as Dragonforce cannot be ignored, Sabaton are a force to be reckoned with. Occasionally an album comes along that has the ability to engulf the listener and The War To End All Wars does just that.
words LYNDA NASH