The members of Sabaton have much in common with each other, but likely the most vital component in their connection is their shared passion for storytelling. Sabaton is known for its high-intensity heavy metal, juxtaposed with narratives that recount harrowing yet epic tales of real-life military battles and the brave men and women who lived through them. Released on March 4, 2022 (Nuclear Blast), Sabaton’s most recent full length studio album, The War To End All Wars, revisited The Great War – a conflict of unprecedented ferocity. It is the band’s 10th studio album.
Written and recorded between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021, Sabaton crafted a concept album of 11 brand-new songs that once again delved deep into the atrocities, miracles and events tied to World War 1. According to vocalist Joakim Brodén, there were still stories linked to the First World War left untold on the band's 2019 release, The Great War.
"In some cases, we just didn't have the right music, and there were specific stories we had wanted to tell, like the ‘Christmas Truce' and 'Hellfighters’,” he explained. “Also, once we went on tour in support of 'The Great War', we met and heard from so many fans who told us about other great WW1 stories we'd never heard before, stories that were just so good. We kept asking ourselves, 'how did we miss this?'" Brodén added.
With fiery riffs, pounding drums and Brodén's signature gruff baritone, each of the 11 songs on The War to End All Wars shines a bright light on these true-life stories, the personal courage and bravery, triumphs and tragedies.
Following the sold-out Great Sweden Tour in Spring 2022 (which saw Sabaton take on 30 cities in their motherland) and a summer brimming with epic festival appearances, the band jetted off to the States for their US/Canada headline tour, which they named The Tour To End All Tours, to promote their new album. Joining them on the adventure was the Dutch symphonic band, Epica.
In the midst of their tour, Sabaton revealed exciting news of a World War 1 EP trilogy entitled Echoes Of The Great War, to complement their two studio albums, The Great War and The War To End All Wars. The trilogy comprised the Weapons Of The Modern Age, Heroes Of The Great War and Stories From The Western Front EPs, each of which featured one new single depicting another fascinating WW1 tale. Respectively, “Father” was written about the controversial chemist, Fritz Haber; “The First Soldier” was written about France’s brave and stoic Albert Severin Roche, and “1916” was a touching cover of Motörhead’s thought provoking track written about the Battle of the Somme. Upon release, all EPs immediately sold out.
Bassist and manager, Pär Sundström commented on the project: “We were definitely not ready to close our World War 1 chapter. We wanted to continue the journey and let it echo a little longer in the hearts and minds of our fans.”
Meanwhile, in early 2023, the band decided to embark on round 2 of the Great Sweden Tour and eagerly took on another 20 cities in their homeland following high demand. Hot on the heels of this, Sabaton proceeded to rock the whole of Europe with Japanese metal phenomenon, BABYMETAL, as special guests and Finnish monster metallers, Lordi, also joining the bill, for the EU leg of The Tour To End All Tours.
In April 2023, the band was recognised by the Swedish Skeptics Association with the highly regarded “Enlightener of the Year Award 2022”, making Sabaton the first ever rock band to receive such an honour. The award was first introduced in 1987 and is traditionally presented to academics, authors, journalists and media outlets that go above and beyond what is expected in order to educate people. The Swedish Skeptics Association handpicked Sabaton specifically for the band’s ability to deliver factual content, expressing that they stand out from their contemporaries and peers in the music scene for their dedication to giving truthful, historical accounts with the assistance of qualified historians and experts.
An unprecedented global museum project entitled “History Rocks” was launched by Sabaton on June 12, 2023. At the centre of this project stood the band’s new animated film, “The War To End All Wars - The Movie”. Over 140 museums spanning 30 territories around the world participated in the event in the two weeks surrounding the 105th anniversary of Armistice Day (November 11, 2023) – the day an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War was reached.
“History Rocks” was launched as a charity initiative to raise awareness on the importance of history and encourage more people to visit and support their local museums. Sabaton reached out to museums both big and small to be part of this world premiere of “The War To End All Wars – The Movie” at no cost. Developed in partnership with Yarnhub Animation Studios, “The War To End All Wars – The Movie” features songs from “The War To End All Wars”. The film tells the stories of World War I, granting viewers a better understanding of what the songs on the album are about. It is a musical and historical adventure covering a number of topics and telling the epic tales of war heroes.
MORE ABOUT SABATON…
In the more than two decades since the band's launch, Sabaton has headlined major festivals, sold-out arena concerts worldwide and gained a legion of loyal fans across the globe by carving out a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in the business. Since Sabaton’s debut album in 2005, the band has released 10 studio albums (some of which have been certified GOLD, PLATINUM, and even QUADRUPLE PLATINUM), seen eight of its albums score Top 10 international chart status, and six claim the Top 5. The band has earned eight Metal Hammer/Golden Gods Awards nominations, taking home the award for "Breakthrough Artist" in 2011 and "Best Live Band" in three different years, and a Grammis nomination (Swedish equivalent to the U.S. GRAMMY) as Best Heavy Metal band. Sabaton has also accumulated more than three billion streams across all streaming platforms and over 1.5 billion views on YouTube.
In 2008, Sabaton hosted the first of its annual, three-day concert festival, the "Sabaton Open Air" in Sweden, which is currently on a hiatus following over a decade of successful events. The following year, the band launched its annual Sabaton Cruise that sails out of Stockholm for epic sea adventures, rocking the ship with fellow metalheads and lots of Sabaton. 2019 saw the debut of the band's "Sabaton History Channel", which cleverly combines the power of music and storytelling to dive into the true-life stories behind every Sabaton song. These well-researched documentary-style videos bring history to life in an informative and entertaining way. Sabaton's Pär Sundström and Joakim Brodén are joined by the renowned historian Indy Neidell, of "The Great War" and "WW Two in Real Time" fame.
Sabaton refuses to be simply slotted into a genre. Fans need only know them as Sabaton, the heavy metal band that sings of real-life wars and the people who played a part in them; of grueling campaigns and dazzling acts of bravery, magnificent victories, and touching personal struggles, true stories more fantastic than any fiction.
