Sabaton Discography Review Part 1 —

In this series, I’ll be reviewing every Sabaton song.

First off, Primo Victoria. Released in 2005 in collaboration with Black Lodge Records, the same label credited with launching the careers of In Flames and Twilight Force.

The titular song, Primo Victoria, is a driving song with one of the best bass lines on the album. Their lyrics are refined, and it’s missing power metal’s quintessential broken English.The solo on the bridge is my personal favorite part, and it’s a great album opener. If this is the first Sabaton song you hear, it’s not hard to imagine that you’d be hooked. Consensus A+

Next comes Reign of Terror, a song that’s less power metal and more thrash. Joakim’s voice shines against the main riff, and fits perfectly with the chugging riff that comes in around 2:13 through the song. I’ve always said that Sabaton would be better suited to thrash like this instead of attempting to make Joakim sing outside of his range. Reign of Terror continuously proves my point, and the aggression is palpable. A-

After that is Panzer Battalion. The melodic intro is quite a bit of a departure from the downtuned riffs present in Reign of Terror, but once the main riff comes in, it gets right back up to that adrenaline. The first and second verse riffs are catchy, and the bridge solo is solid, but it’s an unremarkable song. It’s not bad, per se, but in the later parts of the song I feel like it abandons the chunky, angry riffs of its first half in favor of a more melodic and distinctly Euro style of metal. If not for the subject matter, and Broden’s voice, this could be mistaken for a Children of Bodom song. Conclusion? C+ song with okay vocals and a decent story to tell, but without a lot of the aggression I’d expect a song like this to have. Needs more thrash.

Following that is Wolfpack. Another solid, chunky riff carries both the chorus and the first verse, but it really feels like Joakim is singing outside of his range. His voice is buried by the guitars in the mix, and there are several times where he attempts to force his voice higher when I feel it would be better suited right around his normal tone or even about a half octave lower. Again, the bridge riff is solid and the second half of the song drops the drums for several measures for a orchestral sound, where the song really hits its stride. Joakim is like a fish out of water compared to the height and range of the background singers, but for the first time in this song, that feels like it’s by design. Not my favorite song off the album, but it’s not bad either. C-.

Next up, Counterstrike. The song leads in with a drum fill, and then a simple, albeit effective riff. Joakim comes over it absolutely in his element. While he manages to mispronounce Israel, it’s not necessarily a detriment to the song. The rhythm guitar is solid, but the riff behind the first verse relatively simplistic and upon repeated (>5) listens, it’s a bit of a disappointment given the aggression that the song started with. Around 2:25, it tries to do the Wolfpack orchestral style, but without the instrumental drop, and as a result it feels like the background singers are being overpowered by what is honestly an average riff. After that, (til about 2:56) Joakim’s voice is quieter, and even more buried by the mix. With the lyrical content throughout that point, it feels like something that should be screamed, But I found myself straining to hear his voice in what should be its most powerful. D; a song that could have been saved by either a better mix or a more inspired vocal performance.

Now for Stalingrad. Stalingrad begins with a riff that sounds more Madball than Manowar, and that’s a great look. I’ve gone on the record in the past that Joakim (and by extension Sabaton) should focus wholeheartedly on THIS brand of power metal; Chunky, standard tuning riffs leaning more towards thrash than their more melodic cousins within the genre. Stalingrad’s instrumentals are fantastic, but again it feels like Joakim’s either not giving it 100% or he’s just getting fucked by the mix. Specifically between 1:30 and 2:00 it has the same vocal feel as the buzzkill in the final portion of Counterstrike. Stalingrad possesses my favorite riff on the entirety of Primo Victoria, but Joakim falls behind almost immediately. There’s also a portion in the middle of the song where it sounds like they’re using a fucking stylophone and that’s honestly just funny. Song gets an F for Fucked. The song is about two minutes longer than it needs to be, and considering the vocal performance on tap, sitting through that extra two minutes feels like being that dude that stood in front of the tank in ’89.

Whew, ok. Next up is Into the Fire. Cool title, and the first minute of the song is exactly what Sabaton is suited for. A driving riff, with a nice double kick and the background singers dropping in when Joakim can’t hit a note. The song is a short (by their standards) 3 minutes long, and that feels perfect. The song has plenty of energy, and Joakim rides the bassline perfectly. His one dimensional singing is covered beautifully by both the strong structure of the piece and it’s mix really shines when the CoB style riff comes in at 2:45. It’s a song about napalm, and those are always bangers (See Agent Orange by Sodom). This is Sabaton’s Agent Orange, and the album is better for it. B+.

After that, we’re on to Purple Heart. Purple Heart is a good song, with one of their most unique riffs to date. However, my main issue with the song is that it comes after a 4 song run of pure aggression. Sabaton handicaps the aggro nature of the first half of the album by putting in their quintessential (and not necessarily groundbreaking War Isn’t Good Song ™️) It’s a fucking banger, but it suffers from being right after much more engrossing songs. It feels like it should be an album finisher, like War Out off my Album of the Century Where Fear and Weapons Meet by 1914. Purple heart is a victim of circumstance, which I suppose fits the premise very well. The song is an A, the placement is a solid F minus. Put it at the end of the album, dude.

Metal Machine is a gimmicky song that references a bunch of far more talented and far more engrossing artists, but it’s a fun song. That’s especially fucking insane because it comes off a song about the PURPLE FUCKING HEART. The album structure is unhinged. Who the hell in that studio went “ya know, we should really throw a glorified cover song after our emotional soldier song!” Idiocy. If this came directly after Into The Fire, it would be SO much better. But on a whole album listen, you go from hearing Joakim mourn dead soldiers, into him just ripping lyrics from better musicians. And holy hell, hearing fucking Joakim Broden sing DIO lyrics is not how I envisioned spending this afternoon. It’s hilarious just because of how thoroughly misplaced it is. It also has a SHOUT OUT to ST ANGER. SAINT. GOD. DAMN. ANGER. Like I said, fun, funny song. Horrendous placement. D+.

Next, March To War. March to war sounds like a classical interlude, which signals the transition between the angry songs and the mournful ones, further proving my point that YOU DO NOT PUT FUCKING PURPLE HEART BEFORE METAL MACHINE. If March To War was an album opener or even came after the seventh track split, it would really capture the album well. But with the fact that it is placed three songs out from the end, it really feels like it should either be rearranged or removed.

Shotgun. The song’s intro riff reminds me a lot of Razor’s Shotgun Justice, intermingled with some Municipal Waste style vocals. Again, it’s more Madball than Manowar, which is a great feeling to have. Joakim is at his absolute best on this song, and it’s one of the most underrated songs they’ve ever thought up. No further analysis needed, its the best on the album. A+! *Make more songs like this

Dead Soldier’s Waltz is like if March to War and Purple Heart had a love child. Fantastic, emotional song to end the album. It’s In Flanders Fields, but better. A+.

To conclude my inane ramblings, this is prototypical early Sabaton. Good songs that Joakim and the instrumentals shine on, betrayed by either the mix or the order in which the songs arrive. The album gets a C, but it has its moments.