Since Sabaton's inception on the threshold of the 21st century in the picturesque Swedish town of Falun, this heavy metal giant has conquered milestone after milestone, reached quadruple Platinum sales, and performed mega-sized concerts all over the world.
However, despite Sabaton's never-ending passion for writing explosive tales about remarkable historical turning points, these relentless brave hearts have always had just one crystal-clear goal: to march fearlessly towards the next battles.
Sabaton's ninth studio recording, The Great War, was released on July 19, 2019. As the band's bassist/lyricist Pär Sundström said at the time, "We couldn't be happier about this metallic milestone. 'The Great War' is a brand new concept record from the vaults of fascinating military history. Within its rich musical and lyrical journey, we full-heartedly dive into the sinister atmosphere of World War I – a colossal military conflict that shook the whole planet a hundred years ago.
Acclaimed album after album, these Swedish storytellers have been able to carry out endlessly catchy power-influenced heavy metal.
Singer and musical mastermind Joakim Brodén explains, "'The Great War' is musically and lyrically the most affluent Sabaton-release to date. The recording offers familiar-sounding, multi-layered, and melodically rich Sabaton metal lunacy, not forgetting unexpected twists and turns. After all, it's still a 100% pure Sabaton-crafted heavy metal album."
To support The Great War, Sabaton hit the road with "The Great Tour," beginning with several festival appearances, including the band's 20th-year anniversary headline spot on the holy grounds of Wacken Open Air. From there, the band headlined a North America run in the fall of 2019, then took "The Great Tour" throughout Europe in January and February 2020, and then were off for a five-week tour of Russia and Belarus in March. Sabaton was able to play nine of those dates before COVID-19 forced them to cancel the rest of the shows.
For ninety-nine percent of comrades, a series of successful studio albums and voluminous world tours would be enough. Well, not for these warlords.
"With respected TimeGhost History Channel and renowned historian Indiana Neidell, we have established Sabaton History Channel," said Sundström in early 2019. "On weekly YouTube episodes, we are telling in-depth stories and details behind our songs. We already have tens of thousands of subscribers, and the number is growing as we speak... Another dream accomplished!
Sabaton has put the "COVID downtime" to good use, writing, recording, and releasing a variety of stand-alone singles and music videos. The band played its first post-pandemic date on July 9, performing in front of 40,000 fans when they headlined the Exit Festival in Serbia. Sabaton will be Special Guest this summer/fall on Judas Priest's 36-city, "50 Years of Metal" North American tour that starts September 8 and runs through to November 5. They then headline a 29-date tour of Sweden in January/February 2022, followed by the launch of the massive "The Tour To End All Tours" on March 4 in Norway.
【Sabaton】
Joakim Brodén (Vocals)
Pär Sundström (Bass)
Chris Rörland (Guitar)
Tommy Johansson (Guitar)
Hannes Van Dahl (Drums)