Sabaton

Live at The Greek Theatre

Los Angeles, California

May 1st, 2015

Review and Photos by Travis Baumann

Like an aerial bombardment, Sabaton leaves no one unmoved after witnessing the Historical Metal Masters in a live setting. The Swedish kings of militaristic Power Metal return, this time as direct support for Finnish Symphonic Metal legends, Nightwish.

I have been a huge supporter of Sabaton for ages now and every time I see them, they fill me with the same sense of enthusiasm as the first time I went to one of their shows.

I had the privilege of seeing them twice last year in support of their latest release, "Heroes" and was very excited when they announced they would be touring with Nightwish and Delain this spring.

This time around, they were playing The Greek Theater here in Los Angeles, an outdoor amphitheater nestled in the hills of Griffith Park. I have never been to this venue so was not sure what to expect. The show ran like clockwork, with each band coming on exactly as scheduled.

Sabaton ran out on the stage with their signature banner in the background, each member donning urban gray camouflage fatigues and holding their instruments high, except the drummer who just raised his sticks.

The audience cheered loudly for each member and as Joachim, the lead singer took the stage, Sabaton blasted straight in to "Ghost Division".

This song often opens their set, in fact I wagered in the parking lot tailgate party beforehand that they would do so. It is an awesome song that lays the groundwork with "The sound of poundings guns".

The tell-tale whistling march indicated that "To Hell and Back" was coming next, this is another rallying song coming from the new album. The audience was singing along to every song, myself included.

Sabaton have this uplifting, commanding presence that sweeps you up. The lead singer is extremely charismatic and energetic, gesturing emphatically and at times going into a combat like crouch.

For their third song of the set, they did what is one of my favorite songs of all time, "Carolus Rex". It tells the story of the King of the Carolina Empire in Sweden, taking the throne when he came of age. It has great lyrics (all historically researched of course as with all of Sabaton's songs) but it tells it from his first person perspective and has these great lifting riffs and powerful lyrics; "Say my name when you pray! To the sky! Sing Carolus Rex!".

At this point we were ushered out of the photo pit as they started "Swedish Pagans". This song has an awesome sing a long portion that reminds me of songs of old and is one of their more fun songs in that it doesn't just speak about historical conflict or political upheaval.

Joachim is very funny and usually has comedic banter with the audience and this show was no different. I won't tell his jokes verbatim as it will ruin the laughs for those going to see them at later stops on the tour but it was great and added another level of fun to the Sabaton show.

"Resist and Bite" was up next, another great song from the new album, "Heroes" giving more historical context to the heroes on both sides of the war during World War II.

The audience was relentless in their fervor, chanting "Sabaton! Sabaton!" between songs and the band just feeds off of this energy bringing smiles and wide eyed facial expressions from the entire band. Both guitarists and the bassist all join in singing on the chorus' of the songs which gives that extra impact and power of a male choir.

The chanting of the crowd died down as a female voice came over the PA system quoting Sun Tzu on one of his ancient rules of warfare and we knew "The Art of War" was upon us. Another phenomenal song that has an instant participation quality and the entire audience was shouting out the title lyrics each time the chorus came up.

They returned to the latest album for one of my favorite songs off of It, "Night Witches" furthering the inclusion of the latest material. So far we have had an amazing show but the time was growing on and we knew the end was near.

My second favorite song of theirs is "Primo Victoria" and you know things are almost over when it comes up in the set, as they often use it for one of the final punctuating moments. The entire audience sang along to this one as well.

I would imagine that if asked, any Sabaton fan could quote to you the year and day of the Normandy Invasion in WWII due to this song alone. "On the 6th of June, 1944! The allies are turning the war!....D-day is upon us!"

As I wagered what the opening song would be, likewise with the closer: "Metal Crue" is often how they choose to end things and it is a good metal anthem that left the audience exuberant and wanting more.

Sabaton are an amazing band and this was once again a fantastic performance.

My only issue was with The Greek itself as it is a seated venue and you cannot sit for Sabaton!

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