American's First Time Reaction to "Cliffs of Gallipoli" by Sabaton

[@Azraeltheangelofdeath]

"There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested" -Sun Tzu The Art Of War

[@1982jeepcj8]

Some of the lyrics are from the Monument left to battle fought and are quotes from Ataturk

[@carls8286]

Well put together lyrics doesnt need to rhyme everywhere. This one is a good examåle of that IMO

[@brigidtheirish]

I didn't even notice the lack of rhyming until he pointed it out.

[@fizzco3373]

Exactly.

[@SashaX19]

Sabaton is more about telling the stories, not necessarily giving two thoughts to rhyming when speaking of a tragedy such as this one

[@jojohammi3992]

Yes Sir

[@SmellsVishy]

I honestly never noticed in how many Sabaton songs the lyrics don't rhyme. Guess it doesn't bother me at all lol

[@bostjanhren2716]

They make it feel very natural and catchy, so you dont notice the lack of rhymes.

[@rosswhite5975]

From checking writing credits it appears that when Par writes the lyrics, they don't always rhyme, examples being this song, Soldier Of Heaven, Lady Of The Dark etc. When Joakim writes the lyrics then they tend to rhyme really well, examples being Attack Of The Dead Men, Ghost In The Trenches, Race To The Sea etc. 2 different ways of writing I guess. I appreciate it when they do perfectly rhyme, but it doesn't really bother me if not.

[@fizzco3373]

Music doesn’t need to rhyme to be good.

[@jojohammi3992]

Saaaame, I just get invested into the story of the song

[@kingseb2252]

@@jojohammi3992 yes that is the point of sabaton they don't need to rhyme they just need to sing history in an engaging way

[@brigidtheirish]

Audience participation *definitely* feels great to Joakim. Did you see that enormous grin on his face? He smiles like that every time he holds the mic out as if he's realizing for the first time he came make thousands of people do whatever he wants.

[@MeleeTiger]

Understandable to feel that way about the lyrics, I too prefer songs with rhyming lyrics. That said, not all songs rhyme, it's very common to, but it's an equally valid song style not to.

[@PetterVessel]

As a history buff metal head, I always feel the lyrics didn't tell enough. I keep reminding myself every time, that this is a song. They are musicians. Not historicans. Oh, whoah, this hour went fast.

[@samuel10125]

The Dardanelles offensive has become a myth as an Anzac struggle against British commanders when in reality the French also fought and lost the same number of men as the Australians yet they are never mentioned and almost never gets mentioned is the 30,000 United Kingdom British troops that along with Irish that Where killed at Kape Hellis.

[@kyriss12]

It varies. Some of their songs the depth of the story is hidden in each snippet of verse, while other are just a general horah. Could be worse. Half the time when Iron Maiden decides to get educational you wind up with a runtime over 15 minutes like in Alexander the Great, Empire of the Clouds, and Ryme of the Ancient Mariner.

[@SaraW013]

@@samuel10125 Percentage-wise, ANZACs had the heaviest casualties of all national forces fighting on Gallipoli. 56% of Australians, and 93% (!!!) of New Zealanders were wounded or killed, compared to "only" 22% of the British and 34% of the French. Considering also that the ANZACs had to travel halfway across the world to join a fight that was not theirs to begin with, I'd say it makes a lot of sense why Gallipoli is such a big part of modern history for both nations.

[@samuel10125]

@@SaraW013 I'm not saying it shouldn't be ANZACs deserve all the respect for the bravery a grit they showed my point is they weren't they weren't the only nations to suffer and its important remember them too because they tend to get overlooked not just the ANZACS that's all I'm saying war sucks.

