By Anand Venkitachalam Score: 7.8/10 The Swedish metal bards of war are back and just as expected they have come out with another chest thumping, fist pumping collection of songs which will sure make you headbang and raise the horns. Sabaton bring us yet another history lesson illuminative ultimately of the peak stupidity of humankind when they kill each other caring nothing about the concepts of mercy, morality or humanity. The War To End All Wars is the 10th studio album of the Falun power metal veterans and is a sequel to their previous album The Great War. Judging from its very name which is an obvious allusion to the First World War, the album deals with various topics pertaining to the history of World War 1 like its predecessor such as the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the German stormtroopers, the Christmas Truce, Lieutenant General Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart, the 369th Infantry Regiment of the New York Army National Guard of the United States of America etc.
Sonically it is exactly what you’d expect from them, which is a highly stylized approach of melodic fist pumping riffs, epic atmosphere and attitude full of great hooks, tension building arrangements, anthemic choruses etc . One exception might be the fact that certain songs such as ‘Hellfighters’ have a riffing style more reminiscent of early Iced Earth rather than the standard Sabaton which is more like a mix of early days Helloween mixed with a more Manowar epic heavy metal style. To those who are looking for something different or new in Sabaton, then don’t for then you are only bringing home disappointment, but for those looking for a narration of war history with some formulaic but cool fist pumping metal to fill the background you are at the right place. The War To End All Wars is certainly not a groundbreaking deal for the band, it is not even something that really stands out in their catalogue but that does not mean that it is bad. No, on the contrary it is actually a really pleasant time, just kick off with a blast of an opener with Sarajevo proceeded by Stormtroopers.
But not everything here is a banger for there are some really boring almost unnoticeable filler tracks like Dreadnought and Versailles. The album in the end culminates to equal parts awesome, good and just dull filler with the same sound style Sabaton is known for. Nonetheless, Sabaton stands as an example that not every band has to go progressive or experimental to sound great, sometimes just sticking to the one format you are comfortable with can help deliver some quality material even if it is in the end a bit predictable. Overall, this is a solid outcome which is greatly enjoyable even if it does get a little monotonous or formulaic at times, a harsher critic can even say that you hear one song here you’ve basically heard almost all of it, though that is also the band’s strength here, for this formula is something that works well for them. Highlights: Sarajevo, Stormtroopers, Unkillable Soldier, Hellfighters, Valley of Death, Christmas Truce.