By Jim Barber
Who doesn’t love slightly learnin’ with their heavy steel? For followers of Swedish steel masters Sabaton, they’re being educated about a few of the most important occasions and other people in historical past, all by merely cranking up one of many band’s albums. Historical past has been on the forefront of the band’s lyrical creativity from the outset, and as soon as they realized there was a receptive worldwide viewers wanting to listen to epic tales about heroes, villains, battles, and epic adventures, Sabaton leaned in deeper and deeper into the mists of time with every successive launch.
From their earliest days, Sabaton has invested quite a lot of time and inventive vitality into constructing songscapes which are epic in scope, dynamic in presentation, stuffed with intense, intricate enjoying, voluminous, cinematic scenes with tales and characters that actually have stepped out of the pages of historical past.
On Legends, the band’s new album, popping out Oct. 17 by means of Higher Noise Music the songs hint recorded human historical past going again almost 4,000 years. There’s a tome in regards to the legendary and mysterious Knights Templar (‘Templars’), a robust drive in medieval European historical past in addition to a key participant throughout The Crusades. ‘Hordes of Khan’ is a rollicking journey extolling the terrorizing dominance of Genghis Khan, whereas ‘Tiger Amongst Dragons’ tells the story of the near-mythical Chinese language warrior Lu Bu, who lived and fought in the course of the late Han Dynasty. Historical Rome will get her due on the songs ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ which appears to be like on the fateful and epoch shaping conquests of Julius Caesar, whereas ‘Lightning on the Gates’ takes the listener greater than 150 years earlier than the time of Caesar to when Rome was almost toppled by the masterful Carthaginian basic Hannibal Barca.
A ferocious egomaniacal ruler of a extra trendy time, Napoleon Bonaparte is the topic of ‘I, Emperor’ whereas his fellow countrywoman, Jeanne D’Arc (Joan of Arc) has her story of religion and tragedy advised in ‘Maid of Metal.’ The dashing sixteenth century Japanese samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is featured in ‘The Duelist,’ whereas the person for whom the character of Dracula was primarily based, Vlad III, King of Wallachia, is immortalized in ‘Impaler.’ Historical Egypt will get its flip with ‘The Cycle of Songs,’ in regards to the nineteenth century B.C. Pharaoh Senruset III, an early model of the thinker/warrior ruler. The ultimate track on the album is ‘Until Seger,’ written and carried out within the band’s native Swedish. It issues the heroic seventeenth century Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, who elevated Sweden’s stature inside the European political and navy scene, and was credited with doing a lot to assist modernize the nation.
Legends is Sabaton’s eleventh studio album since 2005, and marks a shift within the inventive course of, in keeping with Thobbe Englund, one of many band’s guitarists.
“The massive change that was that each one 5 of us wrote songs for the album. And the humorous factor although is that for instance, ‘Lightning on the Gates’ me and [vocalist] Joakim [Broden] wrote that track collectively, I believe beginning in 2022. And that was lengthy earlier than I knew that Tommy [Johannson] was going to go away and I used to be going to be coming again. So we truly completed that track in November of 2023. And we thought this was an excellent track possibly for the subsequent album. However little did I do know on the time that in two months, I used to be going to be again within the band [more about his exit and return later in the article],” he mentioned of the collaborative nature of the band as they transfer by means of their twenty sixth 12 months.
“And we’re all the time making an attempt to get higher, and take a look at new issues and to evolve as musicians and songwriters. It’s all the time a very good factor to remain curious and fill your life with issues that make you content and provide you with one thing to sit up for. And in the event you discover one thing that drives you ahead, it’s all the time a very good factor. If it’s a interest the place you wish to create one thing together with your fingers. It may be music, historical past, books, films, no matter – studying is all the time good. It stimulates your mind and helps you reside an extended life.”
He additionally talked about why he and his bandmates really feel the idea of the album, a group of songs which have some kind of connective tissue, is vital, and why Sabaton nonetheless likes to create epic packaging and movies to match the magisterial nature of their songs.
“It comes again to after we had been youngsters. We wish to launch some particular vinyl or particular editions of this and that and we all know after we had been youngsters how a lot that kind of factor meant to us. We treasured these issues. I bear in mind when Iron Maiden launched their limited-edition stuff and all that and I simply needed to have it. It’s a particular factor, and I believe it’s a pleasant approach to give one thing again to the followers who’re all the time there to help us. And it’s vital to have them and hold them. It’s virtually like having a library with all types of nice story books and historical past books,” Englund mentioned, as he talked slightly bit about his personal private musical influences.
