Even since 2012 Sabaton’s varied albums can be described as concept albums in the broadest sense; Art of War, Carolus Rex, Heroes, and The Last Stand have all followed this formula. The Great War, which was released in July, fits this formula and if it’s not obvious World War I is the focal point. Sabaton has touched upon a few bits and pieces of World War I (Price of a Mile, The Lost Battalion, Last Dying Breath) but nothing to this degree.

I picked up the album at Nuclear Blast’s booth at San Diego Comic Con along with a bunch of others. I’m ashamed to say that even though I’ve been going to Comic Con for almost fifteen years that I have not spent a lot of time at their booth even though many of the artists and bands under Nuclear Blast are my kind of thing (if you haven’t noticed). The album is in three forms: the normal version, instrumental soundtrack version, and the history version. The history version opens each track with a short monologue giving the background for the song.

The Great War leads with “The Future of Warfare” which features one of the most fearsome innovations of the day: the tank. Joachim’s booming voice is backed by an overlapping chorus which, by now, is trademark Sabaton.

There are a total of four singles on the album. “82nd All the Way” is the first single song in track order but the last in single release timeline. It tells the tale of American Sergeant Alvin York, Company G, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division, and his Medal of Honor action on 10/8/1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

Track four is titled “The Attack of the Dead Men” and is of the event colloquially referred to by the same name. The Russian fortress of Osowiec held against German attack and even when the German trump card, poison gas, was used the fortress still held if only by luck. The following German assault was routed and ran from what, to them, were zombies. This is one of the strongest tracks on the album and it has already cemented its place in Sabaton’s live set rotation. Expect to here it live if you go to any of the stops on their upcoming The Great Tour. The fast-paced guitars pair with a catchy chorus that sticks in your mind and a killer guitar solo in the back third of the song helps seal the deal. Videos like [this] definitely help sell the song.

The second single is “The Red Baron.” The third is “The Great War” and it is probably the most epic sounding of the whole album with its chorus and orchestral arrangement in the back. The music video for the song featured almost two-dozen singers in the chorus all in military uniforms. The final single in track order but first in release order is “Fields of Verdun.” Honestly at its first release I did not like it that much (didn’t help that Bismarck proceeded it and that was a hard one to match up to) but it’s grown on me.

The final two tracks, The End of the War to End All Wars and In Flanders Fields are a fitting way to end the album. They build to the album’s crescendo before giving way to the chorus-only John McCrae poem.

One word can be used to describe this album: fast. Now, it’s pwoer metal, and fast is something that you hear a lot, but Sabaton albums usually have a mix of slow and fast songs. One problem with The Great War being fast, faster, and fastest, is that some of the songs get lost amongst the rest. I’m not saying that it has to have some droning songs like Iced Earth’s American Civil War epic The Glorious Burder but some variety would be nice. Clear standouts on this album are The Great War and Attack of the Dead Men. If I had to give it a number it’d be a solid 4/5. Previous album The Last Stand had more memorable songs and many were added to the live set rotation which is always a good sign. Time will tell how many are added from The Great War.

Now the soundtrack version of the album is a completely different beast. Mainly instrumental, and orchestral instead of metal, it’s a great accompaniment to the main versions. Nightwish’s Floor Jansen provides her vocals to a few of the tracks this version. This version is 5/5, easily. It helps a lot if you listen to the original version of the album first so you can gain a greater appreciation for the soundtrack version.

tl;dr: Worth a listen. Some of the songs are worth adding to your rotation. The soundtrack version is DEFINITELY worth a listen.

Make sure to check them out on The Great Tour when they come by your town.

Tracklist:

1. The Future of Warfare
2. Seven Pillars of Wisdom
3. 82nd All the Way
4. The Attack of the Dead Men
5. Devil Dogs
6. The Red Baron
7. Great War
8. A Ghost in the Trenches
9. Fields of Verdun
10. The End of the War to End All Wars
11. In Flanders Fields

US dates below:

10/4 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
10/5 Tampa, FL – Janus Landing
10/6 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
10/8 Dallas, TX – House of Blues
10/10 Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren
10/11 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
10/12 San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
10/14 Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
10/15 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
10/16 Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theater
10/18 Edmonton, AB – Union Hall
10/19 Calgary, AB – The Palace Theater
10/21 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10/23 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
10/25 Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theater
10/26 Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
10/27 Cleveland, OH – The Agora Ballroom
10/29 Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
10/30 Montreal, QC – M Telus
11/1 Worcester, MA – Palladium
11/2 New York, NY – PlayStation Theater
11/3 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore