Band:	Sabaton
Album:	Primo Victoria
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	2005
Guest review by:	DarkRootsOfEarth

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
10. The March To War [2010 Re-Armed Edition bonus]
11. Shotgun [2010 Re-Armed Edition bonus]
12. Into The Fire [live] [2010 Re-Armed Edition bonus]
13. Rise Of Evil [live] [2010 Re-Armed Edition bonus]
14. The Beast [Twisted Sister cover] [2010 Re-Armed Edition bonus]
15. Dead Soldier's Waltz [2010 Re-Armed Edition bonus]

"Okay, let's see what kind of music this band plays" was the first thing I thought when I was going to listen to Sabaton's album Primo Victoria. I had been recommended this album by one of my friends, and thought about giving it a try.

The first 4 seconds of the first track Primo Victoria just made me think of a copy of the Swedish Metal band Hammerfall.
But then it all broke out in choir and a raw metalsound, more Heavy than Power metal sounding. I started to realize that they really had a great sound, great rythm, great lyrics and really catchy chorus lines; maybe the best that have ever been written in over 15 years. Primo Victoria is about D-Day, and the song really is one that you get stuck in your head and you sing along to, EVERYWHERE! The singer Joackim Brodén's voice is perfect for the job - it's a proud, deep and dark voice that really gives the song a higher quality.

The Second song, Reign of Terror (about The Gulf War), starts of with a real bombardment of double bassdrums
At this time you have realized that the songs are about war, and all songs on the album, except one, are about war.

The rest fo the album is full of really great songs, like Panzer Battallion (about Operation Iraqi Freedom) that smash through the lines with its great chorus and really great rythm, or Wolfpack, with its long intro with submarine sounds that later turns into a more epic-like song. (the song is about the submarine war in the atlantic in WWII). There are also fast and catchy songs like the short Into the Fire and Counterstrike, and there are Epic ones like Stalingrad and Purple Heart.

But the last song is the ony one that stands out from the war theme, and may be the best song on the album. Metal Machine is really its name, a metal machine! Take some of the greatest songs in the rock and metal world, mix them with maybe the most catchy song ever, and there is Metal Machine. Just the start of the song really gives you an idea of what is coming, with a great intro, and a verse going "I have a phobia, A fear of the dark, Afraid to shoot strangers, The animal talks."
And the chorus is just great, going:

(I'm a Metal Machine)
It's close to midnight and
He's barking at the moon (I'm a Metal Machine)
the Rainbow in the dark is shining (I'm a Metal Machine)

It's close to midnight and
He's barking at the moon (I'm a Metal Machine)
The kings of metal ride the sky

Sabaton is really a mix of great rhythm, double bassdrums, catchy songs and great lyrics. They also have keyboards; they're in the background but really fit in there. And they are also a great liveband, that have the future before them.

Sabaton made a really great entry into the metal world, and I'm really glad they did. I'm really looking forward to the next album, Attero Dominatus, that will be released soon after this review.