During the Easter weekend Chaos took a road trip to Sweden to see the mighty Sabaton play live for two shows. The first gig would take place in Falun, Sabatons hometown, and the next day in the neighboring town of Borlänge. Frankly, before the trip, I was so excited that it felt like my head could explode. The thought of Sabaton playing in a small arena for a thousand people felt like a dream.
Though that’s where I’m going. Sabaton is currently the type of band that can easily fill any major European arena. So how in the world are there now 30 gigs in Sweden in small and medium-sized venues instead of in the large European arenas?
“The Great Sweden Tour” was originally planned for 2021, but due to covid it was postponed. Unsurprisingly, the European tour “The Tour To End All Tours” which was planned for this spring was postponed until the spring of 2023. In this situation Sabaton stated that now is the right time to stay within a country’s borders instead of speculating in ever-changing travel restrictions. I think this was the right thing to do, even if fans who were waiting for the new album tour would now have to wait a little longer.
Sabatons “The Great Tour” was canceled in 2020, and the excellent album “The Great War” was not played live for almost as long as it would have been desirable. And that gets me with another tickling point: what songs will be played at these gigs? This is not an album release tour for the new album “War To Ens All Wars”, however, it will be ten years since “Carolus Rex” was released this year.
My trip is carried out by car and a cruise from Turku to Stockholm. When you arrive in Stockholm, it is good to note that my phone’s roaming settings are not located as they should, so the internet does not work and of course I can not use Google Maps. Good! Luckily I had memorized my route quite carefully, road E4 north and turn left from Gävle. The first kilometers were spent listening to Swedish morning radio before I remembered that there are some Sabaton records stored on my phone. Now with proper travel singing, I was sure I would find my way to Falun, and I certainly did.
SabatonThe home village of Falun is very idyllic. It’s definitely not very “rock”, or claim to be home to one of the world’s biggest heavy metal bands. But when you enter the hotel lobby and customer service do not ask for your name but “you see Sabaton tonight? “you know you’re in good hands.
The plan is to go to gigs in the neighboring towns of Falun and Borlänge for several days in a row. The Falun premises are like a copy of my hometown Tampere’s premises “Pakkahuone”, an elegant brick building and an excellent functional premises. In Borlänge, the gig is held at a local hotel.
Bispel at both gigs was Swedish Hulkoff, which I was not familiar with before my trip. Pretty soon I found out what a band it is. Damn groovy folk, rock and industrial toned metal. It works like thunder! I immediately became a fan of Hulkoff. The rest of the audience seems to be more familiar with the band, but even I understand so much Swedish that I know what needs to be done when the singer commands “now we’ll headbang!”. I also recognized the singer: he is actually Pär Hulkoff also known from a band Raubtier. In Falun, we get the first surprise of the evening whenSabaton guitarist Thobbe England takes over the microphone and performs a song Hulkoff. It’s tight as one night in Borlänge and it’s absolutely fantastic to see the newfound band two nights in a row. Hulkoff will be in my playlist also in the future. Good things.
After Hulkoff we get the stars of the tour to the stage pretty soon. Shout out to the efficient staff! Sabaton kicks off the show with “The Lion from the Nordics”. Sabaton is at the time of their career that always some good songs must be left off the set list. This tour is dedicated to the 10 year old album “Carolus Rex” and especially to the Swedish version.
Happily enough, we also get to hear some songs from the new album. There is no doubt that the band also longs to play the new songs after such a long wait. From the new album we hear “Soldier Of Heaven”, “Unkillable Soldier” and “Stormtroopers”. “Soldier Of Heaven” is already my most listened song of the year. When the song was released, I continued to listen to it as Teletubby, over and over again. And again.
On Falun after Hulkoff gig, we had already expected that we could get Thobbe to the stage as well Sabaton. And fair enough, Mr. Englund takes the stage during “Gott mit uns” and tears together a total of three songs. Thobbe left Sabaton 6 years ago but he definitely has a place among fans and Sabaton guys heart.
In Borlänge, the set list is a bit renewed and we get “Gott mit uns” early without Thobbe so his visit yesterday now feels even more special. At Borlänge we also have other things to celebrate because it is now ten years since guitarist Chris Rörland joined Sabaton 2012. Congratulations!
One of the highlights of both gigs is definitely “A Lifetime In War” and Swedish audience who sang to the fullest, while I sat down and nodded and smiled. There are also other people with similar problems with their Swedish language skills. Of course, at least some Germans, Finns and even a Canadian who came all the way from Vancouver to see these two shows. Happily enough, we have also other than Swedish sung long songs like “Red Baron” and always powerful “Primo Victoria”.
These Swedish shows have been very special. To see and hear Sabaton this close is a great experience. That said, in the end Sabaton is a full-grown band the size of a stadium and I can not wait to see the whole stage set in the upcoming European tour. Sabaton has with hard work deserved all the glory, arenas, pyros and thoughts.
Two nights in a row Sabaton and I could do it again right away. Melancholy after the show is immediate, but so is the return to Finland. Returning to Stockholm also got a great twist when now quite nicely functioning Google maps was a bit wrong and I got an unwanted sightseeing in the heart of Sweden’s capital. Eventually I found my way to the harbor and while waiting to get to the ship, I had time to listen to the history edition of “The War To End All Wars”.
Sabatons tour “The Tour to End All Tours” will take place in the spring of 2023 so now it is good to buy your tickets to at least one of the European shows.
Thanks Sabaton, thank you Sweden. It has been wonderful.
Text and photos OutoKuva / Outi Puhakka