The first time I caught these crazy warmongering Swedes live was a sight to behold. They were powerful, tight and then I saw Joakim Brodén on vocals and thought he would fit into The Village People with no problem at all. To be fair that's a harsh assessment, I believed they were very good and entertained me for at least 45 minutes with their Power Metal barrage to my senses. Latest album, Coat Of Arms, pretty much follows the same formula and subject matter of previous albums, War, Warfare, Battles and all things Military. If it fights, shoots, flies, dies or marches you can bet on the Human Rights Act it gets a mention here.
Title track "Coat of Arms" is the Pave way bomb destroying all beneath it in readiness for further Heavy Metal onslaughts of quick succession to follow. Things pretty much stomp along like a marching army without rest bite. "Screaming Eagles", with its relentless double bass pounding carries on the theme, not until "Final Solution" does the pace slow down somewhat but alas by then I felt myself all warred out. While I truly admire Sabatons belief for the cause the subject matter can get a little overwhelming. Without a doubt if Heavy Metal was at war with the rest of the world Sabaton would be on the front line in the trenches weapons at the ready. Many bands have covered the subject matter of War & Warfare on various songs throughout their careers and some very successful, however to have another album full of war chants does leave you feeling the need for a subject change. Musically it's all played to an excellent standard with some great riffing, breaks & choruses, if I had to pick a standout track it would be "Metal Ripper" with its unmistakable Scandinavian feel (and is that Ozzy on there?) and what a blistering solo. If you like the sound of the war cry, chants into battle combined with fist pumping Power Metal then you should grab your body amour and sign up for Sabatons Coat Of Arms…if not there's always the Kiss Army!
Coat Of Arms is out now on Nuclear Blast Records.
Track Listing:
01. Coat Of Arms 3:34
02. Midway 2:29
03. Uprising 4:55
04. Screaming Eagles 4:07
05. The Final Solution 4:56
06. Aces In Exile 4:22
07. Saboteurs 3:15
08. Wehrmacht 4:14
09. White Death 4:10
10. Metal Ripper 3:50
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