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September 3, 2010 |
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01. Primo Victoria
02. Reign Of Terror
03. Panzer Battalion
04. Wolfpack
05. Counterstrike
06. Stalingrad
07. Into The Fire
08. Purple Heart
09. Metal Machine
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Damn! Now THIS is a welcomed surprise! I'll admit, I honestly wasndt expecting a helluva lot based on the fairly generic and uninspired cover art, but man...when an album opens with a line as stridently heroic and irony-free as: 'Through the gates of Hell/As we make our way to heaven/Through the Nazi lines/PRIMO VICTORIA!!!', I felt as though some Germanic Metal goon-squad had just burst through my front door, thrown me to the floor and delivered an adrenaline-shot of liquid steel straight to my heart!
Hailing from Europe's capital of full-insertion-shot porn, functional yet aesthetically pleasing furniture design, and criminally catchy bubblegum Pop (if you guessed Sweden you can email me for your prize toaster! NOT!), SABATON (Oskar Montelius/guitar, Daniel Mullback/drums, Pär Sundström/bass, Rickard Sundén/guitar, and Joakim Brodén/vox) are a fairly youngish band who have been shredding it out since at least 1999 if not earlier, playing pure denim 'n leather, old-school Heavy Metal the way it was intended: with power, virtuosity, and more testosterone than the cast of a Jeff Stryker film!!!
Recorded in the legendary Abyss Studios with producer Tommy Tägtgren, 'Primo Victoria' is truly the debut album from this Swedish powerhouse. Interestingly enough - if I understand correctly - the band recorded a release prior to this one titled 'Fist For Fight' which is in the hands of an apparently quite incompetent Italian label who have failed to deliver on their promise to release/promote the album. Too bad. But whatever. With 'Primo Victoria' now upon us c/o Black Lodge Records, the Metal world may finally experience the true spiked-gauntlet-'n-bullet-belted power of SABATON!
'Primo Victoria' is essentially a concept album dealing with the great battles and iconic imagery of World War II. This is obviously perfect lyrical grist for a Metal band, yet with the exception of isolated tracks by the likes of MAIDEN, I honestly can't think of any other band who has ever devoted an entire album to the subject. Regardless, SABATON more than do the subject matter justice, treating the listener to roughly an hour of memorable and enjoyable material sure to get fists pumping and heads banging while simultaneously paying homage to the fallen heroes of the greatest conflict of the last century.
Stylistically, the band lean towards the heavier end of the Germanic tradition of the Power Metal spectrum (i.e. old HELLOWEEN, WARLOCK, ACCEPT, STORMWARRIOR, et al), the songs chock full of melodic hook weighted down by a very HEAVY rhythm/percussion section. The leadwork is just scorching, and the choruses are big, big, BIG! The real engine driving this 'Metal Machine' forth with such relentless, panzer-like intent however is easily the brilliant vocal performance of Joakim Bordén. Easily one of the better singers I've had the pleasure of experiencing in recent years, Bordén is in possession of a unique, and very powerful mid-range tone - not unlike a deeper, more steroidal take on the patented Udo Dirkschneider snarl - just belting out track after track in such heroic, epic form that you can't help but want to raise your sword to the wind!
Fave tracks would have to include the opener/title track, the thundering 'Panzer Battalion', the epic 'Wolfpack' with its stirring male choral section, the rumbling, ominous 'Stalingrad', and closing track (and conceptual black sheep) 'Metal Machine' which breaks from the album's thematic core to pay homage to the band's Metal heroes in fine, stirring form. My only complaint (aside from the rather underwhelming cover art) is a minor one, that being that the band do need to perhaps spend an evening or two longer honing the craft of writing tighter song constructs to give the material that extra 'crunch'. Beyond that though...what more can one say but simply 'wow'.
Overall, just a great, great debut from an act with miles of heart and the musical muscle to back it up. SABATON are obviously one of those bands you can tell are predestined to one day rule the big festival stages alongside the likes of ICED EARTH, EDGUY, and HAMMERFALL amongst others as the reigning elite of the European Power Metal royalty. I can't wait to see and hear what they do next!
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