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Sabaton on Tour
There's a very good reason that Swedish metal band Sabaton have been nominated multiple times for Best Live Band at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. In concert, the group are a well-oiled riffing machine driven by thrashing guitars, epic keyboards and punishing drums. Charismatic vocalist Joakim Brodén, meanwhile, encourages the crowd's enthusiasm and the aggression around him onstage like a cool-under-fire circus ringmaster. The resulting show feels like an ecstatic communal experience in which audience members are bonded together by the (very metal) mayhem.
Sabaton have toured with acts such as DragonForce and HammerFall bringing venues like The Fillmore (Detroit) and The Fillmore (Minneapolis) to capacity, and appeared at major events such as the UK's Download Festival. The band also did a 20th-anniversary celebration gig at the 2019 Wacken Open Air festival that featured special appearances from multiple former members. And, since 2008, the band have thrown their own Sabaton Open Air festival, which features a packed lineup of hard rock and metal bands in addition to a unique Sabaton headlining gig.
Sabaton in Concert
Formed in 1999, Sabaton have pushed Swedish metal forward into remarkable new directions. Across their career, the band have specialized in well-researched lyrics rooted in world history and military-related events, including 2019's "Bismarck," a tune named after (and inspired by) the epic German battleship that sank in spring 1941.
Sabaton have also released several albums inspired by great works (for example, Sun Tzu's legendary book The Art of War inspired 2008's The Art of War) and important events: 2012's Carolus Rex is all about the Swedish empire's ill-fated existence, while World War I informed the concept of 2019's The Great War. Although Sabaton are frequently considered to be power metal, their music isn't easily pigeonholed. Their majestic guitar melodies and intricate solos echo heavy metal greats of the 1980s and '90s, while the cinematic keyboards and slick production conjure symphonic metal's theatrical bent.
While the entire show was great and Cyhra was very impressive, the award goes to Sabaton. So glad they came to Raleigh. Best performance I have seen from them, and hopefully we did not disappoint as an audience.
Sabaton has a very well organised metal show. Awesome video effects, great playing and most of all they looked like they were having fun while doing it. Their backup vocals surprised me . They were great. Loved everyone in the band. Kreator is also the real deal, but a little bit to speed metally for me. When they slowed down and got into a groove, they were truly impressive. Interesting vocal, but it worked. The drumming and guitar work were mind boggling at times. Great Show !
Sabaton was amazing! Great show. I would recommend.
Wow, Sabaton makes for an amazing show. Will definitely have to see them live again!
This was a different setting for me to enjoy a concert. I loved the more intimate feel. The sound was great, and I most definitely loved the fans keeping the air moving as I was up in the back. My only complaint was the timing on opening the front doors to let the concert goers in. The ticket said 7:30pm but we did not even get in until about 7:50pm. There was a band playing as we came in but they were gone before I even made it through the metal detectors. The merchandise booth line moved rather quickly considering the number of people. Overall, it was a great evening, and I would recommend the band and the venue to others.
Didn't see the opening band because the line to get in was ridiculous. Plan to get in line VERY early if you want to see any opening band at this venue. Kreator were full of flash and looked competent enough but sounded terrible. Truly awful. They were loud enough but you couldn't make out any one part being played. Guitars were riffing up a storm but you couldn't even begin to hear any of the riffs, it was all just a wash of white noise. Compounding this they played basically the same one 'song' for an hour. The bass player might as well have not been there, couldn't hear him at all. And for some insane reason the kick drum was triggering a high metallic sample that tore through the eardrums like an icepick, it totally obscured the top end of the band, overshadowing the guitars, vocal everything. And no it wasn't just a hyped hi end, it was a sample, like hitting a pipe. It was a sucky experience and we couldn't wait till they were off the stage even though it wasn't all their fault. Sabaton on the other hand was excellent! The sound was loud and concise, you could hear everything.clearly, even the differences in tone between the guitar players' guitars. Joakim Broden is arguably the best frontman in rock today. Energetic and most of all FUN! That's one thing that distinguished Sabaton from other metal bands - despite the war theme songs, live they bring a good sense of humor and fun to the stage. Most metal bands are so dreadfully dour and put on this angst and anger BS, it's embarrassing. Sabaton is fun, plus they know how to write songs. So many bands have things they call songs but wouldn't know a real song if it bit them in the ear. Sabaton's music has anthems, sing along bits and great power rock grooves. Their guitar players played excellent rhythm and riffs, when it came time to solo they played crisp melodic concise solos and then they shut up and went back to riff n rhythm, they don't wank off all over the songs. Bass player was exciting to watch all over the place and held down the power end of things wonderfully. And the drums - excellent! Particularly welcome was hearing a real kick drum without an annoying sample blasting away. Sabaton brings it - if you're debating whether to see them - just go. You won't be disappointed.
