SABATON ALBUMS SURVIVOR 2014: Results -> The Art Of War wins!

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  • Total voters
    10
While I am one of the few who is not that fond of the title (and opening) track, the rest of the album surely puts it to the test. What a ride.

The grabbing main riff of We Burn! The feeling of determination in Light in the Black (not the greatest chorus, but the rest...)! The tension and eastern/Arabic vibe in Rise of Evil! The midtempo banger In the Name of God, with spellbinding solo! The melodic richness and superb groove of Angels Calling (one of Sabaton's best songs imho)!

Mix this with a no-nonsense metal song a la Back in Control and the Maisenish Nuclear Attack (dark instrumental piece and razorsharp solo finished with Adrian Smithian feel for harmony!) and the catchiness of Metal Crue and you get a great top 3 (perhaps even 2) album.
 
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Rise of Evil and Angels Calling are great, Nuclear Attack ever since I first heard it felt like a lesser version of Panzer Battalion - to me anyway. I love the title track, but the back half of the album starts to merge together when I listen to it in the background, which happens less with the others.
 
Merge together? It is indeed a cohesive album. :)

How this album can be in the background is beyond me (that said: I hardly listen to music in the background, it often takes my full attention). It keeps me on the edge of my seat, every song has its own sides.
 
I used to listen to more music on its own (as in, just lie down and listen) but I need things to keep me occupied these days so I can't do that, music is now a background thing for me - it plays while I play a game, write some code, browse the web etc. The only time I don't have music playing is when watching TV/Films. I also listen on the iPod if I'm in the car or walking anywhere.

It does mean some of those tracks that really need time to grow/need a real concentrated listen take a bit longer (iPod listening helps here), but I usually put a new album on for 3-4 rotations in the background and see if anything catches my attention. Sabaton was one of the first bands to really manage that in a very long time, to get into my head enough that after a few listens (or sometimes less) I was able to hum/sing along while not really paying attention to it. There are several albums that when listening to them in this fashion, I don't realise that the track has actually changed - Attero suffers a little from that on the back half, although on the whole Sabaton do very well in this listening 'style'. I do go back and re-listen to albums a lot, so if there's something there to be heard I'll usually get to it - the later Sabbath and AMOLAD+Final Frontier both took a bit longer than normal to grab me for example, but they got there in the end.

I can usually tell if an album hasn't got anything more to offer fairly quick though, if I look and realise I've lsitened to it 4 times without even picking up a chorus :P
 
It's an odd album. There are some really good stand-out songs, but several that just don't do much for me at all. I find all the other albums remaining more consistent.
 
Well, perhaps I should be blessed with not only noticing but also appreciating the qualities I just mentioned in these individual songs. In my opinion, on later albums not much new happens. Apart from some striking melody (a melody can always have its own individual identity), I have the feeling that it (mostly) was done before, on the first two records that is.

That said, this doesn't mean I don't enjoy later Sabaton: I like the latter half of Carolus quite a lot (because of those melodies) and I like Coat of Arms more than Art of War (probably the most popular album on this forum, but to me, the least intriguing). I think it was a step down from the previous albums.

Coat of Arms is a step up again with more (counter ;-)striking impact. E.g. Saboteurs and Wehrmacht have more melodies that are among my favourites the band did on both this and previous album.
 
There is one little pattern that I hear in Wolfpack repeated across many albums, but in general I don't hear much of the previous ones in the later. I do enjoy Coat of Arms, although the two you listed are actually on the lower end for me :P
 
On Art of War: there is something new: the increasing use of Wagnerian* bombast in the choruses (choirs singing along). I don't like that as much as the way they handled most choruses on the first two records. I rather like it less over the top, a bit less blunt, because its "fullness" can take away some room for individual vocal and music lines.

*bands like Epica do this as well, but for some reason, in Sabaton's form of power metal I don't have to hear it so often. I find this kind of metal already powerful enough of itself because of the rhythms, guitar riffs, solos and lyrics, so when they add this extra layer of bombast -together with dominant keyboards- it can be a bit too much over the top. I have also used the word 'hallelujah' because it feels like the band almost religiously forces upon us another (plastic) layer of intensity. Quite unnecessary and annoying if you ask me. Just my 2 cents.
 
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Top 6
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02.
03.
04.
05. Attero Dominatus
06. Metalizer
 
Wow, I was gone from the board for a day and the last round opened and closed already? That's insane. Attero should not be out yet and these votes are insane.

Coat of Arms is easily the weakest here.
 
One of the 3 albums with 2 votes would've had to get 4 more votes for Attero not to be eliminated, cause Attero would've lost all tiebreakers. I did mention the rounds will last for 1 day :)
 
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