Sabaton’s frontman wants to play a show on the beaches of Normandy.
Vocalist Joakim Brodén reveals that the booking would be his dream gig during a new interview on the Swedish power metal band’s YouTube channel.
The beaches were the site of D-Day during Operation Overlord: the 1944 military landings that saw Allied Forces invade Nazi-occupied France and turn the tide of the Second World War. The events of that day inspired Sabaton’s 2005 single Primo Victoria, which has become one of their most popular songs.
“One thing I would love to do that we haven’t yet, I’d love to play battlefields where the events of the song actually happened,” Brodén says. “So a dream of mine, obviously, would be to play Normandy beaches, let’s say Omaha beach or something like that, in the north of France, on June 6 one year: the anniversary of the D-Day landings.”
Primo Victoria is the opening song of Sabaton’s debut album of the same name, which came out on March 4, 2005 via Black Lodge Records. The song was the first that the band released with lyrics about military history: a concept that now defines almost every album they’ve ever put out. Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer last month, Brodén said that he considers the song to be the moment Sabaton truly started.
“I had this crazy idea to arrange the choirs like a church choir, not the traditional way done in harder music,” he told us. “Everybody thought I was crazy when we started the song with only my vocals and then the choir comes in. We put down the vocals one by one […] and then we put all three harmonies up at the same time. At least for me, I knew: ‘This is Sabaton!’”
Sabaton released their 11th album, Legends, last month via Better Noise. The lyrics focus on conflicts and military leaders from before the 20th century, including Vlad The Impaler, the Knights Templar and Genghis Khan.
Metal Hammer’s Holly Wright scored the album three-and-a-half stars and wrote in her review: “Legends doesn’t reinvent the band, but it does stretch their battlefield into something closer to a cinematic universe, with them still marching at the front of power metal’s ranks.”
Sabaton will promote Legends on The Legendary Tour of Europe, which kicks off in Cologne, Germany on November 14. Their support act for the dates will be the Legendary Orchestra, who’ll perform the band’s songs in classical arrangements.
Sabaton are the cover stars on the current issue of Hammer. Inside, Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström give our writer a tour of their hometown of Falun and their secret HQ on the outskirts of the city. Order your copy online and get it delivered directly to your door.
