Album Review: Sabaton – The Great War

The debate regarding the next generation of heavy music headliners has been raging for some time now. Now after two decades in the game, Sweden's Sabaton have recently begun flirting with topping major metal festival bills overseas.

Fittingly, this record bristles with songs that will be right at home amid open-air fields during the European summer. Their brand of power-metal (at its most bombastic here on the title track and The End Of The War To End All Wars) has previously been steeped in tales of conflict. If the title didn't give it away, The Great War continues this theme – it's a grandiose concept album based around various facets of World War I. It's such an obvious LP moniker for the band, it's amazing they hadn't utilised it previously. They're the real deal too – the group has even co-launched their own history channel.

This keyboard-laden fare is certainly an acquired taste (and there are moments here that feel interchangeable with each other, or even from past albums), but if you like your metallic riffs with a healthy chaser of melody, these folks have you covered. Cuts like 82nd All the Way, The Red Baron and Fields Of Verdun boast anthemic, beers-aloft choruses that will have the troops rallying in a hurry. There's a palpable energy that proves endearing, while fleet-fingered solos, choirs and symphonic elements add a suitably dramatic flair to the occasion.

There are few genuine surprises here, but the spirit of true heavy metal is in capably battle-hardened hands.