SABATON — Primo Victoria (review)

Album · 2005 · Power Metal

4.5/5 · 2018-03-31
DippoMagoo

When I first started really exploring the genre of power metal back in 2010, one of the very first bands I got into was Swedish band Sabaton, known for making epic, heroic war anthems. Shockingly, though, I recently realized I haven't reviewed any of their albums previously, aside from their most recent release, The Last Stand, which I enjoyed but found to be a bit lacking compared to most of their superior albums. After recently going through all their albums yet again, I've decided to correct this mistake by giving the band the justice they deserve and writing full detailed reviews for all their main albums, starting of course with their 2005 full length debut, Primo Victoria. The band actually released a demo compilation titled Fist for Fight in 2001, which was later packaged with their canceled first attempt at a debut album in 2007, in a two disc set titled Metalizer. I will not be reviewing that set, though, as I find their very early recordings to be much less polished and, frankly, less enjoyable compared to anything they've done since. Which means, for all intents and purposes, I consider Primo Victoria to be the true beginning of Sabaton, and what an epic beginning it is!

Sabaton has always had a very recognizable sound, using very cheesy and epic keyboards to drive some huge melodies, while guitars are prominent sometimes, but they rarely dominate their sound, as the music is often very melodic, very epic and extremely catchy and vocal driven. Their music has gotten progressively lighter and more keyboard driven over the years, with The Last Stand in particular becoming very soft at times, which means that by comparison, Primo Victoria is actually pretty heavy in spots, as it and its immediate successor, Attero Dominatus, have some of their darkest and heaviest tracks ever. With that being said, this album is still very melodic and super catchy, being the beginnings of Sabaton's current sound, after all, and so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone only interested in pure guitar driven power metal.

Another way in which their first few albums stand out a bit compared to their newer albums, is that they fall more towards a classic Euro power metal sound at times, with the tempos often being faster and more intense than on their more recent releases, and this is definitely true of this album, with many of their fastest tracks to date coming here, and all tracks that fall into that category on this release are absolutely perfect. However, Sabaton is actually a rare power metal band where I'd say their slower tracks are at least as good as their speedier tracks, if not even better in many cases, and again, this album certainly holds true to that, with tracks like “Wolfpack” and the title track being among my all time favorites by the band. As always, the lyrics are centered around various war themes, and in fact, while their demos had dealt with many different themes, it was during the making of this album that they decided to experiment with lyrics based on historic battles and they found this idea fit their music well, so they ended p sticking with it, and of course now that has gone on to be one of the main signatures of their music over the years.

The main element of their music that wasn't quite up to par on their demos was Joakim Brodén's vocals, but while he still doesn't quite sound as polished on this release as he does on later albums, he's definitely much closer to being the show stealer he has become over the years. His distinct, super deep voice is very much on display here, and while his delivery isn't quite as smooth as on later albums, he still carries the melodies quite well, while singing a bit more aggressively than on later albums, and he definitely shines on the choruses. He's become my favorite element of the band's music over the years, and this album should definitely give listeners a good idea as to why he's so unique and so special.

One area where the band was really inspired on this release is the songwriting. They've always been consistently excellent when it comes to writing songs that are epic and super catchy, while still being heavy enough to work well with a metal crowd, and they always manage to be just varied enough while sticking with their main sound. Their first two albums showed them experimenting a bit more with their songwriting when compared to their later albums, with some of these experiments working out and some falling a bit short, but either way, while later albums would eventually follow an established formula, their first two albums had some more unique and interesting songs at times.

