METALHEADS FOREVER, one of the biggest metal entities out there (having today 153K+ members, led by David Maloney) and Alpha Omega‘s partner since February 2018, have posted online their July 2019 issue, featured by Alpha Omega’s IRONWILL, EVOLUCIJA, RAGE FOR ORDER alongside SABATON, LORDI, DIAMOND HEAD and many more!
Artist: Sabaton
Album: The Great War
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 19th July 2019
Tracklist:
1. The Future of Warfare
2. Seven Pillars of Wisdom
3. 82nd All The Way
4. The Attack of the Dead Men
5. Devil Dogs
6. The Red Baron
7. Great War
8. A Ghost in the Trenches
9. Fields of Verdun
10. The End of the War to End All Wars
11. In Flanders Fields
Swedish heavy metal titans SABATON strike again with their ninth studio album entitled “The Great War”, celebrating also their twenty years of existence. With time, this band has quickly climbed up their way in terms of popularity and sales in the international metal scene, playing as a headliner at renowned European festivals and even launching their own festival, the Sabaton Open Air, which is held annually in August, with already twelve editions to date. This speaks of the commercial impact of one of the few European heavy metal acts emerged in the recent couple of decades able to achieve this level of attention and devotion by their fans.
On this occasion, the Swedes embarked themselves on the ambitious mission of recording a conceptual album about First World War, one hundred years after the end of this conflict. Throughout their career, SABATON have put great emphasis on the historical content of their songs, including a YouTube channel dedicated exclusively to this. As proof of the above, “The Great War” is available in two versions, a History Edition with narrations before each song, and a normal version without them. Another novelty of the album is the studio debut of guitarist Tommy Johansson, who replaced Thobbe Englund in 2016 and has toured with the band ever since.
The album starts with ‘The Future of Warfare’, opening with a sneaky keyboard intro, giving then way to a rather progressive rhythm section and also including more modern sounds than what we usually hear from this band. The song focuses on the new warfare technologies developed during this conflict, specially the role of tanks in WWI. They continue with ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’, based on the story of Lawrence of Arabia. It is a song of almost galloping pace, quite dynamic structure, featuring great guitar work by Tommy Johansson and Chris Rörland. The precision and short length of the tracks draws my attention, advancing at a firm pace without any d-tours.
‘82nd All the Way’ is about an American airborne infantry division and brings back the “party metal” elements inherent to the band, a mix between disco, pop and eighties metal. Maybe it feels a little too light-hearted compared to the rest of the album, but as we mentioned before, the tracks pass by so quickly that you don’t have the chance to get bored. ‘The Attack of the Dead Men’ moves towards the eastern front, where the Soviet and German armies clashed. Musically it is a somewhat more solemn song and includes certain elements of industrial metal that add variety and freshness to the record. The guitar solo and vocal performance of Joakim Brodén stand out as well.
With ‘Devil Dogs’ and it’s marching pace and merry melody, they return to the western front, specifically to The Battle of Belleau Wood in France. The song leaves me with an indifferent feeling, being perhaps my least favorite track in the album. ‘The Red Baron’ is of course about the famous German pilot Manfred von Richthofen, and delights us already a few weeks ago with its contagious rhythm and particular retro keyboard sound, including a touch of seventies hard rock à la URIAH HEEP. Although I first thought it was a bit of a silly song when I first heard to it, it has managed to grow on mi with every listen.
‘Great War’ is a song that synthesizes the spirit of the album, exploring the circumstances and consequences of this conflict through a dark glass. It is an epic track with a chorus that demands to be sung with the fist in the air, including a final section that stands out with a faster pace and an amazing guitar solo. Next, we have ‘A Ghost in the Trenches’, which is definitely my favorite song on the album and which tells the story of Francis Pegahmagabow, the famous Canadian sniper. From the beginning, it feels like an injection of energy that forces you to bang your head, with a catchy melody that sticks with you. Great success!
‘Fields of Verdun’ starts like a punch in the face with Hannes van Dahl‘s powerful drums, giving way to a series of Kai Hansen-inspired riffs, featuring strong influences from some GAMMA RAY classics. The instrumental performance is impeccable and the chorus is very contagious, becoming another of the highlights of the album. ‘The End of the War to End All Wars’ is a more introspective song, with multiple orchestrations and big choirs that help to close the album with an epic and triumphant note. Finally, we have the outro ‘In Flanders Fields’, a Gregorian chant that serves as an epilogue to this conceptual work.
