DVD REVIEW: The Great Show – Sabaton
It is strange to think that when the Swedish War Machine, SABATON, first embarked on The Great Tour’s European leg in January and February 2020, no one could have imagined that it was almost The Tour To End All Tours (that tour is thankfully coming to our shores in 2022, coinciding with the release of the band’s follow up album to The Great War, the aptly titled The War To End All Wars. Alas, now we are able to re-live this phenomenal tour with a rapturous night at the O2 Arena in Prague. With their trademark showmanship, highly detailed stage sets and theatrical delivery SABATON take you on a journey through history with a fully loaded performance.
The DVD opens with the band’s In Flanders Field instrumental played over shots of the eager and excitable Czech crowd entering the arena. This effortlessly transitions into the more familiar Ghost Division introduction, the band hit the stage with all their power and might to an ecstatic welcome from the Czech fans. The first part of the set is loaded with songs from The Great War.
The stand out song of this blast through the latest album was The Attack of the Dead Men, which saw the band dressed in gas masks, and frontman Joakim Brodén armed with a flame thrower. The song tells the story of a battle during World War One in which the Russian men at Osowiec Fortress were attacked by the Germans with a mixture of poison gases, chlorine and bromine on August 6th 1915. The battle got its name from the bloodied and zombified appearances of the Russian soldiers who mounted a charge despite being gassed into oblivion. With the band dressed like this it makes the song incredibly immersive and poignant.
As the song finished and the band discard their garb, Joakim who is ever the crowd pleaser partook in the Czech equivalent of the “Noch ein Bier” ritual that seems to follow the band no matter where they are. The show rumbles on with passionate fervour, the band adorning smiles all round and making the crowd, and us later viewers, feel welcome and part of the family as they entertain us.
After wheeling out the Red Baron Tri-plane Hammond organ, SABATON’s most danceable track The Red Baron gets the crowd moving. The song that gets the most rapturous applause comes halfway through the set. Far From The Fame tells the story of Air Marshal Karel Janoušek, a Czech war hero who set up the first Czechoslovakian Air Force squadrons in the Armée de l’Air and Royal Air Force.
Night Witches sees an intense performance of red lights and fast riffs opened by air raid sirens and finished with Joakim shooting at Hannes’ tank drum riser with a pyro bazooka. After this, SABATON bring on Finland’s APOCALYPTICA for the second half of their main set, fusing the triple threat of cellos with the power of guitars and drums. APOCALYPTICA were the main support for The Great Tour and the arrangements of songs; Carolus Rex, Fields of Verdun and The Price of a Mile had an added flair and special quality. The chemistry between both bands led to an emphatic performance.
Throughout the whole performance SABATON never let the energy drop, one of the hardest working metal bands have an inexhaustible source energy. From beginning to end you find yourself singing passionately along with every big chorus and head-banging to the rhythmic thunder that the band wield. SABATON have never been a band that do anything by half measures, they went all out in Prague and it shows. The cinematic overlays and on stage visuals blend to create a fully immersive DVD that highlights the astonishing detail that they go to to create unforgettable experiences for their audience. The band are phenomenal at vividly bringing to life the stories within their songs with exciting and emotive performances. The Great Show in Prague is great and then some, SABATON are making a strong case to be the next flag bearers of the IRON MAIDEN style theatrical metal icons.
Rating: 9/10
The Great Show is out now via Nuclear blast Records.
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