The album starts off with with the title track, a mid paced track which gives fans a perfect introduction to the band, as the keyboards dominate the main melody from the beginning and continue to drive the song through the verses, while the guitars kick in and get a bit heavy at parts, but overall it's a very melodic and super epic track. It has a huge chorus, which showcases Joakim's voice perfectly, and it's definitely one of the first songs think of whenever I think of Sabaton as it's the kind of track they've done many times since, but the first attempt at it will always stand as one of their absolute best. Next is the much speedier “Reign of Terror”, a bit of a unique track for the band as it has some slightly thrashy riffs throughout and is definitely one of their darker, heavier tracks, with Joakim singing with a bit of snarl that isn't often there on later albums, but it sure sounds awesome. It charges full speed ahead with awesome riffs and another super fun and catchy chorus, and it's definitely one of the most explosive and most addictive tracks on the album. Followed by that is another speedy track in “Panzer Battalion”, though this one feels more like the kind of song they've done many times since, starting off with an extended intro, giving us some nice guitar melodies, before speeding up and turning into a melodic, but upbeat and very fun track, with another excellent chorus, and some of Joakim's best vocals on the album. It has some slightly darker vocals and riffs at points, but overall it definitely feels like it paved the way for many future songs and is definitely excellent in its own right.

Speaking of songs that paved the way for future songs, next is “Wolfpack”, one of my absolute favorites on the album. I mentioned before that Sabaton are excellent at writing slower paced tracks and this is certainly one of them, opening with an extended atmospheric keyboard intro, before settling into a nice groove, which carries on throughout the track, where the guitars lead the way nicely and the keyboards are in the background, with Joakim stealing the show throughout. It has a very nice rhythm to it, and once again the chorus is absolutely incredible, very much feeling like the start of a formula that still has yet to wear thin, and in fact, one of the later tracks on this same album would follow pretty much the same formula. Next is “Counterstrike”, another hard hitting speedier track, and one of the more guitar driven tracks on the album, as well as being a very classic power metal feeling track, with heavy riffs, a super fast tempo throughout, and another fun and super catchy chorus, as well as an amazing melodic guitar solo later on. It's definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album.

I mentioned that the band experimented a bit on their first two albums, and one example of that is “Stalingrad”, a slower paced track that is much darker than their music typically gets, as well as having some more complex sounding guitar work at times. Honestly, I find the guitar sound on this track to be slightly off putting at times, as it just doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the album and while it's definitely heavy and interesting, with the instrumental section in particular being great, the song overall just doesn't quite grab me the way the rest of the album does, and it is in fact the main reason I can't quite give this release the perfect 5 star rating it otherwise deserves. It's a good track, don't get me wrong, it's simply not on par with Sabaton's usual material and it really doesn't fit their sound, I think.

Thankfully, the album quickly regains momentum after that one, with Into the Fire being another super fast, classic power metal track driven by heavy guitar riffs and a super catchy chorus, where Joakim again shines, as well as another great guitar solo in the second half. If anything, this track really feels like one they've tried to recreate many times since, but I think they did it best this time, and never quite matched it on later releases. Another clear highlight. The final serious track on this album is “Purple Heart”, which is very much from the “Wolfpack” school of songwriting, opening with an extended keyboard intro, before settling into a nice groove. Its chorus is a bit lighter, but still incredibly epic and overall while the song doesn't quite hit as hard as the aforementioned track, it still has some amazing melodies and that chorus is again absolutely outstanding, plus it has an amazing instrumental section towards the end where the speed picks up and the guitars go crazy. It's definitely a masterful track in its own right. Lastly, we have “Metal Machine”, the first in a trilogy of sillier songs the band made as a tribute to the genre of metal on the whole, with this one in particular focused on classic song titles, with classics suck as “Paranoid”, “Breaking the Law”, “Fear of the Dark” and “Kings of Metal” being referenced, along with several others. Musically, it's a mid paced track and is quite fun overall, with another catchy chorus. I love how right at the end they threw in a reference to “Master of the World”, by far the best track from their Metalizer set, appearing on both discs.

Overall, Primo Victoria is a an excellent start for Sabaton and an album that gives fans a great idea of what the band is all about and why they've become so popular over the years. It has a few classic tracks that feel like they laid the blueprint for many future songs, as well as a couple more unique tracks that show a darker sound the band never explored much beyond their first two albums. Aside from one track that doesn't quite do it for me, it's an amazing album overall, and it still stands as one of their best albums to date.