Sabaton - Nottingham Review

I am not long back from my second trip to Nottingham in as many weekends. After not visiting the Midlands city since last August, I have now been there twice in a fortnight this year - and this weekend is not yet done. Later on today I will be heading up to Torquay to catch The Wildhearts - whereas tomorrow afternoon I will go to Bristol for the last time this year for Katatonia. Despite spending some of the weekend at home, then, and gigging fairly locally tonight, this weekend is shaping up to be another very busy one. I am actually looking forward to a quiet weekend next weekend - but I still enjoy getting to as many gigs as I can, and last night took me back to the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham's largest venue, for the first time in a couple of years. My last visit to the venue was for Iron Maiden's 2023 show, which was very memorable, but last night's event was a much newer band - the Swedish power metal band Sabaton. Sabaton are likely the biggest power metal band on the planet at the moment. Helloween likely still command more respect due to their legacy, and their shows are drawing plenty of people, but in terms of current popularity levels I do not think that Sabaton can be touched as far as the power metal genre is concerned. Given Nightwish's hiatus, too, they may even overtake the Finnish band in the modern melodic metal stakes - and having followed Sabaton properly since around 2012 I can see why they have risen through the ranks. I actually saw the band live for the first time in 2009, when they played in Truro with DragonForce, but it was not until a little later that I started to actually get into them properly - and I saw them for the first time as a headliner in 2012. I have not really looked back since, and Sabaton have often been heavily featured on my iPod. Whilst their albums can get samey, and the band are certainly guilty of self-plagiarism at times, their energy and sound is often very infectious - and their bite-sized albums mean that they can often be put on at any time. Despite this, though, over the past couple of years I took a bit of a break from listening to Sabaton. I was a bit disappointed with 2022's The War to End All Wars (which I reviewed here), as it felt like a bit of a poor re-run of the previous album, and the 2023 show I saw in London fell around the time that some trouble close to home was happening - meaning that I did not enjoy it as much as I should have. Maybe the break from listening to the band's music was needed, though, as I have been really enjoying rediscovering their catalogue again of late - and the new album Legends (which I reviewed here) certainly feels fresher than the last one, despite the band's samey core sound being ever-present. As such, I was really looking forward to seeing the band live again. I do not really remember too much about the 2023 for the reasons outlined, but all of the other Sabaton shows I have seen over the years have been great. From the tiny Hub in Plymouth in 2014, which the band played when they were already too big for it in truth, to headlining Bloodstock Open Air in 2019 - I have seen Sabaton do all sorts of different shows. The 2023 show was the first time I saw the band in an arena - which makes last night in Nottingham the second. Nottingham's arena is not as big the OVO Arena in Wembley - but the room is one that I have seen many memorable acts in over the years, and it is likely my favourite arena in the country due to its size, facilities, and location. Given Sabaton's popularity, the place was full - which meant a strong atmosphere was apparent from the off.

Rather than having a traditional support band for this European tour, the band put together The Legendary Orchestra to open the shows - which consisted of an orchestra and a choir to play an hour or so of re-arranged Sabaton material. Led principally by Scardust frontwoman Noa Gruman, violinist Mia Asano, and multi-instrumentalist Patty Gurdy - the ensemble was a great addition to the night. Their set included 13 Sabaton songs, none of which were repeated by the band later in the night, re-arranged for orchestra and choir. A few regular setlist staples were included, which meant that Sabaton had the opportunity to change up their setlist whilst fans could still some of their favourite songs, albeit differently, and I really liked some of the interpretations. Generally the arrangements were largely instrumental, although the choir would generally sing at least a chorus and maybe some of the other lyrics - whilst a few saw Gruman singing parts of the songs in a more traditional manner. The orchestra added the main depth, whilst all the main melodies came from Asano and Gurdy. They mimicked vocal melodies, main riffs, and guitar solos perfectly - and it was always clear what song was being performed from the off - even if the arrangements were vastly different. As such, the set was a very powerful one. It allowed the crowed to hear a number of live favourites in a vastly different manner to their usual arrangements - and it enabled the evening to have a real feeling of a big celebration of Sabaton's catalogue as a whole. The orchestra opened their set with Ghost Division, which finally meant that Sabaton opened their own set with a different song, but some of the overall highlights for me were a fantastic version of Hearts of Iron, a song which Sabaton have never played live, and The Final Solution - which Gruman sang more traditionally and transformed the plodding rocker into a soaring, emotive ballad. It is probably how the song should have always sounded - and Gruman's smooth voice carried plenty of emotion. The choir had a diverse make-up of voices, too, allowing for plenty of depth - whilst the instrumentation of Asano and Gurdy really carried everything. Perhaps the most impressive re-creation was actually Resist and Bite, as the chunky, metallic nature of the song was retained despite the lack of any metal instruments - with Asano playing the main guitar motif perfectly on the violin. The violin and the driving percussion helped keep the song's spirit alive - and Sparta later was subject to a similar overall treatment, with the anthemic piece this time led by the choir and the orchestra's brass section. An hour of music flew by as a result - and by the time the set came to an end with Swedish Pagans the whole crowd was onside. I imagine that some were a bit unsure about the concept at first, but it did not take long for most to be onboard - and the singing during the last track brought the evening's first part to a powerful close. The setlist was (N.B. all of the songs below are Sabaton songs):

