Sabaton- The Last Stand

The first notes of the album start playing and one can feel the rage of war. It's pretty much like plunging into battle from the safety of home. The strength and determination of the Spartans fill my ears...

The Last Stand is the eighth studio album by Sabaton. As always, a Sabaton album is more or less like opening a history book and reading a summary  of some kind of war probably lost in time. But, if with Carolus Rex we had a taste of the military history of Sweden (under the rule of Charles XII), or with The Art of War we dived into Sun Tzu's work, what we have this time is a collection of almost impossible battles, some of them successful, some that ended in defeat. No matter what the result was, the epicness is ensured.
The songs keep coming to me and yeah, I can hear thick, heavy, military riffs and rhythms, like tanks and panzers, and hymnic choruses, but it's no different compared to their other albums (we can even say that their previous album, Heroes, had a wider range of elements). We all agree that Sabaton bring war in each of their musical lines, but the line between a characteristic sound and sounding just the same time after time is pretty thin and these guys cross the threshold at several points.
The structure of all the songs is more or less the same: a couple of verses, then eight-line choruses divided into two groups of four (making the fourth line of the second group instrumental is used at more than one song), then a solo, then the end; we are lucky if we hear a modulation, even if it's the typical one, one tone higher, in the final chorus (as happens in The Last Stand). We can find similar vocal lines, some classical style melodies here and there (for example, the solo in Hill 3234), a very simple harmony. Yes, as I said, pretty much the same; yet there are some remarkable elements.
The pipes and a brighter atmosphere in Blood of Bannockburn will no doubt bring us to the 14th century Scotland. The detail level in Diary of an Unknown Soldier and The Lost Batallion will make us feel like we are fighting in the Argonne. Musically speaking, Winged Hussars has some of the most differential elements in all the album, like a darker atmosphere (due to the use of the minor scale) or the effect caused by mixing the lyrics in the chorus and the final verses of the song.
Nevertheless, the real surprise, the real hit of this album is, in my opinion, the last one, The Last Battle. It appears as a perfect ending for this war. Its atmosphere takes me back to the 80s, with Europe, Doro Pesch, Yesterday & Today, but without losing that thick, then again military sound typical of Sabaton. It's pretty much like a fresh, motivating hymn.
Last, but not least, the four bonus tracks (all of them covers). I see them as good jobs, not far from their originals, yet showing all the main features of the Sabaton style.
To sum up, even if they sound the same after eight albums, my heart welcomes their melodies and catchy choruses with joy, even if logic says quite the contrary. They are still capable of telling interesting tales of war and motivating the audience with their marching military rhythms. So let's give this album a pass!!
Now, for you to enjoy, I'll leave here my favourite song of the album, The Last Battle:

Sabaton- Heroes

Undoubtedly, this new album is a power metal hit by Sabaton. In each song, we can hear the characteristic rhythm patterns of this genre, as well as the typical keyboard and synth sound that makes you think straight of the band. Heavy guitars that sound like the inexorability of a tank, hymnic choruses, and military rythms are, as in every other album, present in Heroes. But there are, too, some details that remind us of other (maybe more melodic) genres.

This is not exactly what we call a conceptual album, where, track by track, a story is told or a single concept developed. However, every song relates to each other, as they describe the most remarkable actions of the different so-called war heroes that fought in the WWII. So, the title of the album perfectly meets the content we can expect to find in it.

Musically, it is worth mentioning the fact that, in songs like Inmate 4859 or The Ballad Of Bull, we can find very classical melodies (maybe reminding us of the baroque or classical style).

On the other hand, although the album in its vast majority is based upon the typical chord sequences (different combinations of the chords of the I, IV and V grades of the natural scale), and this makes the harmony tremendously simple, there are still surprising changes of scale and less typical cadences. In spite of the simplicity, the music gets your attention from the very beginning.

Another positive point would be the use of other instruments, such as the glockenspiel, to compose more delicate melodies, as well as the creation of different atmospheres. For example, in Inmate 4859, the sound turns darker, and heavier, just to convey the sad and hard meaning of the lyrics. We can also name the single, To Hell And Back, whose Indian-like melodies evoke the American lands.

The lyrics are not of less importance. Well written and with extreme accuracy, they tell facts of different countries, from different points of view. It is as though your history book was sung by your favourite band. Sometimes striking (as in Inmate 4859), sometimes catchy (as in To Hell And Back), and sometimes with phrases in other languages (among which Latin is a must-be, but also we find Italian and German), but always a good piece of musical poetry.

At last, we should talk about the three covers included: one of Metallica (For Whom The Bell Tolls), another one of Raubtier (En Hjältes Väg) and the last one of Beast Battle (Out Of Control). The three of them make good versions, although En Hjältes Väg is the best one, due to the similarities between the voices of the two vocalists or the sound of the bands. In Out Of Control, we con perfectly notice that the original voice is too different from Joakim's but it still works good, and Sabaton's versión sounds heavier and with a somehow "thicker" sound. For Whom The Bell Tolls is a good job too, but there is nothing remarkable about it.

Definitely, listening to this album has been a deeply emotional experience, and some songs have reached the very bottom of my heart, even making me cry. However, there is a bad side to it: it wasn't until the second time I listened to it that I started to feel all this things. Moreover, although I think it is a very good job, I still consider Carolus Rex the best album by Sabaton, maybe due to the fact that there is a version recorded in Swedish, which sounds more natural to me. Just to finish, I leave you the video for To Hell And Back, for you to listen.