A little short (39:52 for ten songs, none cracking five minutes!), so the war-obsessed Swedes’ debut for Nukie better be good. The majestic title cut kicks things off, upbeat, but not quite as speedy as last disc’s ‘40:1’. The first and only slowdown is (appropriately) a synthesized orchestral strings ‘Final Solution’, dealing with the ritual extermination of Jews throughout Europe in WW II. Actually, that global struggle between good and evil exclusively forms the backdrop for nine of these ten compositions. ‘Uprising’ (similar in feel to ‘Price Of A Mile’ from "Art Of War") concerns the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Under the historical microscope there’s also the staccato delivery to the naval battle of ‘Midway’, a paean to the 101st Airborne, D-Day paratroopers, aka ‘Screaming Eagles’, Norway’s role in the resistance (‘Saboteurs’) and ‘White Death’, the nickname given Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, credited with more than 500 kills. History class was never this melodic. The finale is a reworking of classic metal lyrics into a cohesive song entitled ‘Metal Ripper’.

Easily recognizable as Sabaton, the Blast promo machine will certainly cast a wider shadow then the band has enjoyed on their five previous efforts.