History, War and Metal: Why I love Sabaton

A small foreward

This post was originally written to celebrate 5 subscribers on my Substack. Oh, how far I have come since then! Don't worry, my opinions on this band have not changed one bit, and they are still my favourite!

~~ Tori

And today we’re all brothers
Tonight we’re all friends
A moment of peace in a war that never ends
Today we’re all brothers
We drink and unite
Now Christmas has arrived and the snow turns the ground white

Hear carols from the trenches
We sing O Holy Night
Our guns laid to rest among snowflakes
A Christmas in the trenches
A Christmas on the front far from home

- ‘Christmas Truce’, ‘The War to End All Wars’, Sabaton

Wait… Who??

Sabaton is a Swedish Power Metal band that formed in 1999, with members Joakim Brodén (Vocals), Pär Sundström (Bass), Thobbe Englund (Guitar), Chris Rörland (Guitar), and Hannes Van Dahl (Drums).

Their music is always based in warfare and history - from the Knight’s Templars, to the trenches of the Western Front, to the beaches of Normandy. Each of their songs tells a story - rooted in true history.

History

As stated, all of Sabaton’s music is rooted in history, with their songs based on true stories. Take, for example, the opening lines of the album ‘The War to End All Wars’:

For decades, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been
A powerful influence in the heart of Europe
Resting on a legacy, their house kept stability, order, and peace
But not everyone bowed to this power

In the summer of 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the empire
Is visiting Sarajevo, unaware of the assassins awaiting him
And what will come

Two shots are fired, and the Archduke is dead
The Empire cannot let this go unpunished
And the first declaration of war is made

Immediately, the story of the album is made extremely clear. This is an album about the First World War.

Their music follows a similar format: The album defines the theme of the music - ‘Legends’ tells stories of exactly that: Legends throughout history; ‘The Great War’ and ‘The War to End All Wars’ tell stories of the First World War; ‘Heroes’ tells stories of war heroes (from all sides of conflicts). Their songs, then, tell those stories. Each track is its own tale - Soviet Night Bomber Regiment No. 588 (Nicknamed ‘Die Nacht Hexen’, or ‘Night Witches’ by German Soldiers); The Unkillable Soldier, a British soldier who carried on fighting no matter his wounds; and even people such as Genghis Khan or Vlad the Impaler.

War

While the music of Sabaton is rooted in History, it is specifically about various wars and battles. This lends itself exceptionally well to the Power Metal genre, allowing them to show the speed and chaos of battle.

The music allows you to immerse yourself in the stories told - ‘Stormtroopers’ is a fast, action-packed song, reflecting the shock-and-awe of the Blitzkrieg; ‘The Future of Warfare’ is powerful, industrial, and brutal, just like a tank; and ‘Hearts of Iron’ perfectly reflects the desperation of dispossessed soldiers and civilians fleeing Berlin.

Metal

I. Love. Metal. It is easily my favourite genre of music - it is extremely energetic, passionate and has an aspect of spectacle that most other genres simply can’t replicate.

Power Metal in particular, distinguished by its triumphant melodies and powerful riffs, lends itself excellently to the stories that Sabaton tells. If they told these stories through any other genre, I doubt that I would have ever become interested in this band.

However, the context and historical accuracy of their music, combines perfectly with their distinct sound to create what I believe to be a masterpiece. In my mind, nothing can even come close to their unique style of music, and they will forever be my favourite band.

But, then again, in the words of Descartes:

Perhaps what I take to be gold and diamonds is merely copper and glass!

A bit of fun: My top 10 Sabaton Songs

Now this is hard. How can I define a favourite when I love the entirety of their discography. So, I simply cannot order this list. 10 songs is a lot easier to pick out than one favourite. Here it goes:

• 1916 (Though this is a cover of the Motörhead song by the same name),

• Christmas Truce,

• Bismarck,

• Night Witches,

• Hearts of Iron,

• Great War,

• Soldier of Heaven,

• The Art of War,

• The Price of a Mile,

• Lightning At The Gates

That’s all for now!

This post was a departure from what I’d normally post - I just wanted to do something a bit more laid-back and cheerful to celebrate my first 5 subscribers. Its not deep, meaningful or emotional in any way - just a bit of fun to give my readers a bit more of an insight into my ‘less poetic’ interests.

Thank you for reading!