Sabaton March In and Conquer Atlanta on Final Night of The Last Stand Tour!

Sabaton
March 11, 2018
Atlanta, GA
The Buckhead Theater

Since seeing them for the first time back in 2011, Sabaton has been a band that has captured my heart in a huge way. As corny as it sounds, discovering Sabaton gave me the same excitement and rush that I got when I first discovered Iron Maiden. They are amazing live, they are fun, and they have great songs. Not many bands can pull off basing their entire band off of the concept of one theme (war history) but Sabaton has done just that.

Year after year I have watched Sabaton grow at a rapid and steady pace as they conquered North American tour after tour. From opening to Iced Earth to headlining the small room at The Masquerade to selling out the Buckhead Theater on a cold, rainy Sunday night, Sabaton has proven themselves more than worth of any and all levels of success that they have achieved. Sabaton took the stage as usual to “The March to War” bringing on a chant of “Sabaton! Sabaton!” from the crowd. Lead singer Joakim Broden announced, “Atlanta! We are Sabaton. We play heavy metal and this is Ghost Division!” The theater erupted in a loud roar which was damn near deafening as the band slammed us all face first with a dose of Swedish metal only Sabaton can deliver.

Sabaton’s stage production has definitely grown over the years. Even though we didn’t get the awesome tank drum riser, there was an awesome visual screen behind the band that projected amazing visuals and song lyrics which urged the crowd to sing along. This really added to the excitement of the experience of seeing Sabaton live. This is something that could’ve been really corny (see Nightwish) but it perfectly accentuated the songs and added a really great element to an already awesome performance.

Sabaton launched into “Uprising” for their 2nd song and the place absolutely nuts. I was so fucking psyched to see this song added back into the setlist and it got a huge response from crowd as they thrust fists, chanted along, and jumped in unison. I almost felt like I was at Wacken or something. I couldn’t believe that this was an Atlanta crowd. The crowd then began to chant for “Swedish Pagans” which brought a huge laugh from Joakim who then yelled, “You want to hear Swedish Pagans? Then here’s fucking Swedish Pagans!” Again, the crowd went nuts singing along w/ the intro and jumping up and down like a European festival crowd.

Sabaton’s hour plus set covered a lot of ground including “Cliffs of Gallipoli”, the always stellar “Carolus Rex”, and a mind blowing “Night Witches.” After “Resist and Bite”, Joakim got his little guitar moment where he lead the band through a riff medley of “Detroit Rock City”, “Electric Eye”, “I Will Survive” (Yes, the Gloria Gaynor song), and “Master of Puppets.” It’s always a fun part of the show and it’s just one of those moments where you can see just why there is such a connection between Sabaton and their audience.

Its concerts like this that I can totally see why Sabaton has grown by leaps and bounds the way that Sabaton has. They are not afraid to just dork out on stage, have a good time, and connect with their crowd. Atlanta crowds (or North American crowds for that matter) tend to be somewhat lackluster but on this night, I like I was at Wacken watching everyone jump, chant, and sing along with these crazy camouflage clad Swedes. Closing out with easily one of the best encores I’ve ever seen from a band that consisted of “Primo Victoria”, “Shiroyama”, and “To Hell and Back”, Sabaton left the stage after taking a bow and bidding Atlanta a huge thank you and good night.

I couldn’t believe that this was the last night of the tour. The band played with all of the energy and passion that you would expect from the first night of a tour. For them to put this much energy into their last show just proves my point that Sabaton is a band who has reached the bar that has been set so high, grabbed it, and are using it to knock aside the nonbelievers and all of the false metal bands out there that may stand in their way.

Seeing Sabaton grow into such a monumental live band here in North America has been an amazing experience. I feel like I have literally watched this band grow up. Maybe in another five years we’ll see Sabaton headlining arenas and delivering the kind of metal shows that metal fans of this newer generation need to be seeing. Sabaton may just be the ones to carry the flag for heavy metal once the greatest have bowed out of the race. The flag may be a Swedish flag but you can bet your ass that I will proudly stand behind it, honor it, and salute it with all of the love in my brave, metal heart.

For some amazing shots from the show, check out Olga’s site www.first3songs.com

Sabaton – Buckhead Theatre – Atlanta, GA – March 11, 2018

About The Author

Don

I have been running this blog since 2009. AKA as the Great Southern Brainfart, Southeast of Heaven is my baby now and forever. I’ve had my ups and downs with bands over the years but they are all great experiences and memories. My Swedish friend Charlie said once, “Don is known for being one of the meanest bastards in American rock journalism.” It’s nice to be loved.

I also once took a shit in Anthrax’s dressing room toilet and didn’t flush.

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