Bloody madness if you ask me, but certainly a tale Sabaton has the chops to do justice to. It’s a ripping song about Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart, who survived gunshots eye, ear, head and body and several plane crashes, but kept getting back up and fighting. Things pick up again with ‘The Unkillable Soldier’, a classic romp into battle on a galloping rhythm. Listen carefully through headphones though, because that keyboard line on the chorus kicks butt.

‘Dreadnought’, about a class of battleship, is heavier on strings at a slower, stomping pace. The solo progression is note perfect and will generate much air guitar. It leads into a standard power metal lead for ‘Stormtroopers’, an uptempo belter that’s awesome for fist pumping. It’s cinematic in its scope and orchestration so it is a great opener for this concept album. ‘Sarajevo’ is a grinding opener, with the narration serving as the verses, with the band’s choral vocals saved for the chorus.

Sabaton actually kick off the album with Dixon Bate explaining the commencement of WWI with the assassination of ArchDuke Fraz Ferdinand. And yes, there is a History Edition of The War to End All Wars, so that history buffs can learn the context for each song, narrated by Bethan Dixon Bate. Hence, we have a sort of sequel or companion to The Great War, with more tales of horror and honour. But see, the band toured that record prior to the pandemic and found that fans across Europe all had stories to tell – of battles, or heroes and villains, of moments that started and changed the fate of nations and people. What’s that you say? Didn’t they already do World War I for 2019’s bombastic The Great War? You are correct. With pretty much each of their nine previous albums being dedicated to a historical exploration of war, there isn’t a sudden change of concept on album number ten: The War to End All Wars. Sabaton have risen to a position of prominence in the power metal community, thanks to their catchy and technical brilliance and over the top stage show.

New sabaton album 2022