Formation and first albums (1999–2009)
Sabaton was formed in December 1999. After the first songs were recorded in Peter Tägtgren's studio, The Abyss, Sabaton was contacted by a couple of record labels. The band signed with the Italian label Underground Symphony, which then released, internationally, the promo CD Fist for Fight. The disc, distilled from two demo tapes recorded between 1999 and 2000, was intended to promote forthcoming Sabaton releases. In 2002, a new album, Metalizer was recorded and was supposed to be distributed by Underground Symphony as the band's debut album. After two years of waiting, during which the band held various performances across Sweden, the album was abandoned.[4][5]
Joakim Brodén playing at Global East Rock Festival in Ukraine 2010
The band returned for a second album titled Primo Victoria. Brodén stated that the album's title track "kicked off" the band's historical theme.[6] Sundström stated that the band decided to focus primarily on historical themes in their lyrics after he and Brodén watched the film Saving Private Ryan.[7] Sabaton signed with Black Lodge, the metal division of the Sound Pollution record label. In early 2005, keyboardist Daniel Myhr was recruited in order to relieve Joakim Brodén of his keyboard duties. In early 2006, Sabaton toured in support of Edguy and DragonForce.[8] The band's third album, Attero Dominatus, was released in Europe on 28 July 2006.[9] In March 2007, Sabaton released Metalizer as a double disc together with Fist for Fight, along with the previously unreleased song "Birds of War".[10]
Sabaton performing at Norway Rock Festival in 2010
As a follow-up to Metalizer, in May 2008, Sabaton released its fourth album The Art of War, an album inspired by the influential book by Sun Tzu. The decision to base the album upon Sun Tzu's book came from the idea that in the 2000 years since the book was written, the human race has achieved many things, but, apart from weapon advancements, operational art, and strategy, war itself has remained basically the same.[citation needed] The album contains the singles "Cliffs of Gallipoli" and "Ghost Division". They toured Europe in 2009 as an opening act on the HammerFall Tour.[11] After their Bloodstock performance, the band again went on tour with DragonForce, towards the end of 2009, for eighteen shows in the UK.[12]
Coat of Arms (2010–2011)
The band had hoped to begin recording the next album in October but with concerts booked and the DragonForce support tour the following month, it was pushed back. On 23 December 2009, the band announced the name of their forthcoming album. Coat of Arms contains a majority of songs about World War II including the Winter War. They announced it on their official website, and posted a link to a YouTube video containing the album art and a teaser music sample. Coat of Arms was released on 21 May 2010. The first music video, for "Uprising", was released on 1 August 2010 and features Peter Stormare. This was accompanied by a European tour. A second music video, for "Screaming Eagles", was released on 25 May.
Lineup change (2012–2015)
In 2012, two-thirds of Sabaton's lineup left the band.[13] On 31 March vocalist Joakim Brodén confirmed rumors that the band would be going separate ways, with only Brodén himself and bass player Pär Sundström staying on board. Sabaton was joined by new members Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund on guitar, and Robban Bäck on drums. Former Sabaton guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, drummer Daniel Mullback and keyboardist Daniel Myhr went on, together with vocalist Nils Patrik Johansson and bassist Stefan Eriksson, to form a new band, Civil War.[14] In November 2012, drummer Robban Bäck decided to take a break from touring due to becoming a father. Snowy Shaw replaced him as touring drummer, who in turn was replaced by Hannes Van Dahl in November 2013. Prior to replacing Shaw, Van Dahl had worked as Shaw's drum technician while drumming for the band Evergrey.
In the same year, Sabaton released a new concept album Carolus Rex.[15]
Sabaton performing at Rock Fest in 2014
Sabaton performing at Wacken Open Air, Germany in 2015
In January 2014, the band announced the cover of their new album called Heroes, then due to be released on 16 May 2014. The album proved to be a hit and made #1 on the official Swedish album chart.[16] On 27 January the band was announced to play Download Festival in June.[17] In October 2015 performed their first concert in Japan in Loud Park.
The Last Stand (2016–2018)
In December 2015, five songs by the band were added to the third external music pack for the strategy game Europa Universalis IV by Paradox Interactive.
On 6 June 2016, the 72nd anniversary of D-Day, they released a music pack for the Paradox game Hearts of Iron IV with songs based on World War II, the theme of the game. They released a second on 26 January 2017.
Their eighth album The Last Stand, was released on 19 August 2016, announced in April.[18] On 10 June 2016 the first single of the album was released, called "The Lost Battalion" and about the eponymous military unit of World War I.[19] On 25 July 2016, the band announced that guitarist Thobbe Englund had left the band.[20] Thobbe Englund played his last show with Sabaton at Sabaton Open Air 2016.