“It was after all all the blokes, you recognize, like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Yngwie Malmsteen as a guitar participant and Gary Moore too, there was Manowar and later Weapons N’ Roses, and Metallica after all. That they had a huge effect on each my songwriting and naturally guitar enjoying. I bear in mind watching Yngwie Malmsteen, it was on some tutorial video, an previous VHS cassette that I borrowed from the library. I believe I used to be 14 or one thing, and I put it on and was like, ‘what the hell?! That is what I’m going to do.’ So I skipped college, I skipped beer and women and I used to be training guitar for eight, 9 hours a day for like seven years or one thing. That’s how I began.”
Many bands have sometimes dabbled in songs about historical past moments and historic figures (Iron Maiden being one notable instance), so why has it been such a major a part of Sabaton’s repertoire? A variety of it’s merely the members of the band are fascinated with historical past and the vital occasions and characters who contributed to the trendy world through which we dwell. The band’s co-founders, and solely remaining unique members, lead vocalist Joakim Broden and bassist Par Sundstrom are the 2 important songwriters, though over the previous few albums, newer band members Chris Rorland (guitar) Englund and drummer Hannes Van Dahl have grow to be extra concerned. Rorland joined Sabaton in 2012, as did Englund, with Van Dahl approaching board the next 12 months. Englund truly left the band in 2016, returning simply final 12 months.
“After I acquired into the band in 2012, they had been already writing songs like this for years. However I heard the story of the way it form of began. They knew to go on this route after they wrote the Primo Victoria album [the band’s debut, released in 2005.] It was Joakin who wrote the lyrics for the track ‘Primo Victoria’ [which is about the D-Day landings in 1944] and after they heard the demos to that track, each Joakin and Par, they form of realized that this has a message, you recognize. It was one thing else, one thing stronger than simply singing about using your Harley, consuming beer and stuff like that – dragons and no matter. Not that there’s something mistaken with that. However they needed to do music that had a deeper that means. And to my understanding, that’s the place the blokes realized, okay, that is the way in which to go. And because the time I used to be within the band, they all the time have historical past books; I see a bunch of books on a regular basis of their bunks on the tour bus,” mentioned Englund, from the band’s rehearsal room on the island of Cyprus within the Mediterranean, the place Sundstrom has lived for plenty of years.
“We’re not on a mission to show the world or something, nevertheless it’s a topic [history] that truly means one thing to everyone, I assume, as a result of our historical past is why we’re right here proper now. And it’s an vital factor, as I mentioned earlier, it’s extra vital stuff to sing about since you don’t wish to neglect sure issues that occurred prior to now, as a result of we don’t need them to occur once more. It’s fairly fascinating stuff and I do know individuals get pleasure from it, and that it has an impression on them. Earlier than I left the band in 2016, I believe we had been within the U.S., so it will need to have been 2015 and we met up with this historical past professor after the present, and he advised us that at school he truly performed Sabaton songs for his college students. Nicely, that’s fairly cool. And I completely get it. As a result of when you’ve got like an enormous historical past e book, you’ll be able to’t actually take all the pieces in unexpectedly. However when you’ve got a track the place you will have like dates and names of individuals and names of cities and years and all that, it form of sticks in your reminiscence higher. So, it’s form of a great way of educating and studying historical past. And if individuals are actually , they’ll go analysis extra into the individuals they heard about within the songs.”
With a seemingly limitless provide of doable topics to put in writing about, Englund mentioned it wasn’t straightforward paring down the checklist to the 11 songs included on Legends.
“There’s like, 30 legends that we began with. However the factor is we all the time write the music first. So as soon as we had all of the songs musically carried out, we then form of sat down and found out which legend would match every track. So the track itself, the music, turns into a automobile for that legend and their story. When you have a look at ‘Impaler,’ the music could be very darkish and haunting, and the story of Vlad the Impaler suits that, as a result of it’s fairly darkish too. And for that track, it was an instantaneous connection between the music and the topic,” he mentioned.
“Some songs are extra up-tempo in order that they match totally different characters. ‘Crossing the Rubicon,’ the music for that had form of a marching really feel to it, so we felt it could match Julius Caesar. And it’s fascinating how the lyrics come collectively. Joakin and Par are those who often write the lyrics. And I’ve seen them work collectively with regards to lyric writing. And it’s like they sit down at a desk, one man is on one aspect and the opposite man is on the opposite aspect after which they begin to brainstorm and match issues collectively to the track. And often by that point, they’ve carried out all their analysis, talked to specialists and have all their notes and information prepared. They actually do typically speak to skilled historians and truth checkers to ensure the knowledge they’re placing within the songs in correct.”
