Singles Roundup: Sabaton, Porcupine Tree, Scorpions, & The Prize

Just as I don't always want to sound like I'm being overly critical, I also don't want to sound like I'm being overly generous with my praise, so today's group of songs will help to balance some of that out, after we've gotten quite a few promising singles of late.

Sabaton – Christmas Truce

I'm not much of a Sabaton fan, not as much from the music itself, but because of their dedication to telling stories of war again and again. I've talked about how much I dislike the glorification of humanity's worst aspects, and this song sort of plays right into that. It's a perfectly fine metal ballad, if you ignore the lyrics. Telling the story of the Christmas Truce, we get some cringe-worthy lines about "we were all friends", which is utter bullshit unless you have no idea what a friend actually is. Someone who stops shooting at you on a holiday, only to start up again the next day, isn't your friend. Do I have to point that out? In general, I don't know what lesson I'm supposed to take from a song about a horrific war, where the soldiers were able to stop for a day to focus on what was important, only to start the war machine right back up again. Pausing a horror isn't as noble as ending it.

Porcupine Tree – Harridan

After more than a decade, Porcupine Tree is back from a lengthy hiatus. Steven Wilson has talked about not being interested in reforming the band, or in guitar-based music in general, so it's curious to see the band active again. After hearing this first song, I'm rather confused, both in terms of why Wilson felt the need to do this, and why I'm supposed to enjoy it. The song sounds like one of his solo albums, but with a different drum presence, no doubt. It's a rather bland and tuneless track, relying mostly on the good will the band expects to have after their absence. Frankly, this would be a disappointing song after a normal gap between albums. But for a first impression after this long? Oh man.

Scorpions – Peacemaker

Speaking of bad first impressions, we get this song from Scorpions, who have now been unretired longer than they were retired. I only bring that up because I hate being lied to, and I don't want to let them off the hook for it. This song is.... a song. It's the sort of metal that was big in the 80s, where you could get away with playing a basic riff and having your singer blandly repeat a short title phrase without much melodic content. It's so bare-bones it needs brilliant ideas, and those aren't going to be found here. What saddens me most is this will get far more attention and praise than they got for their "Humanity: Hour 1" album, which was the sort of beautifully melodic album an older band should be making. That flopped, and they don't even sound like they're trying anymore.

The Prize – Blood Red Ink

We'll balance out the negativity with something good, which comes from new band The Prize, which features singer Maggy Luyten. I absolutely loved her on the one album she made with Nightmare, and she's bringing her raspy tones to a more rock-oriented sound with this song. There is some cool modern riffing, some very nice guitar tones, but everything is centered on her voice. She delivers the power, the melody, and even some harsh overtones to really drive things home when needed. She is fantastic, and the song delivers more than enough of a stage. For a first impression, this one is a winner.