“The Great War” is a solid record that flows from beginning to end without any boring moments, but it doesn’t bring many surprises either. There are some interesting experimental elements that draw your attention positively, but in general the band remains faithful to the recipe that has made them famous. The History Edition stands out because of the atmosphere created by the narrations, putting the themes covered in the lyrics into context. Maybe it’s not the album of the year nor the best of their discography, but without a doubt it contains more than one epic anthem that will be spinning in your head for weeks. All Hail Sabaton!
Swedish heavy metal heroes SABATON are set to release their new album ‘The Great War’ on July 19th, 2019. Today the band reveal the third album trailer, in which they discuss the song writing process of their upcoming album.
Watch the new trailer here:
Recently, the band proudly announced their European tour dates for “The Great Tour”, with fellow SwedesAMARANTHE and Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA supporting.
“It is with great anticipation that we can finally reveal that “The Great Tour” is also coming to arenas in Europe. I wish it was already January the 17th and we entered the stage at “Hallenstadion” in Zürich, but time will pass quickly”, announces Pär Sundstöm and adds: “You know by now how much we care about the bands we choose to bring with us on tour, this is no exception. AMARANTHE is a rising star on the metal sky bringing such energy and passion rarely seen on stage and will open the evening. After that comes the big surprise for a lot of people who are not familiar with the cello rock band APOCALYPTICA, but trust us that their emotional show will definitively create magic in the arenas. Finally what we are bringing, except for our biggest touring production we ever did… Is a promise to deliver a show that you never could imagine and the biggest announcement regarding this tour is still to come.”
AMARANTHE currently released their fifth album “Helix” and are more than happy to open up the battle: “It is with absolutely massive levels of excitement that we announce our part in SABATON’s monster of a European tour next year! We have proudly watched as SABATON has risen through the metal ranks, and with honor we finally join our Swedish brothers in this Cyclopean campaign set to steamroll across the continent. Although AMARANTHE will open these night you can expect a more energetic and mesmerizing show than ever before, that will fill the arenas with pure modern metal madness! Do not miss this infernal machine of a tour, as lightning might not strike twice!”
APOCALYPTICA are currently working on their follow-up album to the successful “Shadowmaker” record. The Finnish cello rockers surprised by releasing their own version of the SABATON single “Fields Of Verdun”. Eicca Toppinnen states: ‚As people may know we love to collaborate with other artists. We love the energy developing out of this and we embrace the learning from other professionals. Doing this incredible tour with SABATON is something special for us. It is not only about writing and producing new music together, but also about the energy on stage. We are super excited and very much looking forward to this tour!‘
Watch the YouTube announcement about the tour and support acts here:
SABATON – »The Great Tour« – Europe 2020 w/ APOCALYPTICA & AMARANTHE
17.01. CH Zürich – Hallenstadion 18.01. D Stuttgart – Schleyer-Halle 19.01. D Munich – Olympiahalle 21.01. A Vienna – Gasometer 22.01. H Budapest – Arena 24.01. PL Warsaw – Arena COS Torwar 25.01. D Berlin – Max-Schmeling-Halle 26.01. CZ Prague- O2 Arena 28.01. I Milan – Alcatraz 31.01. D Frankfurt – Festhalle 01.02. D Oberhausen – König-Pilsener-ARENA 02.02. B Antwerp – Lotto Arena 04.02. E Barcelona – Palau Sant Jordi 05.02. E Madrid – Vistalegre 07.02. F Paris – Zénith 08.02. UK London – Wembley Arena 09.02. NL Amsterdam – AFAS Live 11.02. D Hamburg – Sporthalle 12.02. DK Copenhagen – Forum Black Box 14.02. S Gothenburg – Scandinavium 15.02. S Stockholm – Hovet 16.02. N Oslo – Spektrum
The release of SABATON’s ninth full-length record perfectly coincides with the band’s 20th anniversary and the concept album is based on events during the First World War. The band started the recordings exactly 100 years after the end of the First World War (11/11/1918) and took 3 months of intensive work to complete the album together with their long term producer and partner Jonas Kjellgren at Black Lounge studios. Furthermore, the album has been mastered by Maor Appelbaum and the artwork was once again created by Peter Sallaí. “This is not the first time we have sung about stories from this period in time, but now we felt the timing was right to make a full concept album about this war”, explain the band.