Englund believes that music, steel music particularly, is a good automobile for not solely studying about our previous, nevertheless it’s additionally an excellent leveler, in unites individuals as a substitute of separating them, it’s inclusive, open, welcoming and a supply of neighborhood for individuals world wide.
“Heavy steel is for everyone. It’s that feeling whenever you’re up there on stage and you’ll see everyone’s there for a similar purpose and everyone on the market simply loves heavy steel. And, you recognize, everyone is a good friend of everyone. That’s an exquisite feeling. At heavy steel festivals, individuals collect there to drink beer and have enjoyable, and there aren’t any fights or medicine possibly like there may be with other forms of music reveals. It’s a spot to neglect about all of the stuff happening in your life and all of the unhealthy stuff on the information for a couple of hours, and simply let off some steam and sing and scream collectively, everyone in a single place. It’s wonderful,” he mentioned.
As talked about above, Englund left Sabaton in 2016 after 4 years of writing, recording and touring the world. It wasn’t due to the standard conflicts, band drama or the cliched ‘inventive variations.’ It was as a result of he needed to have a household.
“In August of 2016 I left the band as a result of I spotted that I want to begin a household and decelerate, as a result of again then we toured insanely. I imply, we had been all the time both at airports, lodge rooms or the tour bus after we weren’t onstage. It was tremendous intense. And I bear in mind mendacity there and I believe we had been on tour with Nightwish within the U.S. and Canada and I bear in mind I couldn’t sleep at evening and the tour bus was simply rolling alongside and I used to be like, ‘why am I not completely happy?’ I used to be residing this childhood dream of mine, enjoying heavy steel guitar in a heavy steel band with my greatest mates, consuming beer, having a very good time, on a regular basis, travelling the world. It was all the pieces that I ever dreamt of. However I spotted that there was one piece of the puzzle that’s lacking and that was my son, who is popping seven quickly,” he defined.
“So I left the band. And I bear in mind later I used to be at Sabaton present, and I used to be standing there watching and the man subsequent to me mentioned, ‘isn’t it bizarre to see the blokes up there and also you’re not within the band? Isn’t it bizarre to simply watch the present and never be up there?’ And my intestine response was, ‘what do you imply I’m not within the band. I’m simply not on stage in the intervening time.’ That’s how I felt as a result of we all the time stayed in contact all these years. These are my greatest mates and we all the time had the barbecues and household gatherings and stuff the entire time I used to be gone. So when Tommy determined to go away in late 2023, they requested me if I used to be focused on placing the camo pants again on. And I mentioned, yeah, that’s undoubtedly what I wish to do. The timing was excellent. So now, I believe my life is ideal. Nowadays it’s simpler to steadiness my household and the band. Sabaton has grown quite a bit from 2016 after I left and the touring schedule will not be as intense anymore. The group is larger, all the pieces is smoother and we do principally larger reveals, which suggests extra individuals and we don’t should journey on a regular basis to play in entrance of those individuals in smaller venues. All of us have households now, so issues are, like I mentioned excellent.”
Sabaton is touring in help of Legends, with a busy schedule in Europe beginning in November, earlier than hopping the English Channel for dates within the U.Okay. beginning early December, ending the jaunt with an enormous present in Stockholm on Dec. 13. The band then crosses the Atlantic Ocean for a fairly intensive run of reveals throughout america in March and April. Canada can be going to get numerous love from Sabaton, because the band could have seven reveals from coast to coasting starting in Halifax on April 6, wrapping issues up in North America in Vancouver on April 20. They then head again to Europe for the competition season in the summertime of 2026.
“Canada is a spot we like to play in. There may be loads of heavy steel individuals in Canada. It’s all the time so good to get such a constructive response from them. We love coming to Canada.
For many who could also be curious, Englund’s son’s title is Loki, sure, that Loki. His full title is definitely Thor Loki Englund, whereas his father’s title is Thor Bjorn Englund, with ‘Thobbe’ being a colloquial brief type.
Details about Legends, touring plans and extra might be discovered on the band’s socials or
Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and creator primarily based in Napanee, Ontario, Canada, who has been writing about music and musicians for greater than 30 years. In addition to his journalistic endeavors, he works as a communications and advertising and marketing specialist and is an avid volunteer in his neighborhood. Contact him at bigjim1428@hotmail.com.
