This next review has bonus content! Yes, you read that right, lucky readers! In addition to a regular album review, I’m also reviewing my first ever “single” purchased digitally, by the same band as a handy add-on.
I did roll the main album randomly, but not the add-on, which I am including under the rarely used Rule #5.
Disc 1500 is…. Coat of Arms (plus bonus content of the single “Bismark”)
Artist: Sabaton
Year of Release: 2010 (Coat of Arms), 2019 (Bismark)
What’s up with the Cover? Say one thing about Sabaton, they love a dramatic album cover. This one is (fittingly) a coat of arms. Here we have an eagle d'or displayed, wings elevated. That’s the fancy heraldry talk for it anyway.
How I Came To Know It: This is a relatively early album from Sabaton but it is new to me, as I have been digging through their back catalogue from most recent back. I would have bought this one within the last six months or so, likely through Amazon (ugh) because I couldn’t order it through my local record shop or Bandcamp. Sabaton does let you purchase through Bandcamp, but only digitally.
My first encounter with Sabaton was the song “Bismark” which I am reviewing today as well.
How It Stacks Up: I now have eight Sabaton albums and I’m on the lookout for one more to round out my collection. Of the eight I do have, “Coat of Arms” comes in sixth place. “Bismark” does not stack up as it is only a single. It is here for your additional interest and enjoyment.
Ratings: 3 stars
“Coat of Arms” is Sabaton’s fifth major release, but their first to chart (albeit barely) outside of Sabaton’s native Sweden, introducing multiple other European countries to their majesty and might.
Majesty and might is what you’ll get on this record, and a hefty dose of both. Sabaton is all about soaring anthemic metal tunes, with simple but well played riffs and the heavy thump of European power metal at its finest.
This stuff is not for everyone. If you are more of a floor starer, or couch sitter when you listen to your metal, you will be disappointed. But if you like to get excited, pump your fist, and sing along then this is very likely to be in your wheelhouse. These tunes are loaded with power chords played with gusto and front man Joakim Broden’s big and booming voice lifting you up like a soccer chant.
One again we have Sabaton’s preoccupation with stories of warfare on full display. At this stage of their career they are all in on battle tunes. If you like to hear songs about battles, you’ll get plenty here, with 9 of 10 tracks about exactly that. “Coat of Arms” takes the theme one step further, where all nine of those songs are about events from one war (World War Two). I’ll mention just a few of my favourites (songs, not events).
Sabaton often feels most inspired when telling of noble efforts where one side is overwhelmed but stands tall in often tragic circumstances. “Uprising” is about the Polish uprising in 1944 in Warsaw, crushed by the German army after Russian troops refused to advance to their aid. The heavy thud of the song gives it an air of inexorability while also capturing the unquenchable spirit of Poles who fought against such steep odds.
Another favourite is “Aces in Exile” the story about all the airmen from conquered countries (including the aforementioned Poland) flying in the Battle of Britain against the German Luftwaffe. The soaring quality had me thinking favourably of Iron Maiden’s similarly themed “Aces High”. “Aces High” is the better song, and Broden does not have the chops of Bruce Dickinson, but “Aces in Exile” is still a glorious tribute to a group of men who had lost everything, but still found a way to fight on against tyranny.
I was a bit disappointed in “Midway”, partly because it is there are so many intriguing tales of individual heroism and twists of fortune in the battle. It was made for song, but while the guitar riffs are as solid as ever, it falls victim to Sabaton’s Achilles’ heel: literalism.
These guys love military history, but it sometimes feels like an A&E biography, rather than an artistic representation. They like to tell a story from a “just the facts, ma’am” approach. As a result on “Midway” you get hackneyed lyrics like:
“Send them over the waves
Our sentinels
They report in the news
Position of our foes.
“The battlefield’s been chosen tactically in advance
Time to alert our fighters
We’re soon in range.”
Yeesh. I love this band, but that is terrible.
The final song, “Metal Ripper” is surprisingly not about war at all. It is Sabaton’s (distantly) second favourite theme: heavy metal music and how fucking great it is. The song is a glorious riff fest, festooned with references to a rogue’s gallery of seminal metal songs by other bands. You’ve got the bell tolling, highways to hell, blood on your face (you big disgrace) and a bunch more that I don’t have time to mention and/or didn’t catch. It is a love letter to Sabaton’s musical heroes and influences. It is a bit hokey, but I loved every minute of it and the song is an undeniable earworm.
My remastered copy of the record also includes instrumental versions of both “Coat of Arms” and “Metal Ripper.” I’m not sure why anyone would want that as bonus material. I did not.
That said, I had a great time listening the original 10 tracks. Sabaton have their faults, but they are very happy to wear them on their sleeve for all to see. They like big anthems, big riffs and the mixed heroism and tragedy of war. It isn’t something most people want a full record of, but if you happen to like them, you like them a lot.
Bonus Content: ‘Bismarck’ the single
I think "what's up with the cover" is obvious here, so let's move on to the song, shall we?
Given all these World War Two songs, it seemed the right time to throw in this track. My first ever digital album download was Jens Lekman and Annika Norlin’s “Correspondence” and "Bismarck" was my first ever digital download of a single. For whatever reason, it’s been Swedish musicians inspiring me to try new things.
I’ve always had a fascination with naval warfare (see “Midway” above) and as a boy the story of the Bismarck always filled me with awe from the first day I was introduced to it (via “Sink The Bismarck” by country singer Johnny Horton).
For years (and on limited resources) I tried to buy all the models I’d need to recreate the encounter between the Bismarck and the Hood but after many years I only ever had the Bismarck and the Prince of Wales (no Prinz Eugen, and no Hood). I even ended up painting the Bismarck with the hull markings of her sister ship, the Tirpitz, by mistake. D’oh!
Anyway, Sabaton does a good job of capturing the awe and power of the Bismarck. Johnny Horton’s song tells the story better, but I’ll give Sabaton the edge for the riff which is full of bombastic awesomeness.
Best tracks: Coat of Arms, Uprising, The Final Solution, Aces in Exile, Metal Ripper and of course…Bismarck!
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