Posted on 08/25/2019 8:36:49 AM PDT by DoodleBob
SABATON bassist Pär Sundström recently spoke with France's United Rock Nations. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow...
On SABATON's lyrics:
Pär: "War is not really black-and-white. War always has a very gray color, because war is conceived by different sides for whatever [reasons] they have. In all conflicts, there are a lot of losers and a lot of people who have their different inputs and think that, 'We are the good guys. They are the bad.' For SABATON, it's not about taking a stand. We write the songs from different kinds of angles all the time, but they are not our angle. We are not there to say, 'This was right. This was bad.' We are there to tell the story — to retell the story from one side. But they are not our [side]."
On the origins of his interest in military history:
Pär: "Partly, it comes from starting to write about it. I liked history before, and so did Joakim [Brodén, vocals], and the first songs we wrote had no connection to this whatsoever. We were, 'This is no fun to write lyrics for the songs. They don't mean anything. We need to write about something that matters — something that is real.' We started to write about military history, and as time goes, our interest becomes deeper and deeper... We wanted to write about something where everybody has emotions towards. No matter if you have been living in Sweden, who has been neutral — thankfully, we haven't seen war in Sweden for a very long time — but even if you live in Sweden or you live in a war-torn country somewhere in the world, you have a connection to war. War, unfortunately, is something that unites all people."
(Excerpt) Read more at blabbermouth.net ...
Sabaton is a heavy metal band out of Sweden with lyrics and albums that focus on history and war. True, they've been around 20 years but their music remains fresh and relevant. If you like this genre, you will LOVE Sabaton. If you like history and music that isn't milquetoast or ashamed of smiling on victory, check out their catalog. I've learned almost everything I know about the history of Sweden through Carolus Rex.
The only thing worse than war is it’s absence when needed.
The first song I heard from Sabaton describes the Warsaw Uprising.
I’ve been into them since 2007. I always keep up with their new music.
In.
Heavy Metal
Not my cup of tea
Still not music
“Rap” is just hate/racist chants with a drum-machine backing.
Zero musical attributes.
Pure hate speech!
The first song I heard from them was 'Ghost Division', about Rommel's tank division that swept across France during the blitzkrieg. I had thought they were glorifying the Nazis, but I was wrong. The next song I heard was 'Winged Hussars', which is about the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the battle of Vienna in 1529, which prevented a Muslim takeover of Europe.
Since then, I've listened to many tracks from Sabaton. I've even used their music to teach history to my kids. Now they also love Sabaton, and sometimes listen to their music while doing the dishes.
Their most recent project, 'Great War' is all about World War I. It doesn't glorify war, not in the slightest. It does have some songs that build up the exploits of some who fought. For instance, 'Red Baron' is, of course, about the exploits of Manfred von Richtofen. Another track, '82nd All The Way', is about Sgt. Alvin York. And another track is a tribute to the US Marine Corps, and the name they earned during WWI, 'Devil Dogs'.
One of the things Sabaton prides itself on is the historical accuracy in their music. They get down and do the research into the things they sing about. It's really something.
I’ve always thought it was a shame that the Soviet Union continued to exist until their system naturally exhausted itself.
Neigbor of mine enjoys them. I should check it out sometime.
I recently discovered Sabaton and am very impressed. Their lyrics aren’t the kind of lyrics that one expects to hear from a Heavy Metal band. Talented musicians.
Fun fact: Sabaton’s drummer, Hannes Van Dahl, is in a relationship with Floor Jansen, the incredible vocalist from the Finnish Symphonic Metal band “Nightwish”, and they have a young daughter. Jansen, herself, is Dutch. I’m currently obsessed with Nightwish.
Other very good Symphonic Metal bands are the Dutch bands “Epica” and “Within Temptation”.
You are correct; To find good modern music, one must look to Northern Europe.
We were talking about heavy metal
There’s also Sabaton History on youtube.
Here’s their To Hell And Back history.
To Hell and Back – Audie Murphy – Sabaton History 004 [Official]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0PriUnAJ3U
I discovered Sabaton through my son about a year ago.
Great stuff, history lesson in a song.
My favorite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9BupglHdtM
Delain is another very good symphonic metal band.
I would like to see Sabaton live, as their style seems well-suited to an outdoor arena setting.
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