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Sabaton
Margaret Court Arena
Hailing from Falun, Sweden Sabaton headline their first arena tour since 2013. With a sold out crowd streaming in to witness Amaranthe opening, the cities metal heads have converged for a night of sheer power metal. With songs ‘ Fearless’, ‘ Digital World’ and ‘ The Catalyst’ to warm up the crowd, Amaranthe prove to Australian audiences again why they are a force to be reckoned with. Playing a full hour set, they wrap up with ” Archangel” , ” That Song (with snippet from Queen’s “We Will Rock You”) that gets the crowd chanting they finish up with “Drop Dead Cynical”
As Joakim Brodén, bassist Pär Sundström, guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, and drummer Richard Larsson, run out on stage, the crowd begins to roar in excitement. Opening to ‘ Ghost Division’ the band dive right into things, getting to business.
Front man Brodén is genuinely enjoying himself, as fans crowd surf and mosh to popular tracks “The Red Baron” , “Great War” , “Fields of Verdu” and “Bismarck”. Between tracks Brodén makes jokes about how he talks too much, he points out fans who have come dressed as him, and has the crowd chanting ‘ Banana’ like a bunch of minions when he spots two people dressed as bananas.
Instructing the crowd to turn on their phone flash lights, the stadium is bathed in light for ‘Christmas Truce’, a rare sight at a metal show and it’s absolutely breath taking. Fans sing each note to the song, united in this one moment. Leading into ‘ Cliffs of Gallipoli” Brodén talks about how in cities all over the world certain songs will resonate with the location, and performing a song written about the battle where so many Australian lives were lost seems rather poignant and emotional.
Sabaton are one of those acts that come to entertain, not just to play music and watching the banter between the band and the audience is certainly fantastic to witness. Die hard fans and newcomers are in for a good time when a band is this enthralling to watch.
