SABATON Week on Maidenfans!

Favorite albums? (Pick up to 3)

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Mosh

Mosh

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Previous threads (feel free to continue discussion):
Opeth
Black Sabbath
Metallica
Iced Earth
Dream Theater

For this week we will be dedicating discussion to Sabaton.

Talking points:
  • Favorite/least favorite Sabaton songs
  • Have you ever seen Sabaton live?
  • What are your thoughts on Heroes?
  • Which historical event would you like to see the band write about in the future?
  • Favorite Sabaton album cover?
  • Can you hear any of the previous bands in Sabaton?
 
I give this thread half a day before it devolves into pure silliness.

Favorite songs: Ghost Division, Gott Mitt Uns, Night Witches, Wolfpack, Carolus Rex, The Final Solution, GAH-LIP-OH-LEE!
Least favorite songs: anything off of Metalizer, all of the "Metal" songs

- I saw them twice last year with Iced Earth. It was amazing both times.
- I personally love Heroes. I wish the songs were longer, but the shortness really makes it addicting.
- I'd like to see more material on older/ancient wars and battles. I think Carolus Rex is incredible and something in that vein would be awesome. How many songs can one band really write about WWII, anyway?
- Favorite album cover is probably Art of War. I don't know, they're all pretty similar. I like majestic colors and imagery on the Carolus Rex cover, it fits the theme quite well. Anything but Heroes, really.
- I can hear all of the previous bands in Sabaton. But I can't hear Sabaton in any of the previous, or future, bands.
 
Well, let me think here,

My favourites are Price of a Mile, Carolus Rex, No Bullets Fly, The Final Solution, Wolfpack, and, for personal reasons, ATTERO! DOMINATUS!
Least favourite songs: as Knick, plus Ballad of Bullshit.

I've not seen Sabaton live, and it doesn't look like I'll get to go this weekend to see them, either. Alas, earwax. I have Blaze tickets, though, so that's something, right? right...?

I think Sabaton should do more theme albums like Carolus Rex and Heroes, maybe not so much a concept album like Carolus Rex was, but there's a lot of stories out there to be told. WW1, for example, has just as many, but so far they have only penned...is it really only one? Maybe two? If they decide to do more WW2, let's get more done in the Pacific, too. In terms of lives, that was just as big as Europe.

Best album cover is the Heroes cover with the guy getting superman punched. No comparison.

Proposed album by Sabaton: Antiquities
Tracklist:
1. They Make a Desert...
2. Carthago Delendo Est
3. Scourge of God
4. Thalatta!
5. Son of Seti
6. Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum
7. Rosetta Stone
8. Great Warrior King
9. The Perfect Trap (Cannae)
10. ...And They Call It Peace
11: Alexander the Great (Bonus Iron Maiden cover)
 
  • Favorite/least favorite Sabaton songs
  • Have you ever seen Sabaton live?
  • What are your thoughts on Heroes?
  • Which historical event would you like to see the band write about in the future?
  • Favorite Sabaton album cover?
  • Can you hear any of the previous bands in Sabaton?

Favourite songs: Lots of them are unpopular out here. I forgot most of their names (I do remember Stalingrad and Angels Calling), since my interest in Sabaton comes in short peaks and haven't been able to locate their older studio CDs, but I remember these songs got eliminated in the first Sabaton survivor rather easily. IMO these are the original selections of the catalogue with more unusual/unexpected changes/rhythms than the average Sabaton material. From the new album I like No Bullets Fly the most.

Least favourite songs: I don't like Atero Dominatus, since it sounds too much like Wishmaster by Nightwish. I am not a big fan of their Wagnerian choruses, when there are no good melodies (in my ears). Just acting Wagnerian for the sake of acting Wagnerian sucks. Too much Hallelujah and keyboard/orchestral bombasm makes it over the top for me.

Seen live: Yes. A strange gig without audible guitar solos. Still enjoyable. They are a great live band.

Thoughts on Heroes: 3 to 4 really good songs. Rest of the album not that good.

Historical event: a song on one of the Dutch naval warfare events from the 17th century would do.

Favourite cover? Never gave it a thought. Heroes has the nicest colours.

Last question: no. I hear Grave Digger and Nightwish in Sabaton.
 
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Favourites: Far From the Fame, Gott Mit Uns, Poltava, Panzer Battalion, Ghost Division

Least favourite: Ballad of Bull (much Eurovision, wow). I didn’t like those ‘metal ones’ to begin with, but as a change from war stuff, they’re a bit of daft fun. A couple of the albums have a few non standout, generic Sabaton songs in them, not ones I dislike, but I just mentally switch off when they come on. Oh yeah, and Fur Immer - not their own song, but Joakim's voice really doesn't work too well here, imo.

Have you ever seen Sabaton live? Not yet. This December...small venue with a springy wooden floor. Can’t wait!

Heroes: Some very catchy, earwormy songs on there. I didn’t think it would work after Carolus Rex, my preferred Sabaton album, but I think good songs outnumber samey ones, so it's one of their better albums, if a bit short.

Historical event: The humble English archers overcoming the heavily armed French nobility at Agincourt? :p I wouldn't like it if they tried to sound all medieval, though, that has the potential to be awful. Boudicca maybe? Oh God, yeah. They should do an entire album dedicated to female warriors...working title...Amazons. :D

Album cover: Most are pretty imaginative and in a eyecatching unique style. I’m still bothered by that anatomically challenged soldier on the cover of Heroes, though, I'll never get used to that.

Can you hear any of the previous bands in Sabaton?
I hear all kinds of different bands in Sabaton, but I don’t hear Sabaton in any of these other bands. (x3). In all seriousness, I keep hearing Nightwish in Sabaton. Nightwish with machine guns. And heavy artillery.
 
