War To End All Wars

Back in 2016, I discovered Sabaton, and the band was huge for me that year. I downloaded a number of albums from their back catalog, and became obsessed with them...then when they released The Last Stand that year, it quickly became one of my favorite new metal releases.

I still love Sabaton, but my obsession has cooled a bit over the years. Still, I was excited when I heard they were releasing a new album. I've been focused on different music this year, and because of that, I didn't rush out to get my hands on a copy as soon as it was released. I knew that I was going to pick one up sooner or later, and when I was placing an order with Nuclear Blast a couple months ago, I finally added The Great War to the cart. It was on a simple black vinyl, but honestly, I thought that it looked better than the eight different colored vinyl options.

Sabaton records tend to be a slow burn for me. I seem to usually be less than impressed after the initial listen, but with repeat spins it grows on me more and more...so it was no surprise that some of The Great War fell a little flat for me. Some of these songs are killer, and I can see are going to get better as I get become more familiar with them, but there are a few clunkers on here that disrupt the flow. I don't know...maybe I'll get used to them as time goes on, but I know that I'll be skipping that Flanders Fields song forever.

Coat Of Arms

A little over a year ago, I finally moved on Doug's recommendation and checked out Sabaton, and I was really surprised at how hard this band hit me. It was a great internal struggle. I felt like I should hate them, yet at the same time, I couldn't resist them. I'd downloaded their Art Of War album, and surprisingly found myself listening to it damn near daily. Much to my surprise, Sabaton became one of my favorite finds of last year.

I'll be seeing Sabaton live for the first time in a couple of weeks, and in anticipation of the show, I decided to add another piece of vinyl to the collection from them...this time going back to 2010's Coat Of Arms. While The Art Of War is quite possibly the best Sabaton album, Coat Of Arms is a strong number two, with Midway making a great case to be one of my favorite Sabaton songs at the moment.

Just like when I bought The Art Of War, I had my sights set on the Swedish pressing from Black Lodge Records. The other vinyl options from Nuclear Blast were not going to cut it. Sabaton are from Sweden, so something about owning a Swedish pressing just seemed so much more cooler to me...well, as cool as you can get when you are talking about Sabaton.

Sun Tzu Says

A year or so ago, I remember Doug telling me about going to see Sabaton play live with Amon Amarth. I think it surprised him just how much he enjoyed seeing them live. Interested to see what he was raving about, I made a half-hearted attempt to check them out on youtube. Meh. I didn't get it, and I quickly moved on.

Earlier this year, I was looking to check out some unheard Metal albums, so I pulled up wikipedia's list of all heavy albums for 2008, and went on a download spree over at soulseek. When I saw Sabaton's The Art Of War on the list, I thought of Doug and decided to give the band another chance.

Soon after downloading The Art Of War, Sabaton found a place in my playlists every few days. I couldn't believe how much I was enjoying them. I was soon declaring the end of the week to be Power Metal Friday, and prior to going over to the Community Center to play basketball, I would spend the morning getting pumped up with this stuff. The Art Of War was my jam.

Sabaton tend to be the subject of ridicule in the Metal world, and I can understand why some people would look down on their Power Metal cheese, but goddamn it, they are too much fun to ignore.

Vinyl still wan't very popular when The Art Of War was released in 2008, and therefore the only pressing on wax was done on Sweden's Black Lodge Records. Sure the record got reissued on vinyl by Nuclear Blast in 2014 with a "Re-Armed" pressing, complete with bonus songs, but compared to the original pressing, I just wasn't feeling it. They were more expensive, and didn't come around as often, but I was going to have to hold out for an original pressing. When a US seller posted the record for sale on Discogs, I jumped on the opportunity.

First Stand Of Sabaton

Despite being around for the past ten years, it wasn't until early 2016 that I first gave Sabaton a chance. This wasn't my typical brand of Metal, and as much as I wanted to write it off an ignore it, those beautiful Power Metal hooks were too good to ignore. Trust me, no one was more surprised than I was at how much I loved what I heard from this band.

So while I've downloaded a few Sabaton albums over the past 10 months, the release of The Last Stand was my first time to experience the excitement of a new release.

Admittedly, the first single left me a little underwhelmed and I started to think that maybe they had lost some of that spark that drew me to them initially. After downloading the new album, and letting the entire thing sink in, I fell in fucking love. Sure the trilogy of The Lost Battalion/The Last Stand/The Last Battle has my eyes crossing in confusion with the similarities of song titles, but overall, this album serves it's intended purpose...to have me throwing my arms in the air and singing along like a metal madman..."When the Winged Hussars arrive!".

It is going to be difficult to tell where this album is going to land on my Year End list, but right now it seems to climb higher and higher with each listen.

Power Metal Heroes

By all rights, I should not like Sabaton. The singer, with his douchey mowhawk/goatee. The synth keyboards in the background. The militaristic war theme. The band is the definition of Power Metal cheese. With every fabric of my being, I should hate them...but I don't. Listening to old Helloween, and new Gamma Ray records has weakened my resolve...and surprisingly, I find myself headbanging and chanting along to those big Sabaton choruses.

When I was looking to pick up my first piece of Sabaton vinyl, I took the path of least resistance...their 2014 LP, Heroes. I wasn't concerned with chasing down the limited colored vinyl pressing...of which, I use the term "limited" loosely, since there were 5 different color pressings...ah fuck...I might as well be completely honest, and mention that I was terribly tempted to chase the green vinyl version, since it would have looked the best with the cover, but cooler heads prevailed, and I took the cheap and easy way out with black vinyl.

Two bonus songs on the vinyl that didn't make it to the US CD release. Right on.