Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Sabaton - The Art of War (2008)
Well, time for me to make another attempt in exploring the war history-themed power metal of Sabaton. The Art of War is Sabaton's 4th album, and the last of an interrupted 4-year streak of albums, although their 3rd album Metalizer was recorded 5 years before its release. It is their 2008 album that has sealed the band's sound main lyrical theme. Aside the usual war lyrics, the music can pack some punches with its riffing, keys, and the unusual-for-power-metal baritone vocals of Joakim Broden.
The album is, as you can guess, based on the Chinese military book written by Sun Tzu. The spoken quotations are taken from an audiobook version read by a female narrator. To be honest though, hearing this album now makes me think the narrator is one of those cheap AI voices, long before that became a thing. That and my withering appeal for power metal makes my rating for this album a little lower than it would've been 10 years ago... But hey, the mid-paced marches and rapid speeders are still interesting, like a nice bridge between Black Sabbath and DragonForce. The fresh vocal melodies are also welcome!
Let's skip the useless "Sun Tzu Says" intro and head to the main attraction... "Ghost Division" is a h*ll of a kick-A opening track, getting the motor running with heavy riffing and dramatic keys. They've used this track as their opening song for almost every concert, unlike most other bands that start with the first track of their newest album, and they made the right choice there. The title track is a slower pounder with catchy keyboards. But then we have the pompous "40:1". It's one of my outside world friend's favorite Sabaton songs, but it's not really for me. Still it's good with its fast speed. The more progressive "Unbreakable" is one of the best songs I've heard by Sabaton, and I still think that today. It's the band's own Black Sabbath "Heaven and Hell"!
"The Nature of Warfare" is another f***ing useless spoken interlude, and the strange keyboards don't help. It segues to another mid-tempo track "Cliffs of Gallipoli" which is quite fun with its bouncy piano and simple chorus. "Talvisota" really speeds up a bit. "Panzerkampf" sounds too much in the chorus though I don't mind the folk-ish approach.
We then end up in the only full song I consider weak as f***, "Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)". It sounds like a heavily butchered cover of DragonForce's "Cry Thunder", 4 years before that far better DragonForce track. "The Price of a Mile" is one more strong mighty mid-tempo march, detailing war's horrors without glorifying it. Anthemic chorus and emotional soloing there! "Firestorm" unleashes the last bit of vicious speed. "A Secret" is a pointless outro, and the "illegal download detected" ending really threw me off.
Honestly, I would've thought The Art of War was the power metal hit album I thought it was 10 years ago, if not for those d*mn quotations, that "Union" sh*tter, and a couple tracks needing slight improvement. Still, most of the full songs here are some of Sabaton's greatest hits, and that should give you your money's worth....
Favorites: "Ghost Division", "Unbreakable", "Cliffs of Gallipoli", "Talvisota", "The Price of a Mile", "Firestorm"