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He’s behind you!”. There are some decent songs on the album, ‘Riders Of The Dawn’ and ‘Powerwind’ spring to mind, but on the live stage the imagery is so in-your-face that, for me at least, they lose their charm. Teutonic terrors, Accept, are welcomed onto the stage with a roar befitting the headliners, and judging by the amount of Accept t-shirts in the crowd, these guys are going to give Sabaton a fair old ding-dong of a battle. With a new live album to promote, the set is naturally culled from ‘Reckless And Live’. An incredible package, that should cure even the most ardent hater of live albums, it’s made up of four decades of Accept’s best loved tracks from the Dirkschneider era, as well as the current Mark Tornillo line up. It’s two songs from recent times that open the show, as ‘Stampede’ gives way to ‘Stalingrad’, the latter, a crunching blend of chugging guitars, old school metal, and beer hall vocals. The pit that has been brewing quite nicely, breaks off during the guitar break near the end, and everyone puts their arms over the person next to them and what can only be described as a fucked up version of the can-can ensues. Founding members, Peter Baltes on bass and legendary guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, look incredible. Many bands from decades ago that are still treading the boards today look out of shape and like they’re going through the motions. These guys are lean, fit, and healthy, and have me asking myself if these are still the same musicians that I first saw supporting Judas Priest way back in (cough) 1981? Man, I’ve let myself go! Musically, they are still on point and benefiting from the renewed sense of urgency that American Mark Tornillo injected into the band in 2009. Latest members, drummer Christopher Williams and guitarist Uwe Lulis also play an important role in the band by bringing some youthful piss and vinegar to the party. It’s a trip down memory lane for the vociferous crowd, as Accept steamroller through four decades of metal, ‘Restless And Wild’, ‘Fast As A Shark’, ‘London Leather Boys’ and ‘Metal Heart’ all hit the mark. Tornillo seems to be struggling with a sore throat as he reaches for the higher notes. It doesn’t seem to be anything more than a cold, and after an early night tucked up in bed, he should be as right as rain. The set ends naturally with what else but ‘Balls To The Wall’. During the finale, Lulis notices a drum stick lying on the stage and hands it over to a kid in the crowd who is dressed in full Sabaton regalia. A nice touch to end an amazing set. The crew scurry about in darkness preparing the stage for Sabaton. The tank is under wraps. We know it’s a tank, they know we know it’s a tank, but it’s still a huge thrill when it gets uncovered. Steadily moving their way up in venue size over the last few tours, this is the largest Sabaton production to date, in the largest venues that they have played over here. The intro tape of ‘In The Army Now’ gives way to ‘The March To War’. Drummer, Hannes Van Dahl takes his place atop the tank which has kicked into life. Joakim Broden can’t be seen through the strafing spotlights, but we can hear him… “We are Sabaton, we play Heavy Metal and this is Ghost Division!”. The rest of the band bound on to the stage, and explode into a flurry of headbanging, windmills, and infectious energy. The massive video screen is flashing up image after image as the band’s logo rises from a wall of fire. Make no mistake, Sabaton have put their hearts and money into this show. Broden is his usual hyperactive self, and covers every inch of the stage during the first few moments. The crowd surfers are coming over the barriers already and security are in for a long shift. No time to catch a breath as the screen works in tandem with the band as they break into ‘Sparta’, the first song of the evening from latest album ‘The Last Stand’. Sabaton are joined on stage by two Spartan warriors wearing nothing more than some golden budgie smugglers, helmets, and big bloody spears. Not to be outdone, Broden has done a quick costume change into a full on warrior head dress a la Gerard Butler in the movie ‘300’. It’s great theatre, and the crowd joins in with the chants of “Sparta” throughout the song. Sabaton are a great distraction from the day to day grind of modern life, and it surely must be a crime to be grumpy at one of their gigs? As they kick on through another new track, ‘Shiroyama’, people are smiling, pumping their fists, and raising their drinks to the sky. This is fantastic, switch-yer-brain-off, entertainment. That’s the key word at a Sabaton gig… entertainment. They put on a show, they give the crowd their money’s worth, and work their arses off to ensure that everyone leaves smiling. When Broden introduces ‘Swedish Pagans’, it sets off some frantic bouncing from the crowd, and from the viewpoint of the balcony, it looks the entire crowd is bouncing as one. The pit changes to a conga line, like a hairy-arsed version of a hen do in Blackpool, and it’s impossible not to crack a smile. Sabaton are wary of the fact that they toured only ten months ago, and want to make sure that they do something different. They have new material to air, but that’s not enough, so the crew quickly set up for an acoustic number. As Joakim mugs about on the piano, new guitarist Tommy Johansson takes over and the band chill out on ‘The Final Solution’. Again, it’s all about giving the loyal fanbase something different. Fans know that they will get ‘Carolus Rex’, ‘Primo Victoria’ and ‘To Hell And Back’, so anything that’s different is a bonus. Unsurprisingly, ‘Blood Of Bannockburn’ joined the last two tracks mentioned as part of the encore. The keyboard-heavy track was divisive when ‘The Last Stand’ was released. Unless you’re Scottish, chances are you’ll pass over the track, but in front of a partisan crowd, Sabaton can’t go wrong. There are collectors from the Poppy Scotland organisation in the venue tonight, raising money for ex-servicemen, and there is a great moment when Joakim gets one of them on stage. Saying that every country is good at sending people to war but not so good at looking after them when they return, so this was a worthy cause. Broden also says that people should give up the price of a drink, and as he likes to drink he would drop some notes into the bucket. It looks like over £1,000 was raised on the night for a fantastic charity, and again proves how generous the metal family can be. ‘To Hell And Back’ rounds the evening off in fine style, and the bouncing-as-one recommences. You would have to have been hard nosed not to have enjoyed yourself tonight, as it was a memorable evening in many ways. What next for Sabaton? 2018 is the tenth anniversary of the ‘Art Of War’ album. Perhaps a played-in-its-entirety tour to celebrate? Review: Dave Stott Images: Lara Vischi [gallery type='flickr' user_id='132278830@N06' view='photosets' photoset_id='72157675442864223' columns='3' tag_mode='any' sort='date-posted-desc' per_page='71' layout='square' ]]]>
