So today is Remembrance Day, commemorating veterans and all of the hard battles fought in wars of long past.
In the world of metal there is alot of material about war, specifically world WWI and WWII but it also extends to all wars and fighting in general, which kind of makes sense when you think about it; war = epic = metal. But anyways, here are my top 5 bands which have the most war related songs and themes, which I suppose makes for a bad ass Remembrance Day tune playlist.
5. Bolt Thrower
Top War Tunes: Those Once Loyal, Anti-Tank (Dead Armour), When Cannons Fade
Shittt; just look at this cover, if that doesn’t say epic war tunes then you must be blind. The album cover here is Bolt Thrower’s Those Once Loyal album and as it can be seen is about WWI and the shit they had to go through in the trenches. All of Bolt Throwers music is somewhat war related although the time period ranges from medieval to futuristic war, but this album in particular is ALL about WWI which is a rarity when WWII material pretty much eclipses all popular culture and media (movies, games, books etc) and it deserves some attention. They are typical death metal with death growls although I do find some of their songs muddled and unrefined at times, just like war I guess.
4. Slayer
Top War Tunes: Angel of Death, War Ensemble, Chemical Warfare
So Slayer is on this list huh? The cover seen here is arguably their best album, Reign In Blood which has as it’s first track the infamous Angel of Death which is about the Holocaust and the systematic killing of Jews which brought the band a lot of criticism and controversy when first released. Other notable tunes from the band are War Ensemble and Chemical Warfare, which as their song names suggest are about killing in war and the effects of chemical warfare. Not exactly the most heroic or “glorious” of tracks about war but rather the horror and monstrosities of it all except played through thrash/death metal. Good shit.
3. Metallica
Top War Tunes: For Whom The Bell Tolls, Disposable Heroes, Fight Fire With Fire
Metallica also gets a very worthy spot on this list. The speed thrash metal pioneers have many songs about war, many of which are some of their best. Album cover is Master of Puppets, arguably their best album which has Disposable Heroes, a song about war, soldiers and the futility of following orders to the death. Other notable songs from the band are Fight Fire with Fire and For Whom The Bell Tolls which has become something of a anti-war song, except for metal. If your going to battle, Metallica’s got some shit for you.
2. Iron Maiden
Top War Tunes: The Tropper, Aces High, Paschendale
The British pioneers of heavy metal know their shit, they got their war tunes down hard. The cover here is from The Trooper single, one of my favorite Iron Maiden songs and it just so happens to be about war, or more specifically, the 1853–1856 Crimean War; a war that for the most part has been forgotten; which is understandable. Other than The Trooper, they also have the high energy Aces High which is about the air war in the Battle of Britain in WWII and Paschendale, a song about the most famous and bloodiest battle in WWI. If your looking for something lighter than the former bands, Iron Maiden’s got your shit down for catchy meaningful heavy metal war tunes. Which brings us to…
1. Sabaton
Top War Tunes: All (Favorites: Midway, Night Witches, Screaming Eagles, Aces In Exile, No Bullets Fly, Primo Victoria, Inmate 4859, Ghost Division, 40-1)
Oh boy, here we go, the number one without question top band for epic war tunes for Remembrance Day has got to be Sabaton, like seriously, just look at this cover; epic as fuck. You just can’t get any more on topic than an allied solider punching a Nazi in the face with a chopper, explosions and battle going on in the background. And look at that logo, eagle behind it, wut AMERICA FUCK YE (only for this album). If the fact that their latest album depicted here is called Heroes wasn’t obvious enough, this band plays epic power metal tunes. 90% of all Sabaton songs are about war, ranging from medieval times to more recently, focusing on WWII, modern wars, extraordinaire soldiers, individuals and battles. All real history, all epic stories told in each song. Most Sabaton songs are very upbeat and fast tempo such as Midway and Ghost Division; songs about the naval war in the pacific and Erwin Rommel’s super elite 7th panzer division, although they slow down when the subject matter gets more serious on songs such as Primo Victoria and Inmate 4859, respectively about D-Day and a solider undercover in the Auschwitz concentration camp. There is so much history here you can get lost in wiki just by looking up what each song is about.
Congratulations Sabaton, you are the best band for epic war tunes on Remembrance Day.