Sabaton

I am not sure how many people have heard of Sabaton, honestly. Metal is already a fairly niche affair, and even among metal fans Sabaton has not made the biggest impact in the United States, despite a much bigger following on the Continent, especially in Scandinavia and oddly enough Poland. For those who are unaware, Sabaton is essentially a Power Metal group, who focus almost exclusively on songs pertaining to war. This may not sound too unique; loads of B-tier metal bands use such subject matter to present the stereotypical masculine power persona so pervasive in the metal community. Don’t write them off, however, they may very well be my favorite band currently making music.Named for the armored shoe worn by knights during the high to late medieval period, Sabaton has a niche and it sticks to it, but has so far managed to keep things fresh for 7 albums. Sabaton makes music about war, but in a highly unique way. Our culture is thankfully one fixated on peace: the modern stance is “war is hell”, and our society has moved away from “dulce et decorum est, pro patriae mori”. I am in no way saying this is a bad thing: I hate violence as much as the next person, but Sabaton uses this modern outlook to inform their music and make it stand out. Sabaton’s songs are about war, but with a focus on the bravery and heroics performed by the people forced to take part in it. Its bread and butter are songs like “Panzerkampf” or “Ghost Division”, songs about heroes who exhibited the height of bravery and sense of duty in the most terrible circumstances.Sabaton does not praise war or violence, but makes us remember the extraordinary men and women who made the most of terrible circumstances. They have opinionated works, branching out into “Rise of Evil” or “In the Name of God”, in which they castigate religious extremism and the Nazi party, but this political work does not overshadow their goal of praising heroes. In fact, they deal with heroes on both sides of conflicts with good taste and respect. The first two songs I mentioned were about soldiers on either side of World War two, Panzerkampf being about the bravery and steadfast determination of the Soviet Union, and Ghost Division being about the Tank Aces of the Nazi war machine. “Carolus Rex” tells the story of the heroic King Charles of Sweden. “Midway” focuses on the American navy in the Pacific Theater. “Uprising” and “40-1” recount to listeners the tragic and incredible story of Polish resistance against the Wermacht. Sabaton’s wide range of subject matter not only keep their songs feeling different from one another, but also incite a sort of primal desire to know more about what they sing about, at least in me.Their incredible guitar lines and strong, marching bass fit perfectly with the subject matter and create this feeling of heroism that is infectious, wrapping the listener up and not letting go, daring you do to better and match these obscure paragons of the past. As a person with an indelible interest in military matters, Sabaton is preaching to the choir for me; I am their target demographic through and through, but I would urge those who have not ever read about Franco-Prussian infantry tactics or heard the names “Clausewitz” or “von Moltke” to give Sabaton a listen. They explain why I love these niche branch of history so much better than I ever could, and do it stylishly and in a way that makes you feel like the king of the world.