Once again, it’s that time of year where our country celebrates the day when it became free from tyranny & transformed into it’s own nation. Sure, we’ve kind of fallen back into that state thanks to a certain somebody, but let’s not talk about that! Instead, let’s speak about the good things this day of the year gives to us. Let’s speak about the history, and let’s enjoy the memory of those who helped keep us safe. Not just those from this country, but from abroad as well. So, let’s take a quick trip to Sweden to see what Sabaton has to say about this!
It’s been a little bit since I covered these 5 Swedes from Falun. Last time it was back in 2017 when I dedicated the final month of Power Metal Pandemonium to them. Given that we’re getting a new album from them in 15 short days, It seems right to take a look at them once again. Given that the album I’m reviewing today just so happened to turn 5 years old back in May, it makes it an even more appropriate choice to cover. So get the barbeque started, pile up some fireworks, and enjoy my review of Sabaton’s 2014 classic, Heroes. Let’s begin!
Background
Despite Carolus Rex being a smash hit in 2012, things would unravel within the Swedish titans. Guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, drummer Daniel Mullback and keyboardist Daniel Mÿhr would leave Sabaton, with reasons as to why they left were all over the place (Though Joakim said in one interview that they left cause they didn’t want to practice/put in as much effort. Don’t quote me on that). This left Joakim & Pär Sundström as the sole original members, but there weren’t without anyone that would join them. Touring members Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund on guitar would hook up, along with Robban Bäck on drums. Together, they became Sabaton 2.0. and sat down to work on their next release. After time in the studio, they would release Heroes on the 16th of May, 2014. In a change from their prior release, Heroes would talk about some of the most famous soldiers from World War 2, rather than battles throughout history.
Heroes would go on to be a big hit, and chart in a bunch of places. Of course, it would be no. 1 in Sweden on their Sverigetopplistan (Think our Billboard 200), no. 2 on the Official Finnish Charts, and in the United States it would get to no. 99 on the Billboard 200. Not necessarily the greatest position in our country, but any foothold on out shores is a good thing (Just ask Kreator & their album Hordes Of Chaos).
Basic Description
Warm & Fuzzy. Badass. Inspiring.
That sound like a bizarre way to describe a record, but this is Power Metal after all, so it’s not surprising at the same time. Not only that, but Heroes is perhaps the most personal album Sabaton has crafted. Talking about battles is one thing, but talking about the lives of soldiers & others that fought during World War 2 is another, and luckily for Sabaton they nail it perfectly! Joakim and the gang have always had a deep respect for the history of warfare, and an equal respect for those within warfare, so it greatly shows on Heroes. In a way it’s refreshing to hear about some of the most famous men and women of WW2: whether iconic or obscure, the stories of incredible people can be found on this album.
Best Track
Back when I did my Sabaton overview in 2017 (Which you can read here), I said that it was a 3-way tie between No Bullets Fly, The Ballad Of Bull, and the tragic tale of Witold Pilecki. At that time I only had Heroes for just a couple of months, but upon thinking about it for a while, I found myself listening to Inmate 4859 more than any other song on the record. Far in a way one of the darkest songs the band has ever done (You can see it on this list here), Joakim and the boys go for a slower paced track. From the haunting opening played with a xylophone that almost come across like a sad Christmas song, it leads into the story of the Polish soldier who voluntarily entered Auschwitz in an effort to expose the horrors of the final solution to the allies, only for the efforts to fall of deaf ears, and ultimately get put on trial by those he once tried to save. It’s an incredibly sorrowful song that none the less shows off the life of one of my personal heroes, and I bet it’ll make at least some of you tear up as well.
Inmate 4859
Even with that said, pretty much everything is the best track on Heroes. From the aerial daring of the Night Witches, to the remarkable tale of Lauri Törni, and finally to the bittersweet story of the German forces of the 12th & 9th Armies, there’s nothing that’s bad. Even on later releases & the earbook edition, which include covers of Metallica & Battle Beast (When BB was relatively unknown) and re-recordings of older songs, Sabaton are just one of the exceedingly few bands that can craft an album with something for everybody.
Worst Track
Heroes is absolutely wonderful. From beginning to end, there’s not a single bad track to listen to. The only issue one would have would be that it’s more out of place with the rest of Sabaton’s discography due to focusing more on the people than the battles (Carolus Rex was more varied in this regard, despite telling the story of Sweden’s most powerful king), but only the most exceptionally picky of listeners will complain about this.
(I realized this in hindsight, but Heroes is a little bit on the short side at almost 37 minutes. If you add all of the bonus tracks, it comes out at a much more substantial 57 minutes & 42 seconds.)
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
Heroes
Overall Impression & Rating
Like I said earlier, Heroes is an outstanding album. Though it was released a few years before I truly appreciated the band, it has since become one of my favorites after listening to it a few times. There’s no denying that the superheroes within comic books and manga can inspire people to do good in the world, but the individuals contained on this record can do the same thing, maybe even more so. This is bar far Sabaton’s most optomistic album, and it’s one I recommend to everyone (Including the non metalheads)!
Heroes gets a 10 out of 10. It deserves that rating......trust me!
Well everybody, that was my surprise post for the Fourth of July this year. As the world continues to go down the crapper, we need all the positivity we can get, and Heroes most certainly gives us a shot of positivity in the ass! I’ll let you all enjoy your festivities, but there’s still plenty more of Hair Metal Hysteria to come around the middle of this month. See you then!
***
For more on Witold, please check out the link below:
Witold Pilecki (Wikipedia)
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