[@SaraW013]

@@samuel10125 I agree with your main point, but as a European who learned a lot about WWI at school I had never even heard of the ANZACs until I moved to New Zealand, which is my point. These two nations suffered so much for a chance at European peace, yet they're rarely mentioned in the history books. To be in NZ during the 100-year anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli was such an eye opener for me, Europeans have NO idea how much these countries suffered in WWI. There's still pain there today. And when we think of WWI, we mostly think of the French, the British, and the Germans, never the ANZACs. Yet those poor soldiers who survived Gallipoli had to go straight to the western front, another fight they did not have any stake in. And how often do you hear of those ANZACs fighting in the trenches? Never! Sure, you should mention all nations who fought and died in WWI, but few suffered more than the ANZACs yet they have been, and are still, mostly left out of the narrative.

[@alexkuzela9266]

For me, the Rhyme scheme somewhat improves the song. It feels like a lament for the boys who died on those beaches, and pairs very well with the mournful guitar solo. It is a little odd at times, but I definitely like it as an artistic method.

[@safileau2369]

as an aussie this campaign is one of our thing we treasure and commemorate as the making of Australia

[@samuel10125]

Just out curiosity have you looked at the casualties for the Dardanelles campaign.?

[@jamesmckay47]

100%, the story of Gallipoli always makes me proud of being an Australian

[@samuel10125]

@@jamesmckay47 Have you looked at the casualties of Gallipoli?

[@jamesmckay47]

@@samuel10125 yeah, we studied it alot back in highschool, what's your point?

[@kingseb2252]

@@jamesmckay47 he's just pissy and grumpy you didn't mention the french

[@jasonpade4949]

After Gallipoli, Churchill was demoted to an obscure position and then he resigned his post to fight on the frontlines as an officer in the Royal Fusiliers before returning to politics in 1917 as the munitions minister for David Lloyd George.

[@boomerharris2965]

As an Australian, Churchill was scapegoated for the absolute shocking command by the generals on the ground. Hamilton in particular

[@spooknukem1177]

So one of the best parts of being an Aussie is our story of war because you'll see the 9 times out of 10 we end up becoming friends with those that we fight

[@6th_Army]

This is what, 40 some songs now? Getting closer to We Burn.

[@eatenbyghouls1849]

Carolus rex album onwards are when they become more consistent with rhyming and stuff imo Carolus rex Heroes Last stand Great war War to end all wars 95% of the songs on those albums have decent rhyming, it's also when imo they kinda came into their own and perfected their brand

[@elssir1537]

I always felt that if lyrics need to rhyme to be good and catchy then they are usually bad and lazy lyrics. Poems need to rhyme more to make sense, yet there are many of them which don't on purpose. Song is more about the rhythm. Rhyming is just to make it go out smoother. In this case not needed. But valid point. Honestly I did not even realize until you said it. And I listened to this song hundreds of times. Cheers

[@TouchyReactions]

I've heard that from several people.

[@elssir1537]

@@TouchyReactions anyway music has so many different shapes and forms every opinion is valid and right. So your feel of it being odd is exactly as correct as my feeling of it sounding great. Keep it up.

[@jasonpade4949]

The Czech Republic likes to be called Czechia now. The Czech Republic is their official name and Czechia is their short name, like the official name of Greece is the Hellenic Republic.

[@angaudlinn]

Smaller countries? Have you seen the size of Türkiye? There's 85 millions people living there and it's bigger than Texas. :)

[@TouchyReactions]

Smaller may have been a poor choice of words.

[@jasonpade4949]

Sabaton is going to be touring the US again soon. Since you've said you're from Tennessee, I think you'll be happy to know they'll be in Nashville on October 3.

[@TouchyReactions]

Sweet. I'll try and make it.

[@neoxperson7858]

Cliffs of Gallipoli feels kinda like the little brother of The Price of a Mile. Both talking about complete waste of life. Price of a Mile is just hits heavier.

[@TouchyReactions]

I can see that.

[@bescotdude9121]

only if your not a Aussie or a kiwi

[@bhight100]

There are two forms of rhyming, 1 is words and another is beats, you know how words have syllables, same for sentences and its the same in poetry, I can not remember what it is called, but same principle

[@СтаниславАлексеенко-ч4ъ]

Once I got to know the history behind the song, I don't mind a tad poor rhyming at all). Strangely enough, it works only with Sabaton.