This was my second time seeing Sabaton live and it was just as unforgettable. You can tell these men truly love what they do and their showmanship is next level. This venue is in a great location and the perfect size!
Sabaton is the most energetic, original band I have ever seen. So pumped they are gaining popularity in the U.S. and helping metal gain some traction here.
We went for a Birthday present for my son. Awesome venue and concert!
My brother and I had a fantastic time. He enjoyed every minute of it and I'm glad I could spend it with my bro.
This show was amazing! Sabaton puts on a great show and cant wait to see them again
Excellent show, both bands played a full set, and they kicked butt as you would expect. Catch them if you can you won't regret it.
Excellent seeing Kreator. Didn’t stay for Sabaton (just personal preference). The Phoenix theatre, Definitely Badass place for Metal.
First, i really like the venue, bands i have seen there so far have all sounded pretty damn good! my only "beef", and it is a small one, is that if you have general admission tickets and are on the main floor you have to keep going up the stairs to the second level to go to the bathroom.if you are drinking it up (at 10 bucks for a 12, YES, 12 ounce cup of beer i have never/will never get my drink on there!!), the trips to the pisser will start to drive ya nuts! anyhow, i do like both bands a lot but i was mainly there for Kreator!! have wanted to see them for a long time now and had heard a bit about their live shows. i gotta say, they DID NOT disappoint my friends!! they were spot on and killed it! although they could have played a bit more of the newest cd in my opinion, every song they did play jammed out! was a bit funny, though, the couple times the vocalist tried to get a pit going.. he even mentioned how back in Germany all the "talk" about Michigan was about the legendary pits at shows. SOME one forgot to mention to him that those are at Detroit/Detroit area shows. the kids in Grand Rapids do not seem to have much of a clue as to pitting.. but, is fine nonetheless! well, was also looking forward to seeing Sabaton once again. gotta say, in honesty, i am not sure if it was an off night or the choice of songs in their set list but they just did not seem to be all that inspired up on stage like the times i have seen them before. in fact, we ended up leaving early (which i NEVER do unless Rob Zombie or Slipknot are headlining the bill!!)... i will remain a fan of Sabaton, and still buy their cd's and listen to the tunes like i do...
This concert was well worth the drive. Amazing bands!!
Great set. Great sound. Great people. Metal! The wiltern is such a great venue!
A great show to start off my first vacation this year. I had seen Sabaton only once before so I was really looking forward to this and there was definitely no disappointment involved.
I was in the car for four hours to get there and it was worth every minute and every penny. Bear in mind that my setlist is reconstructed from memory and I don't remember the order apart from the openers of "Ghost Division" and "The Art of War".
Sabaton, as well as opening acts Battle Beast and Leaves' Eyes, put on an energetic, powerful show while obviously having fun in the process, which was contagious with the audience. "Hair product" had to be the theme of the evening as all these guys had amazing hair! This was the third time I have seen Sabaton and I have never been disappointed. I also like their choice of traveling partners (last year was Nightwish).
As I expected, Sabaton and their opening acts provided a wonderful show. They were very willing to interact with the crowd, seemed extremely happy to be in the small room full of metalheads, and were consistently cheered on by the crowd. Sabaton especially provided a fantastic show, and would have been worth the price of admission themselves. The opening acts are just gravy on top of that. I damn near lost my voice from all the singing along I did to Sabaton's setlist, and my friend was thoroughly entertained despite him not knowing nearly as much of the setlist as I did.