Tommy Johansson of Majestica was announced immediately as the new member after Englund's final show with the band.[21]
Pär Sundström stated in a 2017 interview that the group would be touring less in 2018 so they could concentrate on writing and recording their next album.[22] Joakim Brodén confirmed a 2019 release date for the still-untitled album in a September 2018 interview on MAD TV's show TV War.[23] On 31 December 2018, it was further confirmed in an official announcement YouTube video.[citation needed]
Sabaton History and The Great War (2019)
On 8 January 2019, the band announced the creation of a YouTube channel called Sabaton History, a cooperation between Indy Neidell, TimeGhost History and Sabaton. The channel documents the history of the events behind Sabaton songs and the songs themselves. The channel was created on 7 February 2019.[24]
On 22 April 2019 Sabaton released a standalone single, "Bismarck", in a collaboration with Wargaming and their game World of Warships. The song is about the German Battleship Bismarck, one of the biggest ever built in Europe. Commissioned in August 1940, it sank in May 1941 after an intense hunt in the North Atlantic.[25]
On 2 April 2019, the band announced a new concept album about the First World War entitled The Great War. On 5 May 2019, they played in Plzeň on the anniversary of the Prague uprising. The album was released on 19 July 2019.[26] The first single on the album is 'Fields of Verdun', which was released on 3 May.[27] On 13 June the lyric video for the song, "Red Baron", was released.[28] On 27 June the premiere of "The Great War" was released.[29]
On 1 August 2019, the band performed their 20th anniversary show at Wacken Open Air festival 2019; during the gig former guitarist Thobbe Englund joined the band on stage for two songs.[30] In the second half of the show Sabaton invited other former members to the festival's second stage - Rikard Sundén, Daniel Mÿhr, and Daniel Mullback, along with Englund. Sundén, Mÿhr, and Mullback are all members of Civil War, a similar band formed by the three along with Oskar Montelius, another former Sabaton member, as well as Nils Patrik Johansson and Stefan Erikkson, neither of whom are former Sabaton members.[citation needed]
On 30 August 2019, the band was involved in a serious car accident in Tunisia while returning from a music video shoot in the Sahara Desert. Injuries from the wreck forced them to cancel a show in Gdańsk, Poland.[31]
Single releases and The War to End All Wars (2020–present)
On 23 December 2020, Sabaton posted a short teaser of a new song on YouTube, writing: "We bet you did not see this one coming.. Are you ready for some new Sabaton music? Wait no more! Hear now a teaser of one of our upcoming songs.."[32] On the next day, the band announced that they would begin recording their tenth studio album "in a few days".
They released "Livgardet", the Swedish version of a new single, on 26 February 2021, with the English version released on 9 April.[33] The song is a tribute to the Swedish regiment Livgardet, the Royal Guard, released in relation to its 500-year anniversary as a military unit, making it one of the world's longest serving military units. The song was initially done in cooperation with the Swedish Armed Forces and Livgardet regiment, but the cooperation was halted after orders from the Swedish Army Command, citing the fact that Sabaton had played on Crimea in 2015 on a festival hosted by the Russian motorcycle gang Night Wolves.[34]
On 7 May 2021, a single called "Defence of Moscow", an English cover of a song in Russian by Radio Tapok, was released.[35]
On 10 August 2021, Sabaton posted a teaser for 14 August 2021 in morse code translating to 'The war to end all wars.'[36] This then lead to the announcement on 14 August 2021 of their new album continuing on the subject of World War I with the title The War to End All Wars.[37] It was released on 4 March 2022. The first single from the album, "Christmas Truce", was released on 29 October 2021.[38] The second single from the album, "Soldier of Heaven", was released on 7 January 2022.[39] The third single from the album, "The Unkillable Soldier", was released on 11 February 2022.[40]
On 25 August 2021, the song "Steel Commanders" was released in support of new Sabaton content in the popular video game World of Tanks.[41] It was later elected by Loudwire as the 33rd best metal song of 2021.[42]
On 30 September 2022, the song "Father" about German scientist Fritz Haber was released as the first single from their EP Weapons of the Modern Age, part of a planned three-part trilogy titled Echoes of the Great War.
Discography
Primo Victoria (2005)
Attero Dominatus (2006)
Metalizer (2007)
The Art of War (2008)
Coat of Arms (2010)
Carolus Rex (2012)
Heroes (2014)
The Last Stand (2016)
The Great War (2019)
The War to End All Wars (2022)
Out Of Control
Sabaton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're just in time for the show
Welcome to my world of darkness
A place where unreal becomes real
Come drink my blood, wake the demon in me
Come taste the wine of my sins
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
Defying the Gods of Hell
You are out of control
You can't find a shelter in Hellspace,
Under my black wings of doom
The wind in the wasteland is howling
It's the wailing of ghosts of the past
Swing 'cross the ocean of pleasure and pain,
Into my fatal embrace
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
defying the Gods of Hell
You are...