“The Great War” tracklist: 01. The Future Of Warfare 02. Seven Pillars Of Wisdom 03. 82nd All The Way 04. The Attack Of The Dead Men 05. Devil Dogs 06. The Red Baron 07. Great War 08. A Ghost In The Trenches 09. Fields Of Verdun 10. The End Of The War To End All Wars 11. In Flanders Fields
Alongside the album, the Swedes have worked hard to make their 20th year anniversary a very exciting year, and also started the SABATON HistoryChannel – a unique collaboration between the band themselves and multimedia historians Indy Neidell and Timeghost – capturing the power of social media to tell stories about the wars, battles and heroes behind SABATON’s songs. Subscribe to the YouTube channel via this link.
“This is the biggest album we have taken on so far.There is more depth and story around the songs that we have ever had before”,Pär Sundström announces. “Expect many surprises as we have tried new things and we also went back in time to a concept we know a lot of you love. The Great War has been created side by side with the Sabaton History Channel to make 2019 the most exciting year in our 20 year history.”
More SABATON live dates 2019:
25.07. FIN Kuopio – Kuopiorock 01.08. D Wacken – Wacken Open Air *SOLD OUT* 09.08. UK Derby – Bloodstock Open Air 17.08. S Falun – Sabaton Open Air 23.08. D Sulingen – Reload Festival
»The Great Tour« – North America 2019 w/ HAMMERFALL 04.10. USA Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live 05.10. USA St. Petersburg, FL – Janus Landing 06.10. USA Atlanta, GA – Center Stage 08.10. USA Dallas, TX – House of Blues 10.10. USA Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren 11.10. USA Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern 12.10. USA San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom 14.10. USA Portland, OR – The Roseland Ballroom 15.10. USA Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo 16.10. CDN Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre 18.10. CDN Edmonton, AB – Union Hall 19.10. CDN Calgary, AB – The Palace Theatre 21.10. USA Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex 23.10. USA Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre 25.10. USA Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre 26.10. USA Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre 27.10. USA Cleveland, OH – Agora Ballroom 29.10. CDN Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall 30.10. CDN Montréal, QC – Mtelus 01.11. USA Worcester, MA – Palladium 02.11. USA New York, NY – PlayStation Theater 03.11. USA Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
01.12. S Stockholm – Sabaton Cruise *SOLD OUT*
2020:
»The Great Tour« – Russia 2020 06.03. RUS Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Stolitsa 07.03. RUS Vladivostok – Craft 08.03. RUS Khabarovsk – Velicano Club 10.03. RUS Irkutsk – Wild Horse 11.03. RUS Novosibirsk – Dkzh 13.03. RUS Moscow – Stadium Live 14.03. RUS St. Petersburg – A2 Green Concert 16.03. RUS Omsk – Angar 17.03. RUS Tyumen – Baikonur 19.03. RUS Yekaterinburg – Tele-Club 21.03. RUS Ufa – Ogni Ufy 22.03. RUS Samara – Zvezda 24.03. RUS Volgograd – DKT 26.03. RUS Nizhny Novgorod – Milo Concert Hall 28.03. RUS Voronezh – Palazzo 29.03. RUS Rostov-on-Don – Arena Don 31.03. RUS Krasnodar – Arena Hall 02.04. BY Minsk – Prime Hall
Swedish heavy metal heroes SABATON are set to release their new album ‘The Great War’ on July 19th, via Nuclear Blast. Today the band reveals the second album trailer, in which Joakim Broden and Pär Sundström talk about different aspects of the album. Watch it here:
SABATON recently released their second single ‘The Red Baron’. Watch the lyric video here: https://youtu.be/3PXzgXBRM_k
”To not include the story of Manfred von Richthofen, AKA ”The Red Baron” on a concept album of The Great War felt really strange. And since we are aiming higher than before in every way, we are proud to present this single from our upcoming album today”, commented Pär Sundstöm.
The release of SABATON’s ninth full-length record perfectly coincides with the band’s 20th anniversary and the concept album is based on events during the First World War.
“The Great War” tracklist: 01. The Future Of Warfare 02. Seven Pillars Of Wisdom 03. 82nd All The Way 04. The Attack Of The Dead Men 05. Devil Dogs 06. The Red Baron 07. Great War 08. A Ghost In The Trenches 09. Fields Of Verdun 10. The End Of The War To End All Wars 11. In Flanders Fields
The band started the recordings exactly 100 years after the end of the First World War (11/11/1918) and took 3 months of intensive work to complete the album together with their long term producer and partner Jonas Kjellgren at Black Lounge studios. Furthermore, the album has been mastered by Maor Appelbaum and the artwork was once again created by Peter Sallaí.