Ghost Division

Bismarck

Maid of Steel

Hearts of Iron

The Final Solution

Sarajevo

Angels Calling

The Unkillable Soldier

Resist and Bite

A Lifetime of War

Sparta

Winged Hussars

Swedish Pagans

Given the amount of gear that needed to be shifted from the stage following the opening set, the changeover time felt quite short - but Sabaton's set got off to a slow start. Given the themes of the new album, the band had actors playing the parts of Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, and Julius Caesar open the show by talking about why each should be considered the greatest leader. This could have worked well had it been a tightly-scripted and dramatic section - but it had the feel of a local am-dram production which was under-rehearsed and went on for far too long. It went on for well over 15 minutes, and I was certainly not the only one who got annoyed with it after a while. A few in the crowd were quite vocal in their displeasure - and I am not sure why Sabaton thought that 15-20 minutes of panto was a suitable way to kick off their show, particularly following the excellence which had come before. Some Templar knights then took to the stage, some of which turned out to be the band, but the lead knight still talked for quite a while - before the silliness stopped and the band, appropriately, launched into Templars. Due to the antics at the beginning, and a slightly muddy sound mix early on, I felt that the set took a little bit of time to get going. Frontman Joakim Brodén was a bit low in the mix during the first couple of numbers, but the sound did balance itself after a while. The actors did return briefly when their respective songs were played early on, but thankfully they did not have anywhere near as much to say this time. The fast-paced Hordes of Khan was particularly venomous early on, and the sound issues were largely sorted by this point - but perhaps my overall highlight of this early part of the night was Crossing the Rubicon. The song is one of my favourites from the new album, and the mid-paced anthem felt especially powerful live. It was great to hear five songs from the new album throughout the set, with four coming very early on, but there was still plenty of focus given to the catalogue. Carolus Rex, sung in Swedish, saw the stage set, which was a large castle this time with no tank in sight, draped in blue and yellow, whilst returning guitarist Thobbe Englund re-created The Red Baron's Hammond organ opening melodies and later solo on his guitar. Despite the 'older' vibe of the stage set, there were still plenty of props used. I, Emperor earlier had made use of cannons, whilst German soldiers set out plenty of dynamite during Stormtroopers - with the song ending in one of the loudest pyrotechnic bangs of the night. A brief drum solo from Hannes Van Dahl then allowed some percussion to be set up - with Englund and fellow guitarist Chris Rörland playing such during the final new number A Tiger Among Dragons whilst Brodén played the guitar. The rest of the set saw the choir from The Legendary Orchestra joining the band, adding depth vocally. A number of favourites were given a boost as a result, but the carol vibes of Christmas Truce nicely benefitted from the additional vocal heft - whilst the crowd lit up the venue with their phones. There was a bit of a strange moment during The Attack of the Dead Men where the band, apart from Van Dahl, were nowhere to be seen. I think they were performing the song in the gap between the stage in the crowd, but hardly anyone could see what was going on - and I get the impression from reviews of other shows that a bridge which extended out over the crowd was generally utilised during this song, which was likely not possible in Nottingham. Following this point most of the theatrics were done with, and it was left for some big favourites to just do the talking. Night Witches and Primo Victoria unsurprisingly saw plenty of singing from the large crowd - as did the epic The Art of War and the modern-era closing number To Hell and Back. There was one more to come, though, with the band pulling out the oldie Masters of the World to close things out. I would have perhaps swapped the last two songs around, as it was clear that not everyone knew Masters of the World - but it was nevertheless a fun end to what, after a shaky start, had morphed into an epic, arena-worthy set. The setlist was:

Templars

The Last Stand

Hordes of Khan

I, Emperor

Crossing the Rubicon

Carolus Rex

The Red Baron

Stormtroopers

Drum Solo

A Tiger Among Dragons

Christmas Truce

Soldier of Heaven

The Attack of the Dead Men

Night Witches

Primo Victoria

Steel Commanders

The Art of War

To Hell and Back

Masters of the World

Sabaton never really disappoint as a live act, and seeing them reach arena level shows that all of their hard work over the years has paid off. They probably need to tone down some of the theatrics a little going forward, or at least make them a bit more tight and rehearsed, but in terms of spectacle and scale the show felt suitably epic. It was great hearing so many songs from the new album live, too, alongside some favourites - whilst the addition of The Legendary Orchestra really made the evening a special one.