Sabaton Announce 11th Studio Album, Legends, with Two New Songs

Swedish historical themed legends Sabaton have announced their eleventh studio album, Legends, and blessed us with new single ‘The Duelist’. After the last few albums focused on the battles, heroes and villains from World War I, the new LP does what the title suggests - it tells the tales of warriors from history. It will be their first with new label Better Noise Music, marking a new era with a familiar sound. 

‍‘The Duelist’ is inspired by legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who fought over 60 duels without losing. A monumental achievement well worthy of the aforementioned legend tagline the album is themed around.

Sabaton Bassist Pär Sundström shares:

“Joakim wanted to go back to our roots and create a guitar driven, old school Sabaton song. When we were pairing the songs with topics, we felt that the technical guitar work could be interpreted as technical swordsmanship.

"11 tracks that cover 11 iconic legendary stories. This time we look further back in history than we have been the past few years, going to times that I think are very exciting. As someone who's always been into the history of the Middle Ages, knights and the legends of old, it felt incredible to finally bring those stories into the Sabaton universe.”

The album features a worldwide cast, with first single ‘Templars’ featuring the Christian army who waged war to protect pilgrimages to the holy land. The album also features ‘Lightening at the Gates’, a metal-meets-marching war song experience which captures Hannibal Barca’s invasion of Rome. 

Frontman Joakim Brodén explains the origin of ‘Lightening at the Gates’: 

“Our goal was to make listeners feel like they’re witnessing a massive army on the march. It’s a tribute to Hannibal Barca, the Carthaginian general who was once Rome’s greatest enemy. The name "Hannibal" struck fear into the Romans, especially when he led his 37 war elephants across the Alps to invade the Roman Empire - no small feat, by the way. Can you imagine a more terrifying and awe-inspiring sight?” 

With the new album announced for release on October 17th, chances are Sabaton will be debuting new songs live on their upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour, where they're bringing along special guests Amaranthe. They’ve lined up five dates across the country kicking off in Perth on September 1st and will pop over to Auckland after where a second show has been added.

We last saw the historically minded band here for Good Things Festival 2022, where their infectious anthems converted many to their cause. The headline sets should help them reach into their back catalogue, which includes their ANZAC ode ‘Cliffs of Gallipoli’, the shows are set to be their biggest and more powerful displays down under yet.

Words by KJ Draven @kjdraven