[@ianjohnson739]

I don't mind this song but there's a things I'd like to add about the Gallipoli campaign in regards to Australia. the first is that the Australians were landed at the wrong beach, two, that we were very close to being evacuated on the first day but unfortunately an event that happened in the Sea of Marmora (an Australian submarine HMAS AE2 became the first submarine to breach that area sinking Turkish ships before being sunk itself) …. This convinced the Commander in Chief Hamilton to stay at Gallipoli, and for the other landings along the peninsula to tough it out, and then to top it off the Australians started to dig in (which is why the Australian Soldiers were known as Diggers) and stayed for eight months. Battles such as Lone Pine and The Nek were horrific, before the ANZACs were finally evacuated. The evacuation, over several nights was the crowning achievement of the entire Gallipoli campaign. When the Turks charged, the morning after the last ANZAC’s had evacuated Gallipoli, all the Turks found were booby traps and letters. This is also the first example of Winston Churchill using Australian troops as cannon fodder. He would do so again in World War Two. For Australia, Gallipoli was a watershed moment, but from a military standpoint a total disaster. When the Australians arrived in Europe after Gallipoli we were still under British command and would remain so until early 1918, when under Australian General John Monash, we started to show the world how to fight on a modern battlefield. In both Europe and Palestine, it was Australian generals that made the crucial breakthroughs. On the battlefield in Europe it was the battle of Le Hamel on July 4th 1918, in Palestine it was October 31st 1917 and the Battle of Beersheba, where Australian light horsemen charged the eastern defences of the town of Beersheba defended by machine guns, rifles, and entrenched artillery, and succeeded in taking the town intact. in the case of le Hamel, it was at the time one of the greatest victories of the First World War, and the first ever all arms movement that captured the town with minimal casualties in under 93 minutes. General Monash, who planned the battle was the only officer in the First World War knighted on the battlefield by King George the 5th in August 1918, and both General Monash and the Australian successes in the August 1918 offensives against Germany would lead General Ludendorff to declare that the war was lost… Sorry this was a bit long but I just wanted to get this information out there, since nine times out of 10 books consider what happened to be British victories, and while they were overall under British command it was Australians and Canadians that did the hard work.

[@TouchyReactions]

Thanks for all the extra trivia.

[@fenrisulfur842]

You´re very welcome, Sir 🙃

[@rosswhite5975]

Official video featured the original Sabaton lineup. They all left, apart from Joakim and Par, around the time of the Carolus Rex album. They formed their own new band called Civil War. Sabaton brought in Chris and Thobbe as guitarists and had a couple of temp drummers until Hannes joined. Thobbe left after The Last Stand album and was replaced by Tommy. Also, funnily enough, Thobbe just recently joined Civil War. They seem to have kept decent relations with ex members though as Civil War have played at Sabaton's own festival and some of the ex-members joined them onstage at wacken a couple of years back.

[@TouchyReactions]

Thanks for the information.

[@rosswhite5975]

No problem 😉. Keep up the good work 👍

[@deadmanlnc2215]

I always felt like the lyrics not rhyming were on purpose to match the chaotic nature of the Gallipoli campaign👍👍 The song is one of my top 10 and I feel that Joakim won't be offended by your criticism (in fact he might welcome it) considering that other songs like the Final Solution get really bad criticism and controversy 😂

[@lovrosedej7655]

Love the background intro music. As far as the song goes, i love how heavy it feels and the lack of rhymes makes it more punchy, instead of catchy. I really dont get upset about lack of rhyming because this is more like tragic poetry. But i understand your point of view on the matter. The story of the evacuation of the Gallipoli campaign is in my opinion best told by the amazing storyteller Lindybeige in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIu8kpemrdSImMU Man there is a Sabaton show in august in neighbouring Croatia, surely i have to go experience them again

[@TouchyReactions]

I'm seeing them in October

[@lovrosedej7655]

@@TouchyReactions thats so great!

