Sabaton’s tenth studio album finds them again revisiting World War I, which was referred to as “the war to end all wars”, and the version I am listening to is the “History Edition” which has narrative at the beginning of each song. There are few metal bands who release material which makes the listener want to undertake further research on a subject, but Sabaton have made it a trademark. I found myself turning to Wikipedia to discover more about the person behind “Lady of the Dark”, and I am somewhat surprised we have not seen a film of the story of Milunka Savić, who took her brother’s place when he was called up when he was ill with TB. She was awarded the French Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) twice, as well as the Russian Cross of St. George, the British medal of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael, and the Serbian Miloš Obilić medal. She was the sole female recipient of the French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with the gold palm attribute for service in World War I, and is the most decorated female combatant in the recorded history of warfare, yet after the war she lived simply and it was only much later in her life when she attended jubilee celebrations wearing her medals that she was remembered and recognised once more.

Sabaton are one of the most powerful and important power metal bands around, and since they hit on the combination of telling true stories of war with their crunching riffs, they have discovered a formula which really works for them. In some ways it must be said their songs are somewhat interchangeable in that they are quite formulaic, but that is not something which has ever damaged the popularity of acts such as Judas Priest, and their lyrics always make them stand apart from the rest. On this album we even get the famous story of when the opposing troops laid down their arms and celebrated Christmas together, with Joakim Brodén’s vocals containing a gravitas, growl and breadth which are totally attuned to the storytelling style. Yet another powering album which is worthy of investigation, especially this version.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://www.sabaton.net/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/