Having released five full length albums over a twelve year career, Sabaton now release their first live album World War Live – Battle of The Baltic Sea. The magnificent intro to their set is ‘The March to War’ with the crowd cheering the band on and loads of clapping (there’s always one muppet out of time) leading into ‘Ghost Division’ (my favourite Sabaton track to date). The vocals are perfect, the drumming and keyboard sound so tight you’d think it was recorded in the studio. The chorus gets the crowd chanting the lyrics, and the steady beat gives the feel of battle. To a chant of “SABATON”, ‘Aces in Exile’ begins, which shows off a galloping beat and some catchy guitar riffs throughout. The beautiful melodic guitar solo on this is worth a mention too as are the group vocals; you could close your eyes and see men dressed in armour with swords held high! A bit of Swedish mumbo jumbo from vocalist Joakim Broden, I guess is introducing the next song ‘Cliffs of Gallipoli’ with a speech about the great disaster of World War One, as it was written as a tribute to Soldiers who fought and died during it.
Skipping a track to the quite comically named ‘Swedish Pagans’ with an intro which sounds like it’s trying to get an Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark type of chant going, anyhow, the crowd seem to be enjoying it. ‘Wolfpack’ is another smashing tune with a bouncy riff to get even the most ‘I’m not rocking out to this as I’m too cool’ type fan banging his head. The solo is one of the best on this cd, full of fast finger tomfoolery leading into another set of group vocals, yet I can’t help singing along thinking they of the Woolpack pub in Emmerdale. Not very metal I know.
Moving on to another firm favourite ‘The Art of War’ as Joakim gets the crowd throwing their fists in the air and feet stamping for a military fuelled track. One that any Sabaton fan whether obsessed with the band or knows a few tracks will know the words to ‘Primo Victoria’ the lyrics, “Through the gates of hell, As we make our way to heaven, Through the Nazi lines.....Primo Victoria!!’ and if you don’t know the lyrics, shame on you, go learn at least the chorus for this one if you ever see Sabaton, to join in on a huge sing-along with the crowd.
They end the gig with a medley; ‘Metal Machine’ a track dedicated to metal heroes including Ozzy, Judas Priest, and even a Motley Crue mention of “Shout at the Devil”. Fantastic! This is a good live album and shows us the band are here to stay for a long time, with more and more new fans, new releases and tours.Superb!
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Charlene Rance
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