Not surprisingly, the crowd gathered before the Rock Stage in time for Sabaton’s gig on the Thursday was nothing less than breathtaking in size!
Maybe this was what alarmed Daniel Mullback (drums) so that he ended up dropping one of his sticks while smartly spinning them during the introductory drumming sequence…
He was however quick to pick up a new one, and the concert could commence without further ado.

With the release of Coat Of Arms only short time before, Sabaton have built an impressive arsenal of war-tunes with which they were now gunning us down from one of the festivals largest stages.
This stage had even been specially decorated for this show with a ramp in the middle dividing the space between Mullback and his drums on the one side and Daniel Mÿhr and his keyboard on the other. This ramp was frequently used by main man Joakim Brodén as he rushed back and forth between this place and his vantage-point out on the catwalk in front of the stage.
Actually, the whole band was lively as ever, but this should come as no surprise to anyone who has had the honour of witnessing these Swedish warophilias in the flesh.
Several tracks from back-catalogue were thrown at us, and if that wasn’t enough to make everyone happy, they even performed a cover of Swedish humoristic rock-band Svenne Rubins largest hit Långa Bollar På Bengt with none other than Sven Rubin himself doing the vocals!

A bit of gymnastics were called for as Sabaton set out to break the world record singing-and-jumping (as if such a record existed, he he) with their prime hit, Primo Victoria, and nearing as the grand finale of the set, we were given Metal Machine neatly gift-wrapped in a shower of fireworks, the likes of which have never been seen.

Over the few times I have seen them, Sabaton have only grown more and more in my liking, and their Sweden Rock gig this year was no exception. The only lament I have was the fact that they were, as many this year, placed at the same time as another artist I wanted to see, so I had to split my time, thus missing some of the fun which is Sabaton…

Setlist:

Ghost Division
Panzer Battalion
Coat of Arms
Saboteurs
Cliffs Of Gallipoli
Attero Dominatus
The Price Of A Mile
Screaming Eagles
Uprising
Aces In Exile
40:1
The Art Of War
Långa Bollar På Bengt (Svenne Rubins cover)
Primo Victoria
Metal Machine / Metal Crüe