“This is not the first time we have sung about stories from this period in time, but now we felt the timing was right to make a full concept album about this war”, explain the band.
Alongside the album, the Swedes have worked hard to make their 20th year anniversary a very exciting year, and also started the SABATON HistoryChannel – a unique collaboration between the band themselves and multimedia historians Indy Neidell and Timeghost –capturing the power of social media to tell stories about the wars, battles and heroes behind SABATON’s songs. Subscribe to the YouTube channel via this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaG4CBbZih6nLzD08bTBGfw
“This is the biggest album we have taken on so far.There is more depth and story around the songs that we have ever had before”,Pär Sundström announces. “Expect many surprises as we have tried new things and we also went back in time to a concept we know a lot of you love. The Great War has been created side by side with the Sabaton History Channel to make 2019 the most exciting year in our 20 year history.”
Many more live shows will be announced shortly, but don’t missthe chance to see SABATON perform their new battle hymns during their summer festival run at one of these dates (including the band’s very own annual SABATON OPEN AIR in their hometown Falun):
26.06. PL Krakow – Mystic Festival
28.06. E Madrid – Download Festival
25.07. FIN Kuopio – Kuopiorock
01.08. D Wacken – Wacken Open Air *SOLD OUT*
09.08. UK Derby – Bloodstock Open Air
17.08. S Falun – Sabaton Open Air
23.08. D Sulingen – Reload Festival
»The Great Tour« – North America 2019
w/ HAMMERFALL
04.10. USA Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live
05.10. USA St. Petersburg, FL – Janus Landing
06.10. USA Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
08.10. USA Dallas, TX – House of Blues
10.10. USA Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
11.10. USA Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
12.10. USA San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
14.10. USA Portland, OR – The Roseland Ballroom
15.10. USA Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
16.10. CDN Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
18.10. CDN Edmonton, AB – Union Hall
19.10. CDN Calgary, AB – The Palace Theatre
21.10. USA Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
23.10. USA Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
25.10. USA Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre
26.10. USA Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
27.10. USA Cleveland, OH – Agora Ballroom
29.10. CDN Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
30.10. CDN Montréal, QC – Mtelus
01.11. USA Worcester, MA – Palladium
02.11. USA New York, NY – PlayStation Theater
03.11. USA Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
01.12. S Stockholm – Sabaton Cruise *SOLD OUT*
2020:
»The Great Tour« – Russia 2020
06.03. RUS Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Stolitsa
07.03. RUS Vladivostok – Craft
08.03. RUS Khabarovsk – Velicano Club
10.03. RUS Irkutsk – Wild Horse
11.03. RUS Novosibirsk – Dkzh
13.03. RUS Moscow – Stadium Live
14.03. RUS St. Petersburg – A2 Green Concert
16.03. RUS Omsk – Angar
17.03. RUS Tyumen – Baikonur
19.03. RUS Yekaterinburg – Tele-Club
21.03. RUS Ufa – Ogni Ufy
22.03. RUS Samara – Zvezda
24.03. RUS Volgograd – DKT
26.03. RUS Nizhny Novgorod – Milo Concert Hall
28.03. RUS Voronezh – Palazzo
29.03. RUS Rostov-on-Don – Arena Don
31.03. RUS Krasnodar – Arena Hall
02.04. BY Minsk – Prime Hall
Swedish heavy metal heroes SABATON are set to release their new album ‘The Great War’ on July 19th, 2019. Today the band reveals their second single, called “The Red Baron”. Watch the lyric video here:
”To not include the story of Manfred von Richthofen, AKA ”The Red Baron” on a concept album of The Great War felt really strange. And since we are aiming higher than before in every way, we are proud to present this single from our upcoming album today”, commented Pär Sundstöm.
This ninth full-length record, that will see the light of day right in time for the band’s 20th anniversary, will be a concept album based on events during the First World War and will be available in different formats:
CD-Digi (History Edition) incl. narrated parts in addition to the album tracks
CD (Album Edition)
2CD Earbook (Album + History Edition)
180g LP in various colors (History Edition)
180g LP in various colours (Album Edition)
3CD/3LP Box (The Great Box Edition) includes: Earbook incl. “The Soundtrack To The Great War” CD, regular, History & Soundtrack LPs [180g, green], one out of 11 Great War propaganda posters [chosen at random], postcards, emblem, poem on sheet) – limited to 1000
Swedish heavy metal heroes SABATONare set to release their new album ‘The Great War’on July 19th, via Nuclear Blast. Today the band proudly present their first single, ‘Fields Of Verdun’.