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
defying the Gods of Hell
You are out of control, whoa yeah!
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
defying the Gods of Hell
You are...
Out of control.
The lyrics of Sabaton's "Out of Control" portray a view of darkness and madness, embodied by the singer's invitation to experience his "world of darkness" where the unreal takes form. The song creates a sense of seduction, as the singer invites the listener to "drink my blood, wake the demon in me" and "come taste the wine of my sins." The imagery used suggests the dark and macabre, showcasing the tempting and dangerous aspects of the singer's world.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "out of control," emphasizing the theme of losing oneself to temptation and succumbing to primal urges. The singer describes themselves as a "madman" and "defying the Gods of Hell," which suggests a level of rebellion and the breaking of boundaries. The final line of the song, "you are out of control," implies that the listener has joined the singer in their madness and has also become an agent of chaos.
Overall, the lyrics of "Out of Control" paint a vivid picture of darkness and temptation, as the singer entices the listener into their world of madness.
Line by Line Meaning
Welcome to my kingdom madness
I am the ruler of a place where chaos and insanity reign supreme, and I welcome you to experience it.
You're just in time for the show
Your presence here is perfect timing, as what you are about to witness is a spectacle to behold.
Welcome to my world of darkness
Step into my realm where only darkness is found and light does not exist.
A place where unreal becomes real
Within this world, what appears to be fake or imaginary becomes tangible and true.
Come drink my blood, wake the demon in me
Consume the essence of my being and awaken the demon within me, allowing it to take control.
Come taste the wine of my sins
Experience the fullness of my wickedness and transgressions through the consumption of this metaphorical wine.
Out of control,
The situation is now beyond the point of manageability or responsibility.
Without any fear of facing the madman
There is no longer any fear of confronting the crazed individual in charge, as they hold all the power and control.
Defying the Gods of Hell
Challenging even the rulers of the underworld, with no regard for the consequences.
You are out of control
An acknowledgement that the person addressed is now fully under the influence and unable to resist the madness around them.
You can't find a shelter in Hellspace,
There is no safe haven or refuge for you in this demonic realm.
Under my black wings of doom
You will be protected and watched over by the darkness and ominous presence that follows me.
The wind in the wasteland is howling
The desolate environment around us is responding to the madness within and echoing the cries of sorrow and despair.
It's the wailing of ghosts of the past
Those who have been lost or forgotten to the madness are the ones whose voices are heard in the winds.
Swing 'cross the ocean of pleasure and pain,
Travel with me across this sea of extremes, where both pleasure and agony await at every turn.
Into my fatal embrace
Allow me to take you into my grasp, where I will show you no mercy and leave you with no means of escape.
You are out of control, whoa yeah!
Once again, it is emphasized that the listener is completely under the influence and has no control over their actions or fate.
Contributed by Jackson A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Winter Flower
lyrics
Welcome to my kingdom madness
You're just in time for the show
Welcome to my world of darkness
A place where unreal becomes real
Come drink my blood, wake the demon in me
Come taste the wine of my sins
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
Defying the Gods of Hell
You are out of control
You can't find a shelter in Hells space,
Under my black wings of doom
The wind in the wasteland is howling
It's the wailing of ghosts of the past
Swing 'cross the ocean of pleasure and pain,
Into my fatal embrace
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
defying the Gods of Hell
You are...
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
defying the Gods of Hell
You are out of control, whoa yeah!
Out of control,
Without any fear of facing the madman
Out of control,
defying the Gods of Hell
You are...
Out of control
OkyDooky
So, everybody's arguing about which version is better, but nobody has mentioned how amazing it is that a HUGE band like Sabaton is covering a song by an almost unknown band (by comparison). That just tells you how amazing Battle Beast is. It really doesn't matter which version is better.
smokeybutler
Well said. I think both versions are great.
Steward of Autumn
I would like to see a remix where it can have inserts from battle beast.
I think the beginning of battle beast's version is just creepier.
Gary De la Hoz San Juan
God bless your wisdom.
OkyDooky
Gary de la Hoz San Juan Thanks. And may God bless you, too. :)
And, while we're at it, God bless Power Metal. \m/
Gary De la Hoz San Juan
OkyDooky Of course He will.
AnomalyINC
Thank you Sabaton for introducing me to Battle Beast!
The two most kick-ass bands on the planet!
Ridge
Have you tried Dragonforce?
yotam braunshtein
try desert they are opening for sabaton at israel and bringing battle beast to israel
Johan Batcron
Tijmen Verhagen Dragon force? I saw them live at Sabaton open air and to be honest i wasnt really impressed.