[@ethanleas6319]

I didn't catch what the phrase was this time around but them aching bones and Poles know how to party.

[@TouchyReactions]

Yes they do lol.

[@stevenhopwood8195]

I made it through the whole reaction and I think you may have forgotten about the code word. However I enjoyed it. Gallipoli has significant remembrance in this country and Anzac Day is held each year here. (25th April) ❤️🤘🎸🇦🇺

[@TouchyReactions]

Yeah, I forgot about it 😅

[@fizzco3373]

A lot of songs, music with lyrics doesn’t need to rhyme to be good. There are a lot of songs out there, good music that doesn’t always rhyme. Not just Sabaton making songs that don’t always rhyme. These songs work together differently, usually by slow pace and according instrument play. Telling a story with music is rather common and I’d say Sabaton executed this very well with this song. You shouldn’t be looking for rhymes when listening and analyzing music, unless the instruments demand it, of course a song can be ruined if it unintentionally fails to rhyme. Listening to the song more as a whole will let you appreciate much more music.

[@agnieszkazuk]

That's why I don't have the top 10 list - I have the top 40 !!! ;-) Great reaction, great song, thanks!

[@seanaries4323]

Right!?

[@tvaettis0653]

I suspected you wouldn’t like this song too much because of the rhyming schemes and the depressing story. You should react to the new album, absolute bangers. My list goes as follows: 1. Stormtroopers 2. Race to the Sea 3. Lady of the Dark 4. Hellfighters 5. Dreadnought 6. The Valley of Death

[@TouchyReactions]

I'm waiting for the history lessons to drop first.

[@PetterVessel]

@@TouchyReactions I was hoping you did it that way. :)

[@tvaettis0653]

Touchy Reactions ahh, I see

[@dandybus1582]

I really appreciate Sabaton’s tone for this one. Similar to Christmas Truce, the theme of the lyrics is focused on the foolishness of the battle itself. What conflict exists between ANZAC and Turkish people? Nothing, and yet they were expected to fight and kill each other. This song does a great job highlighting that waste and it’s why it’s one of my favorites.

[@KimFareseed]

I did listen more then I watched. I don't belive I heard a keyword this time to use in the comment. Though, if it was on screen, then that would be my fault for not being observant.

[@TouchyReactions]

No, I forgot to ask for one at the end.

[@xiuhwho]

Blank verse *is* a thing (not really blank verse here, just stating that it is a way of writing songs). Though I completely understand why you'd not be a huge fan of lyrics that don't rhyme.

[@susanjw7763]

This gets played every ANZAC Day on my way to the dawn service. Lest we forget

[@2104dogface]

Great Reaction!!, for more on this battle there is a great movie "Gallipoli" (1981) w/ a very young Mel Gibson with a epic ending that will hit you in the feels. then 2 really good mini series "ANZAC: the war down under" (1985) 10 parts w/ Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)although finding the full mini series can be tough, they did make a 2 hr movie by mashing up the 10 episodes but makes it very hard to follow. "Gallipoli"(2015) for the 100th anniversary they made a 7 part mini series. but if you watch those then you have to follow it up with the movie "The Lighthorsemen" (1987) about the 1917 Battle of Beersheeba (the Australian attack at the end is just epic to watch)and is on the list top 100 Australian movies and in Australian they have ANZAC DAY cause of this battle

[@dandybus1582]

What a great film. I strongly agree that people should absolutely watch “Gallipoli” (1981).

[@lup7271]

I don't really see the rhyming as being that important, as long as everything makes sense

[@fenrisulfur842]

I guess one point why there is a lack of rhymes, is the fact, that Joakim used some quotes from the Memorial and other sources. Thinking back, it took some time to become one of my favorite songs, even though i already knew the Backgrounds. Not an easy listening song ;) But another hour well spent watching, thanks a lot!

