Sabaton - The War to End All Wars
I’m a relatively new Sabaton listener. I first heard of them back in 2018 with the Fields of Verdun single from The Great War album. As its title might suggest, The Great War was a collection of songs themed around World War I.
This new Sabaton album, The War to End All Wars, is also about World War I. It seems strange that they would choose to use the same topic for two albums in a row, but The Great War was only about 38 minutes, so I guess they felt there was more material to cover1.
If you’ve only seen the digital version of this album, you might not realize a song is missing: the opening track, Sarajevo. It is an odd omission. In fact, if you read through the track-by-track album notes on Apple Music, they even mention that song when talking about the closing song, Versailles.
To get Sarajevo you’ll have to buy a physical copy or look for it on YouTube.
Sarajevo essentially starts the album with spoken words to introduce how World War I begin:
For decades, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been a powerful influence in the heart of Europe.
Resting on a legacy, their house kept stability, order and peace.
But not everyone bowed to this power.
In the summer of 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Empire is visiting Sarajevo, unaware of the assassins awaiting him, and what will come.
Two shots are fired. And the Archduke is dead.
The Empire cannot let this go unpunished, and the first declaration of war is made.
There is more to the narration, but this is the first part. I like this introduction and it also ties in nicely with the spoken word closing narration in Versailles.
I absolutely loved the two singles, Soldier of Heaven and Christmas Truce, so I was looking forward to this album and it really does not disappoint.
Overall, this is your typical Sabaton album, with big chugging guitars, big choruses and the unusual vocals (Joakim’s singing can take some getting used to).
In particular, I also like Stormtroopers, The Unkillable Soldier, Lady of the Dark and Race to the Sea. But really, all these songs are enjoyable.
The closing song, Versailles also has a spoken word component that matches with Sarajevo, nicely bookending the album.
What might be interesting is some sort of “super deluxe” version that combines both The Great War and The War to End All Wars with a new track order to create “The Great War To End All Wars” or something. Might be worth trying that in a playlist to see how it might work.
I have to say that it is a bit surreal and sometimes sad listening to an album about a war in Europe from 100 years ago when a new one has just begin there.