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SABATON
The War To End All Wars
Nuclear Blast Records - 2022
http://www.sabaton.net

When SABATON released The Great War back in 2019, I found that while there was plenty of good songs on that album, it didn't inspire quite the same level of devotion from me as the albums Heroes and The Last Stand did. In fact, I really didn't listen to The Great War all that much since I wrote my original review and had been thinking about getting rid of the album from my collection.

Then came the announcement that SABATON was set to release a direct sequel to The Great War entitled The War To End All Wars. I wasn't sure how I felt about this news because I had mixed feeling about the previous album. But then I heard the single "Soldier Of Heaven", which is the most commercially accessible sounding song on the disc, and I found myself pumped up for the new album. And after listening to the album a few times, it inspired me to go back and re-evaluate my opinion about The Great War CD as well. (Spoiler alert, my opinion is definitely changed and that disc isn't going anywhere.)

As with the previous album, The War To End All Wars covers World War I from the beginning to the end. And this is where I think the band outdid themselves. You see, I knew about the band's "History Edition" versions of the albums but I hadn't ever heard those before. I ordered the regular version but I think the online company I bought it through screwed up because it seems I got the "History Edition" version

. What's the difference, you ask? The narrator that provides contextual intros for the songs. Bethan Dixon Bate is credited on the album's Wikipedia page for the songs "Sarajevo" and "Versailles", plus the "History Edition". But what she does for this release is give it such a dramatic presentation that you can't help but think she adds a cinematic quality to every track on the album. As good as the material itself is, she helps SABATON raise the stakes on this album. (She also did the narration for the History Edition of The Great War, that version I have not heard).

As I said before, The War To End All Wars is structured so the album starts at the beginning of the war and ends with the cessation of hostilities. "Sarajevo", which details the events that started the war, opens the album and "Versailles" (which details the peace treaty that ended the war...with a warning for the future) is the closing track. The tracks perfectly bookend the disc because each song is structured similarly, with only minor changes in lyrics to reflect the start and finish of the first World War.

Making the songs even more notable is that the members of SABATONM actually play more of a supporting role on the two songs. It is narrator Bethan Dixon Bate who plays the lead role, her narration setup being accompanied by the band appearing only musically and when the song's chorus interrupts the narrative portion of each track. Each track is an example of how to give immediacy to your tale.

One of the things that make the SABATON albums interesting to me is how the band tells their stories from all viewpoints. That holds true on The War To End All Wars with the explosively paced "Stormtroopers" covering the soldiers of Germany. Meanwhile, the invigoratingly intense music that highlights the actions of Bulgarian troops in "The Valley Of Death" (1917's Battle of Doiran) makes for yet another fantastic song. I find it just a little difficult to say that considering the songs are about the successes of "the bad guys" but you can't deny the power of what SABATON is doing on the album.

The band covers both known and unknown parts of the war. When they turn their sights towards the US's 369th Infantry Regiment (aka the Harlem Hellfighters) on the song "Hellfighters", you get not only an explosively compelling and relentless musical assault but learn about the army unit that had to prove themselves over and over again no matter how many times they were successful.

I mentioned "Soldier Of Heaven" before but I failed to include the fact that the first time I heard the song (which covers the events of the "White Friday" avalanches that killed so many soldiers who never left their Alpine final resting place) was through the band's epic video for the song. I have played the song so much since first hearing it and I never get tired of it. It's just a great track.

"Dreadnought" talks about the new kind of warship that played a part in the biggest naval battle of the war, The Battle of Jutland. The song is taut and tense throughout. At first it didn't hit home with me but it does grow on you with it's more deliberate pacing and delivery. "Race To The Sea" has a heavily anthemic tone that goes into the actions of the Belgian King Albert The First, who fought alongside the troops and helped free his country from Germany's occupation.

I loved the music for "The Unkillable Soldier" though the vocal delivery was more than a little challenging for me. I found it to be a little muddled so that some of the lyrics seemed to get buried in the mix. But learning about Adrian Carton de Wiart and why he would be called "The Unkillable Soldier" made this song a little more fascinating for me.

The Christmas Truce of 1914 is spotlighted in the song "Christmas Truce" when enemy combatants laid down arms around Christmas and joined together to celebrate the holiday before hostilities would resume. The song is both a musical and visual showcase. The dramatic vocal take from singer Joakim Broden enhances a great soundtrack and the chorus is uplifting. Combine that with the band's rather stunning video for the song and you have just a fantastic represenation of SABATON at peak creativity.

On the SABATON album Heroes, the song "Night Witches" spotlighted the all female Russian fighter pilots. On The War To End All Wars, the band once again spotlights the contributions of women to the war with an absolutely electric track called "Lady Of The Dark". The song is a stomping rocker that pays tribute to the Serbian woman Milunka Savic, who is considered the most decorated woman in the history of warfare. When I first hear the song, my notes for the review said to "check this out" so I could learn more about this woman who was just a total badass despite not necessarily wanting to be. You should read up on her after you get your mind blown by the song.

I've got friends who are definitely not into any semblance of the glorification of war so they wouldn't get why I love this metallic music trip through the history of what happened during World War I. I'm no war monger but I do love when you can bring history alive in story without having it be a drab retelling. And that is where SABATON shines particularly bright. Because not only do they make the people, places and events of history's warfare come alive, they do it by providing me (and the metal community at large) with a compelling musical score that both entertains and informs at the same time.

Brought to life by SABATON and put over the top by the outstanding narration work from Bethan Dixon Bate, The War To End All Wars is that rarest of things. It is a sequel that lives up to and quite possibly even surpasses the original work. This is a stunning achievement for the band who once again have delivered a nearly flawless masterwork!

4.8 Out Of 5.0