[@TouchyReactions]

Thanks

[@dewi9333]

Regarding songs not rhyming, I can't say I've ever given it a thought. There's no rule that says a song has to rhyme

[@jonashansson2320]

Didn't think of this when I wrote my earlier comment. But what was the strategical lesson of this one? What chapter in the "Art of war"? We know that "The art of war" was about winning without fighting. "Ghost division" is about maneuverability and/or surprise attacks. This one is obviously not any of those... :) Knowing yourself and the enemy? Choosing the battleground perhaps? Feels like knowing your enemy is the number one lesson here. EDIT: I could of course easily look this up, but I feel a bit philosophical today. :)

[@TouchyReactions]

I think you are right. Knowing your enemy and their tactics.

[@miafranlund6982]

I always love good honest reactions, and you never disappoint!😀

[@Lexi_Chi_5]

fun fact for you, the outro of cliffs of gallipoli is the intro for Sabaton History, or at least 2 bars of the outro for the song. keep up the content, my guy. any interest in reacting to some "newer" metal bands? I'd recomend you check out Polaris and their song Lucid for starters. they're a fairly popular Australian metal band that are fairly young compared to traditional metalbands such as Sabaton, Metalica, and Nightwish.

[@TouchyReactions]

I added them to my list. Thanks

[@FamousGirlfriend]

I really appreciate that you share your experiences with us. Quick question: do you think these songs hit different when you come from that world, so to speak? We, who have never been in the armed forces cannot but imagine what it must be like, but I suspect that people who have served pick up on things we don't. Always appreciate the honesty, too! That's why most of us are here, I think. There are far too many reactors who exaggerate a bit, maybe give too much praise, just to satisfy their audience and that is kind of disingenuous. What I like most about this song is what you don't like (much as in the case with Price of a Mile, which is in my top 5, but I think in your bottom 5, maybe) - and that's ok! When it comes to this particular song, I like the music, but also that the lyrics read more like a poem and has those words from the memorial loosely incorporated. Great reaction and thanks again for sharing your thoughts with us! Cheers!

[@TouchyReactions]

As always, thank you for your great comments. Yes, I definitely think those who have served feel these songs a bit different. That's not a bad thing. Sabaton writes for the masses.

[@6th_Army]

Sabaton doesn't really care too much about making things rhyme. Their first objective is to tell the story in the best way possible. If after that & only after that has been done will they add other things.

[@DjKorppi]

On the video you see the "old" Sabaton, that's why you do not recognize the guys. Sabaton broke up 10 years ago. Only Joakim and Pär remain from the "old" Sabaton.

[@johnmurphy7250]

Loved the song and the reaction

[@jonashansson2320]

I was expecting you to dislike it due to the topic. As someone else wrote, it's sort of a "Price of a mile" light. But not at all with that heavy music to it. Maybe that is the differene, why you didn't feel as bad about this one? Or perhaps it was just that your dislike of the lacking rhymes was bigger than your dislike of the topic. :D

[@digitalmouse3314]

Got to do reaction newer Symphonic Metal from boston band has worked with Sacsha Peath a famous guitarist and composer from Avantasia and Edguy. She is an amazing metal composer so good and singer and pianist and performer, in general, she is really good live even in club. Crazy catchy songs even her growls are melodic even like how I don't know like super melodic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnqxgpqXlMiFq5I

[@imperialinquisitormordecai9688]

I think you've pinpointed why i don't enjoy their more modern songs as much, they rhyme haha. White the non rhyming it feels like it's a pure expression of emotions, either pride., honour, sadness whatever. While Rhyming Sabaton songs feel more fabricated somehow, very interesting that we can have such different thoughts about it and thank you for pointing out to me that these don't rhyme, as i now have a reason for my feelings haha.

[@TouchyReactions]

Funny how that works

[@6th_Army]

Wait. You forgot the code word.

[@TouchyReactions]

I know, I forgot. Sorry

[@lorddeath4bs689]

What about the Australian that war took out more the Australians and it took out of any other country indeaths💀💀💀