Sabaton – Legends
Sabaton – Legends
Better Noise
17/10/2025
Review by Oli Gonzalez
8/10
One of Sweden’s most decorated artists and one of their finest exports after Abba and Ikea furniture, Sabaton are perhaps best known for bringing historic battles and warfare to life with the medium of Power Metal. After all, I’m not sure many metalheads can say the words ‘D Day’ without thinking of vocalist Joakim Broden’s iconic acapella vocal opening to ‘Primo Victoria’. Though “Legends” takes a slight detour away from the Allied forces storming the beaches of Normandy and the last stand of King Leonidas’s Spartan forces against the might of the Persian empire. The 11th studio album for Sabaton tells the tales of many a famous historical figure, like Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Julius Caesar. These tales have gone “further back in history than we have the past few years”, according to bassist Par. How will they manifest on record? Let’s find out?
Upon listening to the opening track, ‘Templars Knight’, you’ll be greeted with everything you would expect from a Sabaton record. The huge guitar riffs, dramatic operatic background vocals, the clever yet subtle use of synths, and Joakim’s often imitated but very rarely replicated gravelly baritone vocal lines. Let’s face it, Sabaton are a festival headline and arena-sized band now (elevated to a status that was beyond that of when they played at 1500-cap O2 Ritz in Manchester in late 2014). As such, everything they write now is designed to sound great in those large arenas. With these catchy choruses that thousands of people can sing along to with ease. You’ll find plenty of these vocal hooks throughout the album.
I alluded to the subtle use of synths. This isn’t so subtle in some songs like ‘Tiger Amongst Dragons’, giving the song an almost Europop feel at times. Imagine if Sabaton DID appear at the Eurovision song contest; they’d get my 12 points for sure! If nothing else, for that short-lived but stunning guitar solo!
The pace and dynamic of each song can vary. This includes the blistering pace of ‘Hordes Of Khan’ – one of my early highlights of the album – and ‘Maid Of Steel,’ another with a scorching guitar solo towards the end. These provide a sprinkling of Speed Metal to the album’s repertoire. But Sabaton can also tell stories in a slower, more ballad style via ‘Impaler’ and ‘Lightning At The Gates’, which help the overall flow and pacing of the album. After all, there’s only so much high-tempo Symphonic Power Metal you can withstand.
Overall, “Legends” is a solid effort from a band in the twilight of their career now, a storied and heroic career. Whilst it may still be in the shadow of the band’s finer efforts, like “The Last Stand”, there’s plenty to admire here, and it will appeal to a wide sector of Metal music fans.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Templars
02. Hordes Of Khan
03. A Tiger Among Dragons
04. Crossing The Rubicon
05. I, Emperor
06. Maid of Steel
07. Impaler
08. Lightning at the Gates
09. The Duelist
10. The Cycle of Songs
11. Till Seger
LINKS:
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