Bassist Pär Sundström comments: “We choose ‘Fields of Verdun’ to be the first single since we felt it represent the album perfect, a classic SABATON metal song which we cannot wait to include in the future setlists.
The story of the battle of Verdun is also very representative for the album since it has all elements that identifies with ‘The Great War’. Verdun is so much WW1 that we decided to hold the first album presentation in this city, inviting journalists from around the world to not just hear the album, but also understand the story behind it.
It is the first single from the upcoming album even if we just released ‘Bismarck’, but that song is not from the upcoming album. We decided to write ‘Bismarck’ outside the album since the story does not connect to WW1 and also that it was recorded at a different time. The meaning of this song was a tribute to all fans who have contributed over the years by sending us ideas for future songs, please continue with that!“
The release of SABATON’s ninth full-length record perfectly coincides with the band’s 20th anniversary and the concept album is based on events during the First World War.
This ninth full-length record, that will see the light of day right in time for the band’s 20th anniversary, will be a concept album based on events during the First World Warand will be available in different formats:
CD-Digi (History Edition) incl. narrated parts in addition to the album tracks CD (Album Edition) 2CD Earbook (Album + History Edition) 180g LP in various colors (History Edition) 180g LP in various colours (Album Edition) 3CD/3LP Box (The Great Box Edition) includes: Earbook incl. “The Soundtrack To The Great War” CD, regular, History & Soundtrack LPs [180g, green], one out of 11 Great War propaganda posters[chosen at random], postcards, emblem, poem on sheet) – limited to 1000
“The Great War” tracklist: 01. The Future Of Warfare 02. Seven Pillars Of Wisdom 03. 82nd All The Way 04. The Attack Of The Dead Men 05. Devil Dogs 06. The Red Baron 07. Great War 08. A Ghost In The Trenches 09. Fields Of Verdun 10. The End Of The War To End All Wars 11. In Flanders Fields
“The Great War” will be available worldwide through Nuclear Blast Records on July 19th.
The band started the recordings exactly 100 years after the end of the First World War (11/11/1918) and took 3 months of intensive work to complete the album together with their long term producer and partner Jonas Kjellgren at Black Lounge studios. Furthermore, the album has been mastered by Maor Appelbaum and the artwork was once again created by Peter Sallaí.
“This is not the first time we have sung about stories from this period in time, but now we felt the timing was right to make a full concept album about this war”, explain the band.
In addition, SABATON posted this trailer revealing more details about the amazing artwork – watch it here:
Alongside the album, the Swedes have worked hard to make their 20th year anniversary a very exciting year, and also started the SABATON HistoryChannel – a unique collaboration between the band themselves and multimedia historians Indy Neidell and Timeghost –capturing the power of social media to tell stories about the wars, battles and heroes behind SABATON’s songs. Subscribe to the YouTube channel via this link.
“This is the biggest album we have taken on so far.There is more depth and story around the songs that we have ever had before”,Pär Sundström announces. “Expect many surprises as we have tried new things and we also went back in time to a concept we know a lot of you love. The Great War has been created side by side with the Sabaton History Channel to make 2019 the most exciting year in our 20 year history.”
Many more live shows will be announced shortly, but don’t missthe chance to see SABATON perform their new battle hymns during their summer festival run at one of these dates (including the band’s very own annual SABATON OPEN AIR in their hometown Falun).
04.05. CZ Pilsen – Liberation Festival 07.06. D Nuremberg – Rock im Park 08.06. D Nürburg – Rock am Ring 13.06. A Nickelsdorf – Nova Rock 14.-15.06. CH Interlaken – Greenfield Festival 20.06. F Clisson – Knotfest meets Hellfest 23.06. B Dessel – Graspop Metal Meeting 26.06. PL Krakow – Mystic Festival 28.06. E Madrid – Download Festival 13.07. E Circuit de Barcelona – Doctor Music Festival 25.07. FIN Kuopio – Kuopiorock 01. – 03.08. D Wacken – Wacken Open Air *SOLD OUT* 09.08. UK Derby – Bloodstock Open Air 17.08. S Falun – Sabaton Open Air 22. – 24.08. D Sulingen – Reload Festival
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