Sabaton Primo Victoria in New York City 4/16/11

Scandinavia has no shortage of power metal bands, and Sabaton is one such group, formed in Sweden in 1999. Soon enough some demos were recorded and compiled as Fist For Fight, initially released privately by the band. The Underground Symphony label took interest and signed the band, re-releasing Fist in 2001 as a teaser for the band's first proper album, the newly recorded Metalizer. But for whatever reason, Underground Symphony never released that album, stalling the group's building momentum and disillusioning both band and fans. After several years of frustration, they gave up on Metalizer and recorded a new album independently, eventually signing to Black Lodge Records, who released that new album (Primo Victoria) in 2005. In general this is fairly typical Euro power metal, with the possible exception being the vocals, as Joakim Brodén's gravelly, gruff mid-range voice is quite a contrast from the pristine high-pitched wailers one usually hears (granted, to some this might be a detriment, but not to these ears). So, typical of the power metal genre, Sabaton delivers the goods without stretching any musical boundaries, but power metal fans should enjoy these guys. Black Lodge Records has also finally released the aforementioned Metalizer.