LooseCannon said:
Suggested tracklist:
1. Valkyries
2. Maid of Orleans
3. Queen of the Desert
4. Bonny on the Sea
5. Calamity Jane
6. Hippolyta, Amazon Queen
7. She Called the Great
8. Victorious
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:rocker:
Exactly! This has real potential. We should send it to 'em.
 
Forostar said:
Least favourite songs: I don't like Atero Dominatus, since it sounds too much like Wishmaster by Nightwish. I am not a big fan of their Wagnerian choruses, when there are no good melodies (in my ears). Just acting Wagnerian for the sake of acting Wagnerian sucks. Too much Hallelujah and keyboard/orchestral bombasm makes it over the top for me.
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I guess I haven't listened to enough Wagner to understand your point. Can you elaborate a bit?

SomewhereInTime84 said:
I love Sabaton, I saw them open for Iced Earth this past April and open for Accept in 2011
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I saw them this year with Iced Earth in Chicago and Phoenix. Where'd you see 'em? Sabaton was equally awesome at both shows.


UPDATED ALBUM IDEA: I'd love to hear Sabaton do an album about the Romans and the Egyptians. There's tons of Eastern/Egyptian sounding guitar fills on Primo Victoria, I say they revisit that and do a whole album based on those grand ancient empires.
 
I think he's talking about the simple, yet bombastic nature of their choruses. They don't rely on melody as much as just being huge. Wagner had a similar approach, simple music that sounded huge.

I mentioned this in the classical thread once but I'll mention it here too: I think there's something to be said for this approach. It might sound simple but I think the idea of writing this way is easier said than done. Both Sabaton and Wagner excel at it.
 
Ahhh! I gotcha. That does make sense. Sabaton is certainly simplistic, but that is where their power lies. Some might say their music is like a simple, yet brilliant battle plan.

But also...

MrKnickerbocker said:
I give this thread half a day before it devolves into pure silliness.
Click to expand...

Mosh said:
I mentioned this in the classical thread once but I'll mention it here too: I think there's something to be said for this approach. It might sound simple but I think the idea of writing this way is easier said than done. Both Sabaton and Wagner excel at it.
Click to expand...

Half a day.
Comparing Sabaton to Wagner.
Prediction: correct.
 
Mosh said:
Favorite/least favorite Sabaton songs
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Favourite: Attero Dominatus, Back in Control, Union, Price of a Mile, Screaming Eagles, Carolus, Hearts of Iron. My favourite Sabaton moment however is the bridge in Poltava, that goes See the Caroleans standing tall, conquer lands and slaughter all, enemies fall at their feet begging for their mercy... sung to a happy kindergarten melody that makes it the single most inappropriate thing I ever heard in a metal song, and therefore the quintessential Sabaton moment.

The deal with Sabaton is, I don't take them seriously. It's supposed to be party music, as they keep saying themselves all the time. It's supposed to be music to have a good time to, and it delivers. Therefore, I don't go to it with an analytic attitude. That's just giving them too much credit and taking the fun out of it.

Have you ever seen Sabaton live?
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Yes, four times. First time at Sonisphere '10 in Knebworth Park, then on their own headlining gig in Berlin the same year; in Stockholm in 2013, supporting Maiden, and again this year at FortaRock. They were always great fun, although you get the most out of them on one of their own gigs.

What are your thoughts on Heroes?
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I quite enjoyed it. It had some great songs (To Hell and Back, Resist and Bite, Soldier of 3 Armies, Far From the Fame and mostly, Hearts of Iron). But it also has my least favourite song of theirs (Ballad of Bull) and it's really, very short.

Which historical event would you like to see the band write about in the future?
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I'd like to hear a panorama about the Middle Ages with the following tracklist:

Fields of Catalaunia
Roma Delenda Est
Jihad! (Word of the Prophet)
Berzerker Raid
Hastings
Deus lo Vult
Emperor Redbeard
Secret of the Templars
Wrath of the Khan
Century of Warfare
Bonus Track: The Bloody Verdict of Verden (Christopher Lee cover)

Favorite Sabaton album cover?
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Eh, I never really pay attention to those. On the other hand, the cover to Heroes (the one with the GI turning the Landser into a giraffe) is easily one of the most over the top things I've ever seen.

Can you hear any of the previous bands in Sabaton?
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This quote basically says what I thought from my first listening to Sabaton onward: They are one of the least original bands ever. Everything seems to be based on something else, you can hear their influences everywhere. I still enjoy it though, and that's why I don't mind.

The thing with Sabaton is, I associate a lot of fun with them, and I have a lot of good memories connected with them. So on the one hand, I don't take them very seriously musically, but on the other, I just enjoy them immensely. You don't have to take everything in life seriously, and they are one of these things.
 
Perun said:
My favourite Sabaton moment however is the bridge in Poltava, that goes See the Caroleans standing tall, conquer lands and slaughter all, enemies fall at their feet begging for their mercy... sung to a happy kindergarten melody that makes it the single most inappropriate thing I ever heard in a metal song, and therefore the quintessential Sabaton moment.
Click to expand...
That's Killing Ground, not Poltava :P
 
I don't really have any least favorites from what I've heard so far. I love all of their music so much! Some of my most favorites include: Ghost Division, The Art Of War, Panzerkampf, The Final Solution, White Death, Inmate 4859, and Resist And Bite. Those are my 3 favorite albums by them for sure.

I've never seen them live.

I love Heroes tons! Even though they have 2 completely different guitar players, I can't tell the difference in their sound at all.

I'd love to see an album dedicated to Vietnam.

Too hard to choose a favorite album cover.

As far as hearing other bands in their music, they don't have the most original sound, but it's very powerful and they have a lot of great hooks and melodies which I love so much.
 
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