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As the first leg of Sabaton’s ‘The Legendary Tour’ is almost over, a quote from the movie Jurassic World comes to mind: “You asked for bigger…cooler…”. Only, instead of two guys talking about creating dinosaurs from scratch, it could have been a discussion between Sabaton founding members Pär Sundström and Joakim Brodén about how on earth they could follow up the ‘Tour To End All Tours’ spectacular from two years ago, which saw the Swedish heavy metal legends make that giant step into arenas. Taking its name from the most recent opus ‘Legends’, ‘The Legendary Tour’ is most certainly “…bigger…cooler…”. And then some.
As much as a history lesson, as a metal gig, ‘The Legendary Tour’ is an all-out assault on the senses. And in an ever-expanding world where the use of AI is on the ascendancy, Sabaton deserve every kudo coming at them right now for using actual performers in the roles of Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and the Knights Templar, rather than opting for the cheaper option of AI. Think of it as Night at the Museum, but with pyro, fast breakneck riffs, and double kick drum blasts. Hence, the number of families in attendance, with kids beaming from ear to ear on the way out.
With all this in mind, there was no way that the show could be opened by another metal band in the role of special guests; instead, Pär Sundström got the chance to bring to life his vision of having an orchestra perform Sabaton songs and expand on the original sound. Hence, The Legendary Orchestra was created. Featuring three soloists in Scardust’s Noa Gruman as conductor/vocalist, Alestorm collaborator Patty Gurdy on the hurdy gurdy, and other folk instruments, and the pocket dynamo Mia Asano on violin, as well as an ensemble of 26 professional orchestral musicians/choir members, The Legendary Orchestra is a show in its own right.
Given over an hour to bring the classical arrangements by award-winning producer, Joost van den Broek, to life, The Legendary Orchestra are greeted like no other “special guests”. They start early, so be in your seats sharpish as you don’t want to miss one single note of the 13-song setlist. Well-paced and well-thought-out, they don’t perform any songs that Sabaton perform in their own set (excluding ‘Winged Hussars’, which Sabaton naturally performed in both Vienna and Krakow) and open the show with (until now) regular Sabaton set-opener ‘Ghost Division’.
Hearing Sabaton songs in this format is genuinely hair-raising and at times, very emotional (especially for the incredible Noa Gruman during ‘The Final Solution’). Pär Sundström seems to always be thinking multiple steps ahead, as certain songs from the recent past look to have been created with this format in mind. ‘Sarajevo’, ‘Angels Calling’, ‘The Unkillable Soldier’ (the standout moment of the set, with the choir soaring to new heights), and ‘Sparta’ are all exceptional, with the latter featuring some jaw-dropping work from dual percussionists Femke Westeneng and Wouter Macaré, who are performing side-by-side and giving both Patty Gurdy and Mia Asano a run for the money in the unable-to-take-your-eyes-from stakes. The applause that rings out once the set ends with ‘Swedish Pagans’ is genuine and heartfelt, and the biggest compliment that this reviewer could give The Legendary Orchestra is that if this collective ever toured as a standalone show, then tickets would be snapped up.
It’s a quick turnaround, and stewards are instructing everyone that the intermission is 30 minutes and to be back in their seats for the beginning.
Eagle-eyed punters could not have failed to miss the small castle-like B-stage next to the sound desk, or, if they looked up, the lengthy bridge that is high up in the rafters of the cavernous venue. Going into this show on the back of a social media/YouTube blackout is recommended. The house lights dim, and the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte (played by Raphael Lecat) appears on the stage, to be greeted by loud boos. But he doesn’t care and plays the part of pantomime villain perfectly. He is joined by both Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar, and the trio has a 10-minute argument (complete with sword fight) about who is the biggest legend. Having had enough of this, the head of the Knights Templar essentially tells them to shut up and leads four figures dressed in full Knights Templar garb through the crowd and onto the small B-stage. Four figures… Once the crowd catches on, the noise rises to deafening levels, and the figures remove their helmets to reveal Pär Sundström, Joakim Brodén, and twin guitarists Chris Rörland and the returning Thobbe Englund. By now, the bridge from the rafters has been lowered into place, and they make their way across the bridge and onto the main stage to join drummer Hannes Van Dahl, who is perched atop an insane drum riser on hydraulics. What else but ‘Templars’ explodes to life, and hell is unleashed. What. An. Intro.
Brodén is last to cross the bridge and spends the first few moments performing from each side, cajoling a response from the crowd below him. It’s hard to remember seeing as many smiling faces as this at a gig. And the smiles continue as Pär Sundström leads the band back across the bridge and back onto the B-stage for a glorious version of ‘The Last Stand’. There is pyro. Of course, there is lots of pyro; this is a Sabaton show after all. But keeping that Jurassic World line in mind, it’s “…bigger…and cooler…”. Back across the bridge to the main stage (a castle) for the speedy newbie ‘Hordes of Khan’, and the bridge rises back into the rafters.
The actors make an appearance during the corresponding songs from ‘Legends’, so Napoleon is back out for ‘I, Emperor’ (complete with cannon fire from actual cannons, again, AI is passed over for the real thing), and a blood-splattered Julius Caesar returns for ‘Crossing the Rubicon’. Insanely good fun, matched by some stunning productions from the stage.
This tour features Hannes Van Dahl sans-tank. And memories of his idol, Cozy Powell, spring to mind when watching the show that he puts on. Ever-reliable, Van Dahl constantly shows why he is one of the best drummers in metal today. Like most drummers, he also has a sense of humour, and when he introduces Thobbe Englund to the crowd, he slips in a few Monty Python Holy Grail quotes. Although this is a show that needs to run like clockwork due to the amount of pyro, etc, there are still plenty of opportunities for the band to laugh, and Brodén mucks around with the cannons by pointing one directly at Chris Rörland, only for the guitarist to give him the finger. This is heavy metal after all, it’s not supposed to be too serious.
During a pause in proceedings, Pär Sundström takes the chance to pause and soak up the sight of thousands upon thousands of fans in front of him. As he did during 2023’s ‘The Tour To End All Tours’, he remembers early visits to the city, pointing out which local venue the band first played in, and how many people. Genuine rather than going through the motions, it’s a sign of how well-regarded this band is and how strong a following they have built. This, of course, leads to ‘Christmas Truce’ and the sight of thousands of cellphone lights illuminating the venue, and unlike witnessing the song during the spring of 2023, it’s especially poignant to hear it at Christmas time.
It’s a brave setlist that highlights Sabaton’s refusal to stand still. The regular opener (‘Ghost Division’) is out, as is ‘Swedish Pagans’. Songs that normally appear during the final stages (‘Primo Victoria’) land mid-set to great surprise from the crowd. But in their places are nuggets from the previous decades, with ‘Masters of the World’ being dusted off for the first time since 2007, and ‘Night Witches’, ‘Steel Commanders’, and ‘The Art of War’ all making an appearance in a setlist that is bold and has something for everyone. Add pyro, more pyro, and even more pyro, and you have a show that could run for years to come. The tour of the year for sure. Bravo Sabaton. Bravo.
Footnote: during the Krakow show, Joakim Brodén pointed out all the cameras filming and mentioned that the show (Sabaton’s biggest headline show to date) was indeed being filmed. More news on that once it becomes official, but this being Sabaton, expect something of David Lean Lawrence of Arabia proportions rather than Netflix qualities.
All future live dates can be found here.
Review – Dave
Band photo credit: Steve Bright