Sabaton
The Last Stand

That the Power Metal genre is not one of those with continuous musical changes, I think is obvious. Therefore, it is also difficult to find originality in this genre, and the lack of originality is perhaps its biggest flaw. You can count on one hand, in fact, the historic Power Metal bands that have been able to continue producing more than adequate quality albums throughout their careers. Helloween? An up-and-down career, between excellent records (the Kiske period, Better Than Raw, The Dark Side), good ones (Chameleon, My God-Given Right), and terrible ones (Rabbit Don't Come Easy, Pink Bubbles Go Ape). Stratovarius? The same story. Difficult, as I was saying. The most dangerous trap is to start endlessly recycling oneself, with the hope that so-called "die-hard fans" continue to praise every band work as a masterpiece. Unfortunately, Sabaton also fell into this vortex. A Power band born in the 2000s, coincidentally when power began its revival thanks also to albums like Hammerfall's "Glory To The Brave", the Swedish group immediately distinguished themselves for their lyrics, which refer to battles fought in trenches, medieval times, clashes in ancient Rome, and so on. Also noteworthy is the voice of the singer, Joakim Broden, characterized by a hard and rocky tone, unlike other singers of the genre, whose crystalline and clean voice was a hallmark, for example, Michael Kiske.

After several noteworthy albums, among which the debut "Primo Victoria" and "Carolus Rex" stand out, Sabaton arrived in 2014 with the new "Heroes", an album that doesn't deviate one iota from the previous one, but that partly shows the first signs of wavering, with songs that seem already heard, and melodies that also seem already heard in other songs. However, ignoring this entirely, Sabaton came out in the early months of 2016 with "The Last Stand", the group's latest effort. Although the group's leader, Joakim Broden, had spoken in interviews of a "slight musical change in the songs", the album sounds like a Sabaton album should sound. And that is where the problems begin.

Powerful and impactful songs like the opener "Sparta" or "The Lost Battalion" are certainly well-executed, but the feeling of having already heard something similar is strong. And it resonates in tracks like "Hill 3234", "Last Dying Breath", and "Winged Hussars". Even "Blood Of Bannockburn", certainly fun and effective and winking at Grave Digger's "Tunes Of War", but tiring after a few listens, is not enough. If you want, the CD can be divided into two parts. The first more energetic and direct, while the second lacks originality, a phrase stated at the beginning of the review and which perfectly reflects the album. I will avoid spending too many words on the cover of Judas Priest's "All Guns Blazing", which doesn't succeed at all because Broden's tone absolutely does not make the listener shout with joy in such a piece.

In summary, then, the album is absolutely not a disaster, but lacks inventiveness in the second part, which turns out to be boring and stagnant, even if the always catchy and direct choruses that have always distinguished the band remain. As already said, however, from bands that play this particular genre, you can't expect too much, but there is too often the feeling that bands of this kind, once in the studio, simply set out to do a routine job. The band's fans will certainly like this album, but for others, I think that after a few listens, they will put the record in a corner. Not a terrible result, but not a great work either.