Sabaton – Carolus Rex (2012)

After their epic-as-fuck release “Coat of Arms”, our favorite war inspired Power Metal band returns with the awesome “Carolus Rex”. Arriving in both English and Swedish versions, this release is a worthy continuation of their impressive back catalogue of releases keeping things nearly identical to their past releases, but with an even more epic atmosphere.

Sabaton in a certain way is very similar to Amon Amarath, they both found a niche were they are the best and very slowly keep adding minimal things to their sound to make it even more impressive. Opening with the very epic and full of choir sections, “The Lion from the North” (after the traditional filler intro track), Sabaton instantly sets the mood for such an excellent release. “Gott Mit Uns” delivers waves of powerful guitar riffs and Joakim Brodén’s excellent vocals.

The seriousness and emotions behind tracks like “A Lifetime of War” and “The Carolean’s Prayer” is what makes Sabaton an excellent band at their trade since they transfer the emotion behind their lyrics and their historical context in such a rich and powerful way. More traditional Power Metal hints can be found in the guitar work behind songs like “Killing Ground” and “Ruina Imperii”, both of which are excellent guitar driven songs with super tight drumming.

While the whole release is excellent, we can’t help but wonder how Sabaton would sound if they actually changed something in their sound and tried to evolve faster… but we guess we won’t be hearing that anytime soon. “Carolus Rex” is a fine release by Power Metal standards and by Sabaton’s achievements as well, but there is something missing that does not allow us to move past the fact that this album seems like just a continuation of “Coat of Arms” in every single aspect.

If you love the band, this release will impress you and make you love them even more. If you are expecting something different, this won’t be it. We agree that when you make something almost perfect, it is hard to improve on it, but we still would like to hear some risk taking and more elements added to their already impressive sound in the future. “Carolus Rex” is hands down the best Sabaton release to date, and we are sure that it will open many new doors for them.

Release: May 25th, 2012

Country: Sweden