Sabaton’s meteoric ascension to arenas has been unsurprising, their blending of visual storytelling, hook-filled songwriting, and elaborate gimmicks and shenanigans have made them a prime candidate for an arena headliner. Despite having no support outside of The Legendary Orchestra, who performed Sabaton covers, this show was absolutely action-packed. There were pyrotechnics, fireworks, and even cameos from the greatest leaders in history.
First up was The Legendary Orchestra, a unique inclusion for a metal show. The Legendary Orchestra have a substantial back catalogue of original music, but this set was composed of Sabaton covers rearranged and reimagined in a grand symphonic version. On the one hand, one may be disappointed to have some of their favourite songs omitted from the headliner’s setlist, but many will be delighted to hear these unique versions of tracks like ‘Winged Hussars’, ‘Bismarck’, and ‘Swedish Pagans’.
There’s an element of class to this set, but it’s still very much a metal show full of energy and life, a high-risk set that could have flopped incredibly hard. An orchestra opening for a metal band is a weird decision, but this paid off in a massive way. The grand scale of Sabaton’s music works brilliantly in these orchestral rearrangements, with tracks like ‘Sparta’ and the World War I-themed tracks like ‘Sarajevo’ perfectly encapsulating the scale these songs set out to capture. Highly recommended for Apocalyptica fans.
After 30 minutes of panto featuring Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon Bonaparte—the latter of which was unsurprisingly booed by the largely English audience—Sabaton made their way to the stage. Within the space of 30 minutes, we’d witnessed the death of Julius Caesar and the grand entrance of the Templars, all accompanied by pyrotechnics and moving bridges, so the bar was pretty high for the rest of the show.
The show opened with the statement “History belongs to the people,” and this show was a huge declaration of that. Sabaton may be an arena band now, but their dedication to documenting history in such an accessible and interesting way makes them such an important part of more than just metal history.
The tracks from the latest album went down so well; ‘I, Emperor’, ‘Hordes of Khan’, and ‘A Tiger Among Dragons’ all embodied the iconic Sabaton sound and storytelling techniques and enthusiasm. Vocalist Joakim Brodén was adorned in his classic, iconic outfit, which was the final piece of Sabaton’s entire stage setup. Sure, they were standing on a castle with fire erupting all over the place, but it’s that outfit that ties it all together.
The crushing guitar riffs of ‘Carolus Rex’, working in tandem with Joakim Brodén’s wailing in his native tongue, was a particular highlight. It hadn’t occurred to me just how heavy Sabaton could actually be. My experience of the band was just sweeping choruses and cheesy key changes. The neoclassical riffing and solo work of ‘The Red Baron’ further cemented their skill as musicians and songwriters, although it was strange that a history-themed band would write a song about Snoopy; perhaps Sabaton are just passionate about The Peanuts Gang.
Sabaton are the ultimate example of music translating better in a live setting. I’ve personally found ‘Christmas Truce’ to be a tad corny, but the live setting with visuals and phones lighting up the arena was the perfect atmosphere to get lost in this retelling of the iconic Christmas ceasefire during World War I. This felt like the opening of Christmas for me, despite this show taking place a week into December.
The rest of the show featured all the Sabaton classics: ‘Primo Victoria’, ‘The Art of War’, ‘Night Witches’, and ‘The Attack of the Dead Men’, which saw Joakim singing through a gas mask, armed with a flamethrower full of green gas. Some may argue that it’s a bit ghoulish to use a simulacrum of a real weapon like this, but anyone with two brain cells could see that this was an impressive visual aid as the band walked through the audience.
There are few bands that fully utilise the arena setting, but Sabaton feels at home here. There’s every chance that this could be as big as they ever get, and that’s absolutely perfect. Sabaton’s already incredible back catalogue is elevated by the elaborate production and set pieces. Many metalheads don’t tend to go to arena shows, but if you were ever to make an exception, go see Sabaton.
