Art of War [Import]

Sabaton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Phantom Sound & Vision
• ASIN: B0012GBFZU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,118 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Sabaton are a Swedish Grammi-nominated power metal band who are battle-minded with a historical slant. They bring to mind Iron Maiden's classic songs with a newer school edge. This is their 5th album from 2008, and was influenced by the Sun Tzu book of the same title. They are just realizing their international destiny after their 2010 Nuclear Blast debut, Coat of Arms. Sabaton have grown over the years, and the Re-Armed series shows this exhilarating evolution to their new American fanbase --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sabaton - The Art of War, August 4, 2010

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art of War (Audio CD)

"The Art of War" (2008) is the fifth album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton. On the whole, it's more of the same here. If you're familiar with their previous work, you know you're getting heavy, aggressive metal, Joakim Broden's deep, gravelly vocals, and historically-educational military-oriented lyrics. There's more keyboard here than we've heard from them in the past, though, and this album sounds more "produced" than their previous ones.

There are thirteen tracks here, but only ten songs. Everything is listenable enough, but nothing is outstanding. Sabaton's previous albums have featured some melodic overlap; there's more of that here, as "Cliffs of Gallipoli" is highly reminiscent of "Rise of Evil" from "Attero Dominatus." One hopes they're not running out of ideas.

This album is interspersed with quotes from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War." It's kind of annoying, but it's not a deal-breaker.

On the whole, "The Art of War" is a solid but unremarkable power metal album from a band that's done better before.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sabaton, April 11, 2010

By 

Manzikurt1071 (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art of War (Audio CD)

The latest offering from the Swedish metal group Sabaton is awesome. Catchy riffs, powerful yet clean vocal and lyrics inspired by conflicts such as World War I and II. Very talented group who pulls their inspiration from history. Most highly recomended.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Art of War - Re-Armed, October 13, 2011

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art Of War (Audio CD)

Originally released in 2008, The Art of War was the fourth full-length release from Swedish power metal brigade Sabaton, who pair their hard charging melodic heavy metal sound with an obsession with warfare. Running Wild and Powerwolf are the closest points of comparison to Sabaton's sound. Just substitute the songs about pirates (Running Wild) and the devil (Powerwolf) with songs about tanks and old battles.

The Art of War is Sabaton's first full-on concept album. Sure, all their songs are more or less focused on war and battles, but this album looks at various battles in modern warfare through the lens of Sun Tzu's famous treatise on war. Musically, The Art of War isn't much different than the rest of the Sabaton catalog. It's upbeat, hard-hitting power metal with great melodies and martial rhythms. There are a couple of key highlights here, including "The Art of War" and "Cliffs of Gallipoli" that have become staples of Sabaton's high-energy live shows, but aside from some throwaway spoken word interludes the whole album is quite solid.

The Art of War is another solid Sabaton release, and while the band didn't necessarily break any new ground here, you can't help but get into an album like this. It's a strong, hard-hitting, melodic power metal album that should definitely appeal to fans of bands like Running Wild, Powerwolf, Grave Digger, Rage, Hammerfall, Jag Panzer, and perhaps even the militaristic Bolt Thrower.

Edition Notes: Nuclear Blast reissued a "Re-Armed" edition of The Art of War in 2010. The new version features four bonus tracks, including the original songs "Swedish Pagans" and "Glorious Land," a demo version of "The Art of War" and a live version of the Swedish National Anthem. Unlike the other three albums in this "Re-Armed" series, The Art of War does not feature expanded liner notes. The booklet is identical to the 2008 version. The idea behind the reissue was to get the early Sabaton albums, which didn't have the best distribution initially, in the hands of the new fans who discovered the band after they signed to Nuclear Blast. This approach makes perfect sense, and they really have included enough extras here to make it worth replacing the earlier version if you bought it the first time around.