Sabaton - The Last Stand (2016)Release ID: 8994
Sabaton was one of the most energetic power metal bands I've heard back when I was a full-time listener of that metal genre. They stand out with their historically themed lyrics as opposed to the fantasy fiction other bands of the genre are known for. However, when I check out one of their albums today, I've realized they're not as memorable now as they were back then. The Last Stand was my last Sabaton album before I made my switch from power metal to heavier modern genres, and I thought it was a great follow-up to the excellent duo of Carolus Rex and Heroes. Today, not so much. Though I do like the concept of "last stand" battles...
That's right, history class students! I, Mr. Andi, will teach you about all the different ancient battles in Greece, Scotland, Japan, and worldwide (haven't forgotten about the World Wars). Your homework is to study for a history test, but not by reading all those boring textbooks, instead by listening to Sabaton's albums. This test covers "last stand" battles, so make sure you memorize all you need to know from this album, all while enjoying the music... Well, half of the music, anyway.
The epic bombastic "Sparta" has all to expect from a historical metal anthem that includes catchy keyboards and an epic chorus filled with chants of "SPARTA! HELLAS!" You definitely wanna become a horse-riding Spartan warrior and charge into a battle, though some of the later songs aren't that exciting... Exhibit A being the horribly cheesy "Last Dying Breath". There's some more cheese in "Blood of Bannockburn" but it's a much better, tastier cheese that makes this one of the best songs here. Adding bagpipes and hammond organ to heavy/power metal and lyrics encouraging you to "rally all the clans" and "join the Scottish Revolution"?! H*ll yes!
"Diary of an Unknown Soldier" is a short interlude about the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, with Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer narrating in the perspective of a soldier in the war. It sounded like a promising buildup to "The Lost Battalion", but that song ends up sounds too much like it was recorded in the Heroes sessions. "Rorke's Drift" is a better highlight, having a couple alternating tempos and energetic momentum to keep things going. That song and the title track have more well-thought lyrics.
"Hill 3234" is just plain bad. For starters, it ends up sounding too much like a Metallica song. Absolutely unfitting! This band seems to have trouble trying something different and the idea ends up sounding weird or forced. However, the catchy "Shiroyama" makes up for these earlier problems with its mighty chorus, "It's the last stand of the Samurai!" I might actually be up to researching samurai battles much further, thanks to that highlight. "Winged Hussars" is a song I remember because of its cool structure, chorus, riffing, keyboards, and lyrics related to Polish history. But then another thing I remember is... It's just like "Uprising" from Coat of Arms! Still pretty solid though. "The Last Battle" has catchy triumph to close the album, showing that simple rhythms can easily prevail.
All in all, The Last Stand is quite decent. However, the ideas seem forced and recycled at times, despite this cool unique concept of historical last stands. There's just so much similar to the 4 albums before this one while blending it all with new aspects. The highlights work well though and are worth traveling through history....
Favorites: "Sparta", "Blood of Bannockburn", "Rorke's Drift", "Shiroyama", "The Last Battle"
