Sabaton - Primo Victoria
Black Lodge Records - BLOD019CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Whenever I settle down to start writing a review for this website, I always begin by sticking the album in question in my PC's CD player and listening to the record while I type. That way, my feelings about the music are simply there, on tap - plus, occasionally I notice something that I previously missed that may have some bearing on the final score. Well, in the case of Sabaton's Primo Victoria, I've noticed while mentally composing this first paragraph that if I don't finish this review quickly, this 9-track disc of grim-faced Manowar-esque 'battle' metal is going to drive me mad.
Okay, so it's heavier than most power metal, with a production that emphasises the crunch and punch of the bottom end. It also has the saving grace of a singer that doesn't feel the need to try for the higher end of the register with his voice. However, what it doesn't seem to have is a sense of humour. The war/military conflict themed lyrics are delivered with such stoney-faced seriousness by the gruff-voiced singer, and the keyboard accompaniments add such a level of pompous grandiosity, that the end result almost turns into self-parody.
However, I can't end this review without mentioning closing track 'Metal Machine', which veers from the military concept to deliver lyrics packed chock-full with references to famous metal anthems at a rate of knots, all backed with a main riff that seems to be a bastardization of Bon Jovi's 'You Give Love A Bad Name'... Make of that what you will.
4/10
Sabaton Official Website
Black Lodge Records Website
Black Lodge Records - BLOD019CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Whenever I settle down to start writing a review for this website, I always begin by sticking the album in question in my PC's CD player and listening to the record while I type. That way, my feelings about the music are simply there, on tap - plus, occasionally I notice something that I previously missed that may have some bearing on the final score. Well, in the case of Sabaton's Primo Victoria, I've noticed while mentally composing this first paragraph that if I don't finish this review quickly, this 9-track disc of grim-faced Manowar-esque 'battle' metal is going to drive me mad.
Okay, so it's heavier than most power metal, with a production that emphasises the crunch and punch of the bottom end. It also has the saving grace of a singer that doesn't feel the need to try for the higher end of the register with his voice. However, what it doesn't seem to have is a sense of humour. The war/military conflict themed lyrics are delivered with such stoney-faced seriousness by the gruff-voiced singer, and the keyboard accompaniments add such a level of pompous grandiosity, that the end result almost turns into self-parody.
However, I can't end this review without mentioning closing track 'Metal Machine', which veers from the military concept to deliver lyrics packed chock-full with references to famous metal anthems at a rate of knots, all backed with a main riff that seems to be a bastardization of Bon Jovi's 'You Give Love A Bad Name'... Make of that what you will.
4/10
Sabaton Official Website
Black Lodge Records Website
